Summary: Ms X complains about summons’ for Council Tax arrears issued by the Council. We have concluded our investigation having not made a finding of fault. We did not find evidence of fault with how the Council allocated payments made by Ms X, and subsequently did not find fault with the Council’s decision to issue a summons. Further, we did not find fault with the Council’s decision to withdraw the summons. Whilst we acknowledge the Council’s decision to withdraw the summons on the day of the hearing would have been inconvenient to Ms X, we cannot criticise decisions made properly, nor make recommendations for the Council to award a remedy.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about summons’ for Council Tax arrears issued by the Council. Ms X says the summons were wrongly issued to her and withdrawn at the last minute when the Council knew she was going to attend the hearings. Ms X says this meant she spent time preparing for the hearing, and incurred costs travelling to the court. Ms X would like the Council to offer a suitable remedy to remedy the inconvenience and costs incurred.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by Ms X and information from the Council. Ms X and the Council were offered an opportunity to comment on my draft decision and I considered any comments submitted before making a final decision.

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What I found

Guidance and legislation

Council tax

5. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 cover both the way councils collect payments of council tax and the way councils can recover council tax debt. The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and associated regulations cover the way bailiffs may recover debts.
6. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If any instalment is missed, the council will send the liable person a reminder. If a payment is still not made or a further payment missed, then the entire outstanding balance will be due (that is the full amount for the rest of the year).
7. To use the various powers available to it to recover unpaid council tax, a council must apply to the magistrates court for a liability order against those it believes are liable. Once a council has obtained a liability order it can take recovery action.
8. A liability order gives a council the legal power to take enforcement action to collect the money owed. This can include taking deductions from benefits, getting an attachment of earnings (this means deductions are taken directly from earnings by an employer and passed to the council) or using bailiffs. The council can decide which recovery method it wishes to use but it can only use one method for one liability order at one time.

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­­What happened

9. I have included a summary of some of the key events in this complaint. This is not intended to be a comprehensive account of everything that took place, nor does it mean I have not considered all the evidence before me when arriving at this decision.

Background

10. In events leading up to this complaint, the Council asserts that Ms X has Council Tax arrears for the years 18/19, 19/20, 20/21, 21/22, and 22/23.
11. Ms X disputes some of the alleged arrears. Ms X also informed the Council in January 2023 she would be making three separate payments in January, February and March, and a single payment in April to clear arrears which Ms X considered were owed.

Events thereafter

12. For the year 23/24, Ms X had an instalment due in May 2023, for £103. Ms X made a payment of £100 in June 2023.
13. The Council allocated this payment to Ms X’s balance from a previous years’ debt.
14. In July 2023, the Council sent Ms X reminder for £206, covering the June 2023 and July 2023 instalments.
15. In August 2023, the Council issued a summons for the outstanding amounts, for a hearing to take place in September 2023.
16. In August 2023, the Council wrote to Ms X, explaining that the payments which were made had been automatically allocated to the arrears from a previous year.
17. In September 2023, the Council agreed to allocate the payments Ms X had made to the 23/24 year. On the day of the hearing, the Council withdrew the summons.

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Analysis

Did the Council act with fault regarding the allocation of payments?

18. Ms X contends that payments made had been incorrectly allocated, resulting in a reminder and summons being incorrectly issued for non-payment.
19. The Council says that as the payments made by Ms X did not match the instalment amount due, the payments were automatically allocated by its system to Ms X’s arrears.
20. The Council says in the absence of Ms X informing it how she intended for the payments to be allocated, its system acted automatically, with how it would for all Council Taxpayers.
21. Ms X disputes some of the arrears which the Council asserts are owed, but this does not mean the matter has been resolved with the Council. I have not seen any evidence of fault. The Council’s system automatically allocated Ms X’s payments to her arrears as the payments made by Ms X did not match the instalment amount due.

Did the Council act with fault regarding the issuing and withdrawal of the summons?

22. As the payments made by Ms X did not match the instalments amounts due, the Council issued a reminder in July 2023, and a subsequent summons in August 2023. As set out above, I have not found fault for how the Council allocated Ms X’s payments, and I therefore do not find fault with the Council’s decision to issue a summons in August 2023; this is because Ms X’s payments had been allocated to her arrears and so a balance was due on Ms X’s account for 23/24.
23. Ms X contends that the Council withdrew the summons at the last minute, resulting in her incurring costs of £115 for preparation and travel expenses. I note that following discussion with Ms X, the Council agreed to reallocate the payments she had made to the 23/24 year, and therefore a decision was made to withdraw the summons. I understand this has inconvenienced Ms X as a decision to withdraw the summons so close to the hearing meant that Ms X had spent time preparing and making travel arrangements.
24. Whilst I acknowledge this would have been inconvenient to Ms X, we cannot criticise a Council’s decision to withdraw a summons which was properly issued, even if its decision to do so was made on the day of the scheduled hearing. The Council has the authority to do so and this is not something we can criticise.

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Final decision

25. I have concluded my investigation having not made a finding of fault. I did not find evidence of fault with how the Council allocated payments made by Ms X, and subsequently did not find fault with the Council’s decision to issue a summons. Further, we did not find fault with the Council’s decision to withdraw the summons. Whilst we acknowledge the Council’s decision to withdraw the summons on the day of the hearing would have been inconvenient to Ms X, we cannot criticise decisions made properly, nor make recommendations for the Council to award a remedy.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman