Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s recovery of council tax arrears from Mr X. We cannot investigate matters which have been subject to court proceedings. We cannot investigate complaints about matters which have a right to an appeal to an independent tribunal and that process has been pursued.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council using enforcement agents to recover a council tax debt which he disputes. He says he should have an exemption from the liability and that the Council uses its powers of summons, court action and debt recovery agents against the regulations and legislation for recovery.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council applied for a liability order for a property which Mr X owns in 2023 and for another one in 2024. Although it subsequently withdrew the second application, it obtained an order for the first in August 2023. Mr X did not make payments on the debt and the matter was passed to enforcement agents who collect unpaid council tax for councils once a court order had been obtained.
8. Mr X disputed liability for the debt. He says the Council used enforcement agents even though he has a child with medical needs. He also disputes the Council’s claim that it can pass his data to commercial debt collectors without his permission.
9. The Council told Mr X it is following standard recovery procedure and that all billing authorities can use enforcement agents to recover liability order debts. It has suspended further action on the debt because Mr X has appealed to the Valuation Tribunal about his liability and it will await the findings of that body.
10. We cannot investigate complaints about matters which have been subject to court proceedings. Once a summons has been issued this is the commencement of proceedings. We cannot investigate complaints about disputes about council tax liability. The Valuation Tribunal is the body which considers appeals about liability for council tax.
11. There is no evidence of fault in the way in which the Council processed the debts owed by Mr X and it gave him advice about how to challenge the liability which he has now pursued.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s recovery of council tax arrears from Mr X. We cannot investigate matters which have been subject to court proceedings. We cannot investigate complaints about matters which have a right to an appeal to an independent tribunal and that process has been pursued.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman