Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council managed the complainant’s council tax arrears. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and insufficient evidence of injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, says the Council would not work with him to set up a payment plan for council tax arrears. The Council tried to blame him and frustrate the complaints procedure. He wants the Council to use an ethical framework.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mr X did not pay his council tax as billed for 2022/23. The Council issued a summons and, in response, Mr X asked for a payment plan. The Council replied in March but, in error, failed to attach the payment plan form. The Council says it corrected this error by sending the form in April but Mr X did not reply; Mr X says he did not get the form.
5. The Council referred the case to bailiffs. Following an intervention by a law centre the Council recalled the case from the bailiffs and sent another form. The Council says Mr X did not reply. However, Mr X paid the arrears between July and November 2023.
6. Mr X also had arrears for 2023/24. The Council sent letters but Mr X did not pay. By October Mr X had arrears of £510 plus court costs. The Council again involved bailiffs.
7. In 2024 Mr X contacted the bailiffs to say he was homeless and could not pay. The Council recalled the case from the bailiffs and sent Mr X a payment plan form. Mr X did not reply but later reiterated he is homeless and cannot pay. As a goodwill gesture the Council closed the account, removed the costs and set the account balance to zero.
8. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Councils can take recovery action if someone does not pay their council tax; Mr X did not pay in accordance with his bill so the Council could take recovery action. The only error was that the Council did not send a form, but this did not cause Mr X an injustice because he still paid the arrears over a few months.
9. The law allows councils to involve bailiffs. The Council recalled Mr X’s arrears on two occasions and, for 2023/24, removed the costs and set the balance to zero. This meant Mr X did not have to pay any more council tax. So, while he is unhappy with the Council’s actions, there is not sufficient evidence of either fault or injustice to require an investigation. In addition, I have not seen any fault in the way the Council responded to Mr X’s complaints.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault and injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman