Summary: Mrs X complained the Council mishandled her Council tax debt and its use of enforcement agents. I do not find the Council to be at fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s handling of her council tax debt, its use of enforcement agents, and its failure to consider her requests for help. She complained also about its communication with her.
2. Mrs X said the Council did not consider her disability and she suffered financial hardship.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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)
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
6. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
7. 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)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

8. The Valuation Tribunal (VT) deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction. We have not considered matters that Mrs X could have taken to the VT.
9. Decisions made in a court of law about liability cannot be reconsidered by the Ombudsman.
10. We have considered the instalment arrangements organised by the Council, how the Council responded to Mrs X’s discount applications, and enforcement agents.
11. Matters complained about by Mrs X date back to 2018. Mrs X first made a complaint to us in April 2024. In April we asked Mrs X to complete the Councils complaint process in full, before we would consider the complaint.
12. There is no evidence to suggest Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner. Therefore, I have decided not to consider matters that go back further than 12 months from the date Mrs X first complained to us. I will not consider matters pre-April 2023. Matters pre-dating April 2023 are late.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

13. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
14. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Law and guidance

15. There are laws and regulations that control how councils collect council tax payments and how they can make people pay council tax they owe. (Council Tax [Administration and Enforcement] Regulations 1992)
16. Laws and regulations also control how enforcement agents can collect money owed to the council. (The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007)
17. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect this through monthly instalments. If a person who has to pay council tax misses any instalment, the council will send them a reminder. If they still do not pay, or miss another payment, then they must pay all they owe (that is the full amount for the rest of the year).
18. Councils who want to recover unpaid council tax have to ask the magistrate’s court for a liability order against people it thinks owe it the money. Once a council has a liability order it can take action to recover the money, and any court costs owed.
19. Most often councils take what is owed directly from the person’s benefits, from their wages (called getting an attachment of earnings order) or using enforcement agents. The council can decide how to recover what is owed but it can only use one method for one liability order at one time.
20. In exceptional circumstances, the law says councils can decide not to collect some or all of a council tax debt. (S13A(1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended))
21. Regulations state that a notice must be served on a debtor at least 14 days before an enforcement agent is instructed.
22. It is good practice for Councils to write to debtors, after a liability order has been made in court, to tell them the amount owed is being passed to the enforcement agents.
23. Council tax reduction (CTR, also known as council tax support) is a discount, not a benefit. It reduces the amount of council tax a person has to pay.
24. Councils can decide to reduce someone’s council tax and should have a policy explaining when this happens. (S13A(1)(C) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended) If somebody is struggling financially because of a decision about wrongly paid council tax reduction, they can apply for a discretionary reduction. Appeals about those decisions are to the Valuation Tribunal.

What happened

Background

25. Mrs X told us she has a disability. Mrs X has a partner, Mr X. In April 2023 Mrs X was in Council tax arrears. Arrears dated back several years.

Recovery Action

26. Mrs X missed a Council tax instalment in March 2023. The Council wrote to Mrs X to tell her. It warned Mrs X about recovery action.
27. In May 2023 the Council wrote again to Mrs X. It said many instalments had been missed. The Council cancelled Mrs X’s direct debit arrangement and told her she had seven days to make payment of the outstanding debt. It warned Mrs X about recovery action.
28. In July 2024 enforcement agents visited Mrs X at home. Mr X paid the enforcement agents £400.
29. The Council sent Mrs X a reminder Council tax bill in September. It covered the years 2022 – 2023 and 2023 – 2024.
30. The Council wrote to Mrs X to ask her to pay the outstanding debt. She wrote to the Council to ask it why she had got this letter. She thought the matter was on hold.
31. In October the Council sent Mrs X a final notice relating to the years 2022 – 2023 and 2023 – 2024.
32. In November 2024 Mrs X wrote to the Council to ask for an update about recovery action.
33. The Council confirmed that the recovery action was on hold. The Council said it did this to allow Mrs X to have her complaint considered by the Ombudsman.

Application for Council Tax Reduction

34. In May 2023 Mrs X made an online application to the Council for a council tax reduction because of a disability. She applied for a ‘severely mentally impaired’ (SMI) discount. Mrs X did not send the Council any supporting evidence.
35. The Council wrote to Mrs X in July. It sent her an application form to complete. In the letter it explained to Mrs X what she had to do to apply for the SMI discount. She had to provide evidence and tell the Council certain things.
36. In August Mrs X wrote to the Council and asked for its help. She told it she was a disabled customer and wanted to know what her options were. She said she had already sent it proof of her outgoings.
37. In November the Council replied. It apologised for the delay in replying to Mrs X. It sent the same instructions to Mrs X, as it had in July, about how to apply for an SMI discount.
38. A week later the Council issued a Council tax bill to Mrs X for the year 2023 – 2024.
39. In March 2024 Mrs X left the Council area. She told the Council she was moving to a new address.
40. The Council wrote to Mrs X at the end of July 2024. It sent her an SMI application form.
41. At the end of July 2024, in the Councils stage one complaint response to Mrs X, it invited her to complete an SMI application form. It said, to date, it had not received a completed application.

Application to reduce or write off Council Tax debt

42. In May 2024 Mrs X wrote to the Council to ask for it to use its discretionary powers to reduce or write off her council tax debt. She explained why she could not afford to pay her council tax.
43. A few days later, at the end of May an officer from the Council told Mrs X enforcement action would be paused while it considered her application to clear her Council tax debt. The officer said it would reply to her request within 10 working days.
44. At the start of June the Council told Mrs X it needed more time to consider her request for the Council to write off her council tax debt. It said it had extended the hold on recovery action and would respond within 10 working days.
45. In July 2024, in the Councils stage one complaint response to Mrs X, it invited her to complete an application form to apply to have her Council tax reduced or written off. It said it had not received a completed application.
46. In November 2024 the Council told Mrs X it had never received a completed application to have her debt written off or reduced.

Instalment Arrangements

47. In November 2023, in its response to Mrs X about her SMI application, the Council sent her a budget form and asked her to complete it. The Council told Mrs X it had set up a payment plan for her to pay it £250 per month. At this point, the Council had no knowledge of Mrs X’s income and expenditure. It did not know whether she could afford to repay £250 a month.

Complaint to the Council

48. In April 2024 Mrs X made a formal complaint to the Council. She complained she had been treated unfairly. She said the Council had not given her enough time to set up a payment plan, following issuing the final bill to her. She said the Council instructed enforcement agents too quickly. She said she was a vulnerable customer and referred to being disabled.
49. At the end of July, the Council made its reply to Mrs X at stage one of its complaint procedure.
50. It listed the complaint date as a date in July. Mrs X said she complained in April. The response is summarised below:
• the Council said it had once again paused recovery action,
• it gave Mrs X a breakdown of council tax she owed the Council, dating back to 2018,
• it summarised Mrs X’s contact with it,
• it acknowledged the contact in November where the Council arranged for a payment plan of £250 per month. It said it included a budget sheet for her to complete, and an application form for Mrs X to complete to apply for an SMI discount. The Council said Mrs X had not returned either document, to date,
• it said Mrs X had only made one payment of £250 since the plan was set up,
• in December 2023 the Council wrote to Mrs X warning of enforcement action and invited her to complete a budget form,
• it noted the contact Mr X (Mrs X’s partner) had with the enforcement agents in May and July 2024. It noted a payment Mr X made to the enforcement agents, and the enforcement agents’ invitation to complete an income and expenditure form with him, and
• the Council invited Mrs X to complete applications for the SMI reduction and the application to have her council tax reduced / written off, due to her extenuating circumstances.
51. Mrs X was unhappy with the response from the Council and asked the Council to escalate her complaint to stage two of its complaint process.
52. The Council made its stage two complaint response to Mrs X at the end of August. The Council apologised for the delay. It summarised the response at stage one. It explained Mrs X needed to follow the process outlined in Council policy, should she wish to apply for an SMI reduction, or have her council tax debt written off / reduced. The Council provided the forms Mrs X should complete and concluded its complaint process.

My findings

53. As part of this investigation, I made extensive enquiries of the Council. The Council has shown its willingness to receive the relevant applications from Mrs X, should she wish to have them considered. The Council has provided detailed information about its approach, and the intention to offer support to Mrs X, should she engage with it. The Council intends to extend the hold on recovery action until 31 July 2025 to allow time for Mrs X to contact it, once this investigation is complete, should she wish to. This approach is welcomed by the Ombudsman.

Recovery Action

54. The Council did not get a liability order for debt about years 2022 – 2023 and 2023 – 2024.
55. Enforcement agents visited Mrs X at home, in July 2024, about debt accrued before 2022. 
56. When the Council told Mrs X it was pausing recovery action while it considered her application to have her debt reduced, or written off, it was referring to debt accrued after 2022, and the debt which had not yet been considered by a court.
57. Regardless of this, 28 days passed between the Council telling Mrs X the recovery action was on hold, and the enforcement agents visiting her at home.
58. I find no fault with how the Council used enforcement agents to recover debt Mrs X owed it.

Application for Council Tax Reduction

59. The Council said it never received a completed SMI discount application from Mrs X.
60. The Councils policy (Council Tax reduction scheme) says that an applicant must complete the information requested by the Council, for it to consider an application for a council tax reduction or discount.
61. Where an applicant fails to complete the information requested, the policy says the Council should provide the applicant an opportunity to submit the necessary information. Since April 2023 the Council did this several times. The Council also invited Mrs X to contact it should she have issues completing the forms or need any more advice.
62. Mrs X told the Ombudsman she made complete applications to the Council. However, to date, we have not seen evidence of Mrs X completing the application process in full.
63. There were delays by the Council in responding to Mrs X. This exacerbated matters for Mrs X. This was due to widespread service failure. The Council said the team were experiencing a heavy workload at the time and therefore had a backlog to attend to. When the resources available to run a service outweigh demand, this is an inevitable consequence. However, we cannot criticise the Council because of this. This is outside the Councils control.
64. I find no fault with how the Council acted in relation to processing Mrs X’s SMI discount application.

Application to reduce or write off Council Tax debt

65. The Council said it never received a completed application from Mrs X for her to apply to the Council to reduce or write off her debt.
66. Council policy (Council Tax discretionary discount policy) says that to make an application to reduce or write off debt, an applicant should, in summary:
• Make a claim for this discount in writing, setting out the reasons for the claim,
• Sign a declaration, and
• Provide requested information in support of the application, within one calendar month.
67. A Council officer wrote to Mrs X in response to her letter asking for the Council to write off her debt; to tell her it would consider her application.
68. This led Mrs X to believe that the application was in motion.
69. The Council could have provided an explanation to Mrs X, about what she needed to submit to make this application when it received her letter in May 2024. It could have also done this in June 2024. There was no evidence in the correspondence between Mrs X and the Council, during May-June, about the application being deficient.
70. However, I do not find fault with the Council because of this. Since then, Mrs X was invited several times by the Council to make a complete application. To date, there is no evidence to suggest this has been made.

Instalment arrangements

71. The Council did not properly consider Mrs X’s outgoings, prior to organising a payment plan of £250 per month, in November 2023.
72. However, the Council invited Mrs X on several occasions to complete a budget form that highlighted income and expenditure. It did this on the date it set up the payment plan and invited her to contact the Council within 14 days to discuss her finances further. The Council said Mrs X did not do this. Mrs X said she did. I have not seen any evidence to suggest Mrs X sent the Council information it asked for about income and expenditure. I do not find fault with how the Council approached this matter.

Complaint to the Council

73. The way in which Mrs X complained was, in part, unusual. She did not always appear to follow usual processes and there was some discrepancy about the date of the initial complaint. This may have confused matters.
74. Mrs X said she made the first complaint in April. The Council said it received her complaint in July. This does create a significant delay for Mrs X, if the Council failed to register her complaint properly.
75. The stage two response arguably does not address all of Mrs X’s points. However, the points are inseparable from the matters that the Council would consider, should she complete the process fully to apply for the SMI discount, and the council tax reduction.
76. The possible delay does not impact the outcome of the complaints process undertaken by the Council. Mrs X has not suffered any injustice because of a possible delay in responding to stage one of her complaint.

Back to top

Decision

77. I do not find fault with the actions of the Council.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman