Gedling Borough Council (24 003 004)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Jul 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s council tax account as the matter is now resolved.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council took over seven months to accept he had moved into a new property. Mr X says he provided several documents to prove this and found it frustrating and stressful that the Council did not accept this evidence. Mr X wanted the Council to accept his new address and update its records accordingly.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In the period after Mr X complained to us, the Council provided a complaint response to him which confirmed it had updated its records and explained what had taken place. While the Council explained that due to the circumstances of Mr X’s move, it did need to ensure his occupancy at the address was valid, it acknowledged it had taken too long to do this. The Council apologised to Mr X for its delay.
- Mr X updated us and while he was not entirely satisfied with the Council’s explanation, he indicated he did not wish us to pursue the matter.
- We have limited resources and must direct them to the most serious of cases. Given the Council provided the outcome Mr X sought from his complaint to us, we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has now resolved this matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman