Summary: Mrs X complains the Council wrongly set up a Council Tax account in her name, and instructed enforcement agents to collect the debt. We have concluded our investigation having made a finding of fault by the Council. The Council failed to recall the debt from the Enforcement Agent, resulting in the agent continuing to pursue the debt from Mrs X. The Council and Enforcement Agent has made a remedy payment to Mrs X and we consider this proportionate in the circumstances. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council wrongly set up a council tax account in her name for an address she did not live at and instructed enforcement agents to collect this debt. Mrs X says that as a result of the enforcement actions, she experienced significant distress and anxiety, fearing for her safety due to past experiences. Mrs X also says she incurred financial burdens due to borrowing money to address the perceived debts. Mrs X would like the Council to acknowledge its errors, cease enforcement actions related to the incorrect account, provide a suitable remedy or the distress caused.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. 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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

What I found

Council Tax

6. Every domestic property has a council tax band. The Valuation Office, which is part of central government, decides this. Therefore, we cannot investigate that decision. If someone wants to change their property’s council tax band they can apply to the Valuation Office and, if this is refused, they can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
7. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If the liable person misses any instalment, the council will send them 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)

Council tax - recovery summary

8. 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 enforcement agents may recover debts.
9. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If the liable person misses any instalment, the council will send them 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).
10. To use the various powers available to it to recover unpaid council tax, a council must apply to a magistrate’s court for a liability order against those it believes are liable. Once a council has a liability order it can take recovery action.
11. A liability order gives a council the legal power to take enforcement action to collect the council tax and court costs owed. The most commonly used powers are asking for 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 enforcement agents. The council can decide which recovery method to use but it can only use one method for one liability order at one time.
12. The ‘Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014’ sets out the fees an enforcement agent can charge when recovering debt.

What happened

13. I have included a summary of the key events in this complaint. This is not intended to a comprehensive account of everything that took place.
14. In January 2024, Mrs is contacted by enforcement agents regarding a Council Tax debt. She borrows money from a gentleman to settle perceived debts related to council tax
15. In May 2024 an enforcement agent knocks arrives at Mrs X property. Mrs X says this, caused her to panic, fearing it was her ex-partner and experienced anxiety and panic attacks as a result.
16. Later in May 2024, the Council contacted the enforcement agent to request that they cease enforcement actions against Mrs X.
17. Towards the end of May 2024, Mrs X submits her Stage 1 complaint to the Council, detailing the distress caused by the enforcement actions and the erroneous council tax account in her name.
18. The Council respond to Mrs X, stating that the account had been originally set up due to false information provided to it. The Council said it deleted the account but that it had been sent for recovery and not withdrawn. The Council acknowledge this as human error.
19. Mrs X appealed the Council’s decision. The Council again apologised to Mrs X reiterating that the matter had now been rectified and the Enforcement Agent informed. The Council also offered Mrs X an amount of £200 which it applied to her Council Tax account to reduce arrears.
20. At the end of May 2023, the enforcement agent responds to Mrs X’s concerns, indicating that they must follow the enforcement process until instructed otherwise by the Council. The Enforcement Agent apologise for the distress caused and offer £175 in goodwill compensation.
21. In June 2024 Mrs X responds to the previous offer and reiterates her concerns regarding the handling of her case and the enforcement actions. The Enforcement Agent reviewed the situation and increases the compensation offer to £250.

Analysis

Council tax account

22. The Council set up the council tax account based on false information it received, which indicated that Mrs X was liable for the property. As the Council was acting on the information provided at the time, arising from fraudulent or incorrect information, not from any action taken by the Council in setting up the account. On this point, I have not made a finding of fault.

Enforcement action

23. The enforcement action began when Mrs. X was contacted by enforcement agents in relation to a council tax debt that she claimed was not her responsibility. The continued when bailiffs attended her property. This caused Mrs X distress, resulting in increased anxiety. When the issue was brought to the Council's attention, it acknowledged that a mistake had been made, but the bailiffs were not immediately recalled. This led to repeated visits by enforcement agents. This is fault by the Council.
24. In May 2024, the Council admitted that the Council Tax account had been set up based on false information and that it had failed to recall the bailiffs in a timely manner. The Council credited Mrs. X’s current council tax account with £200 as a gesture of goodwill, and the enforcement agent offered a separate £250 compensation for the distress caused.
25. The fault in this case stems from the Council's failure to act promptly once it became aware of the erroneous council tax account, and its delay in recalling the enforcement agents.

Consideration of vulnerabilities

26. There is no evidence to suggest that the Council was aware of Mrs X's vulnerability before instructing enforcement agents. While this does not change the fact that enforcement action was taken against Mrs. X while she was vulnerable, I have not found fault with the Council regarding its consideration of her circumstances at that stage.
27. The Council reiterated to Mrs X that the enforcement agents were vulnerability trained but acknowledged the distress and upset imposed on Mrs X throughout these events.

Remedy awarded to Mrs X

28. The Council and the Enforcement Agent, have both acknowledged the distress caused to Mrs X as a result of the enforcement action. In response, the Council credited £200 to Mrs. X's council tax account as a goodwill gesture, reducing her overall debt. Additionally, the Enforcement Agent offered compensation of £250 after reviewing the case and considering Mrs X’s circumstances, particularly the anxiety and distress caused by the enforcement visits. This brings the total remedy offered to Mrs. X to £450, consisting of £200 from the Council and £250 from the Enforcement Agent.
29. I consider the combined remedy of £450 to be proportionate to the distress caused. Our guidance on remedies suggests that in cases where the complainant has experienced significant distress, a financial remedy of up to £500 is appropriate. Given the circumstances of Mrs. X’s vulnerability and the steps taken by both the Council and the Enforcement Agent to address the issue, the remedy offered is in line with our recommendations and adequately reflects the impact of the enforcement action on Mrs. X. On this point, I do not consider there is scope to increase the remedy award to Mrs X.

Service improvement

30. The Council said it has reminded the relevant staff about the correct process. However, I consider there is additional scope for service improvement by the Council to prevent similar occurrences.
31. Although I acknowledge the Council were not aware of Mrs X vulnerabilities prior to the enforcement agent taken in this complaint, there could be mechanisms in place to assess potential vulnerability earlier in the process, particularly when instructing enforcement agents; for example, asking residents at the billing stage if they have any vulnerabilities, which would be flagged for future reference.

Back to top

Agreed action

32. As per paragraph 29, I do not consider there is scope to increase the financial remedy awarded to Mrs X. This is because she has been provided with a total of £450, which is at the upper end of the maximum we can award for distress in these circumstances.
33. As per paragraph 30 and 31, the Council will:
1. Complete a review of its internal processes with a view to ensuring quicker action is taken to suspend or cancel enforcement proceedings as soon as it is aware of potential errors or issues with liability.
2. Complete a review of its council tax recovery process with a view to improving identification of vulnerabilities earlier.
34. The Council will complete its reviews and provide the Ombudsman with its outcome and any service improvements made to address these points. The Council will complete actions a and b within two months of the Ombudsman’s final decision.

Back to top

Final decision

35. I have concluded my investigation having made a finding of fault by the Council. The Council failed to recall the debt from the Enforcement Agent, resulting in the agent continuing to pursue the debt from Mrs X. The Council and Enforcement Agent has made a remedy payment to Mrs X, and we consider this proportionate in the circumstances. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman