Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about council tax court costs because the matter has been considered in court and the complainant could have challenged the costs in court. In addition, the complainant could complain to the Information Commissioner.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, says the Council charged excessive court costs in relation to council tax arrears and has not responded to his request for information about the costs. Mr X wants the Council to waive the costs and pay compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. It is our decision whether to start an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and a Freedom of Information reply (FOI). I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In March 2023 the court issued a liability order for council tax arrears plus costs of £80.
7. Mr X says the costs are excessive. In June 2024 he made a FOI request to the Council asking for a breakdown of how the costs were calculated. The Council provided a detailed breakdown of the costs. The Council said Mr X could ask for a review if he disagreed with the reply.
8. Mr X disagrees with the figures in the FOI reply and maintains it does not cost the Council £80 to serve a summons. Mr X says the Council has not responded to his complaint. Mr X wants the Council to waive the costs.
9. The court confirmed Mr X must pay £80 in court costs. We have no power to investigate a matter that has been considered in court. Mr X would need to challenge the court’s decision over the costs in court. He may first wish to take advice as he may be too late to challenge the liability order and costs. If Mr X is too late to challenge the costs in court that does not mean it is a complaint we can investigate.
10. The Council did respond to Mr X’s enquiry through the FOI reply. If Mr X thinks the figures in the FOI reply are wrong he can appeal to the Information Commissioner. It is reasonable for him to do this because the ICO is the appropriate organisation to consider complaints about FOI replies.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate this complaint because the matter has been considered in court and Mr X could have challenged the costs in court. In addition, Mr X could complain to the ICO.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman