Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful council tax payment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s response in relation to an unsuccessful council tax payment. He accuses the Council of corruption and says it has not provided any proof to support its response. He wants the evidence and an apology.

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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. (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 made a payment for his council tax on 30 June 2023; this was for the payment due on 1 July. In early August Mr X received a reminder for the July payment. The reminder asked him to pay the July payment within seven days and said the Council would take legal action if he did not pay.
5. Mr X contacted the Council and found out it had not received the payment he made on 30 June. Mr X spoke to his bank who said the payment was rejected by the Council’s bank. I have seen a screenshot which shows the payment left Mr X’s account on 30 June and was returned on the same day.
6. In response to his complaint the Council raised this as an issue with its bank. The bank checked the Council’s account and said it did not receive Mr X’s payment – the payment never reached the Council’s bank account. The bank said there were not any technical issues that day and payments were received from other people into the Council’s bank account.
7. The Council explained this to Mr X. Mr X was unhappy the Council only provided a summary of the bank’s advice. He wanted a copy of the full response and proof other people made successful payments that day. The Council explained it could not provide this evidence due to data protection.
8. The Council did not uphold Mr X’s complaint; it said it is his responsibility to ensure he pays the council tax. The Council said there was no evidence the payment reached its bank account and it could not find out what happened or why the payment was returned to Mr X’s bank. The Council denied Mr X’s request for compensation.
9. Mr X remains dissatisfied with the Council’s response. He says he was not aware the payment had been returned and he had spent the money. He found the reminder letter to be threatening and, because he felt forced to pay, had to make two payments in August which caused financial pressure.
10. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by Council. Mr X tried to pay his council tax and there is no suggestion he did anything wrong. But, equally, there is no evidence of fault by the Council. It responded appropriately by checking with its bank and explaining the outcome of those checks. As the Council did not receive the July payment it acted correctly by issuing a reminder. I appreciate Mr X thought the reminder was threatening but the Council used the standard wording and it has to make people aware of the consequences of not bringing their account up to date. Mr X says he was forced to make two payments in August; this is correct, but this is not due to fault by the Council but because he needed to pay the missing payment promptly.
11. Mr X says the Council did not notify him of the missed payment. However, the Council did notify him through the reminder, and the banking app showed the payment had been returned to his account. Council tax is a largely automated process and the Council does not have the resources to monitor individual accounts, or send notifications, outside the automated reminder process.
12. The Council took proportionate steps to try to find out what happened to the payment. But, while it established its bank did not receive the payment, it does not know what happened. It is unlikely that either the Council, or us, could find out why the attempted payment failed. Finally, there is no evidence of corruption as alleged by Mr X.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman