Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of matters related to outstanding council tax on his account, and yearly council tax increases. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his council tax account and complaint. He says the Council sent him an Attachment of earnings order requiring deductions from his wage. He also complains about yearly council tax increases.

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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 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. We cannot investigate an action that we decide affects all or most of the people living in an organisation’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council investigated Mr X’s concerns and said no deductions were currently being made from his wages. It said it would consider and decide on his application for a reduction in council tax before contacting him to make payment arrangements. I appreciate Mr X is unhappy, but we could not add to the Council’s investigation on this matter. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
8. I cannot investigate any complaints about yearly council tax increases. Mr X’s concern is not unique to him and the law prevents us from investigating any action which affects most people living in the Council’s area.
9. It would not be a good use of public resources to investigate the Council’s complaint handling in isolation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman