London Borough of Lambeth (24 015 436)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his Council Tax query. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his Council Tax query. He says the Council is billing him incorrectly and should remove an empty house premium and apply the single persons discount.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- If we investigated this complaint, it is likely that we would find the Council at fault. Mr X has provided evidence of him contacting the Council in June, July and August 2024 with information to support his claim that changes should be made to his billing. The Council has been unable to show that it considered this information.
- We therefore invited the Council to consider remedying the injustice this caused by apologising to Mr X. It should also consider the information he provided and write to him with an outcome about this, along with confirming his right to appeal any decision made to the Valuation Tribunal.
Agreed Action
- To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within one month of the final decision.
Final decision
- We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman