City of Wolverhampton Council (24 018 280)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Aug 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax arrears because the complainant could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains about council tax arears for a property he left about eight years ago. He says the landlord told the Council he had left and that new tenants moved in. He says the Council sent letters to the wrong address. Due to the time that has passed, Mr X wants the Council to quash the liability order and pay compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and our Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council says that, over the years, it gave Mr X the chance to provide more information including information about where he was living and when. The Council invited him to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
- I will not start an investigation because Mr X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have appealed because the tribunal is the appropriate organisation to consider appeals about council tax liability. The tribunal would have decided if Mr X was liable to pay the council tax for the period requested by the Council. The tribunal is free to use and the appeals are heard by adjudicators who are council tax experts.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman