Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about enforcement action by the Council for council tax debt. This is because the Council has agreed to a suitable remedy and further investigation would be unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council has taken enforcement action against her for non-payment of council tax. She says she had paid council tax for the period she was resident in the property. She also says the Council overcharged her by taking a payment after she had told the Council she had moved.

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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 or continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X told the Council when she moved out of a property in 2020. She believed she had paid all council tax for the period she was resident. Two months after Miss X left the property the Council took a payment to cover the final month of council tax Miss X was liable for. Miss X then completed a direct debit reclaim and the payment was returned.
7. The Council says it recalculated Miss X’s council tax after she moved and there was an outstanding balance, caused by Miss X reclaiming the final direct debit payment. As it did not have an alternative address the Council continued to send correspondence to Miss X’s previous address. It says the letters were not returned and it received no response from Miss X. It did not try to find her new postal address, or to contact her by the email address it had for Miss X.
8. The debt remained outstanding so the Council issued a summons to Miss X in June 2024, again to her old address. In July 2024 the Council obtained a Liability Order from the court and the debt was passed to an enforcement agency in August 2024. The agency performed searches to identify Miss X’s current address and sent her an enforcement notice.
9. Miss X complained to both the agency and the Council. The Council’s responses were confusing and offered conflicting information about what happened, including which period the council tax debt related to. The Council also delayed responding to Miss X. This prevented the complaint being resolved in a timely way and caused Miss X more inconvenience and uncertainty.
10. If we were to investigate, it is likely we would find fault. This is because the Council should have made more effort to identify Miss X’s current address sooner. It was inappropriate for the Council to send the reminder and final notices to an address it knew she no longer lived at.
11. If not for the likely fault, it is likely Miss X would have contacted the Council without delay to resolve the matter. This is because she did not delay in contacting the Council once she received the enforcement notice. I am also satisfied that, if not for the likely fault, it is likely the Council would not have needed to take court action or to engage with the enforcement agency. Therefore, Miss X would not have incurred these additional fees.
12. I therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by the likely faults by completing the following:
• Write off the outstanding council tax debt of £171.98
• Waive any court or enforcement fees incurred. If Miss X has already paid these, the Council should refund her.
• Make a symbolic payment of £100 to recognise the time and trouble caused by the likely faults.

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Agreed action

13. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within four weeks of the final decision.

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Final decision

14. We have upheld this complaint because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman