Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about council tax support and liability. This is because he had the right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal, and it is reasonable to expect him to have used it.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains:
• About his council tax reduction and liability.
• The council did not legally obtain the liability order it claims to have.
• About the conduct of the enforcement agents attending his property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
3. 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)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

Council Tax reduction and liability

7. Mr X disputes the Council’s decision about the amount of council tax reduction he was entitled to and about his household’s entitlement to council tax discounts and exemptions. The Valuation Tribunal can decide on those matters. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have appealed when he had the right because the Council told him on 13 May 2024 about his appeal right. We normally expect people to appeal because this is the route the law provides for such disputes; appealing is relatively straightforward and could have resulted in a binding decision.

Conduct of enforcement agents attending property

8. Mr X complained the enforcement agents who attended his property acted improperly. These events happened after Mr X’s complaint about other matters completed the complaint procedure. We have not seen evidence this point has been through the complaint procedure, so the restriction in paragraph 5 applies.
9. We see no good reason to investigate before the Council has had reasonable opportunity to deal with it. So, if Mr X wants to pursue this, he should take it through the Council’s complaint procedure first.

The notice of the liability order

10. Mr X complains states he has not seen a copy of the liability order. Mr X disagrees that the Council has shown proper evidence of a court liability order enabling the Council to recover the debt. It is for the courts, not the Ombudsman to interpret the law and decide lawfulness where this is disputed. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to take court action if he wants a decision on the lawfulness of the order. The Council provided him with details of how to contact the court.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his council tax liability because he had the right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and it is reasonable to expect him to have used it. The Council has not had a reasonable opportunity to consider the complaint about the enforcement agents. It is more appropriate for the court to decide the lawfulness of the claimed court order.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman