Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her mother’s council tax account. She says the Council did not send council tax bills in a timely manner, failed to send the notice to the correct address, and did not follow the correct proceed to recover the debt. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s handling of her mother’s council tax account. She complains the Council failed:
• To send council tax bills in a timely manner.
• To send the council tax notice to the correct address.
• To follow the correct process to recover the outstanding council tax bill.

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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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X’s mother, Ms Z, owned a property, Property 1. This property was previously owned by Miss X’s father.
6. Miss X said Ms Z wrote to the Council in February 2019 to notify it of the change of ownership of the property and to provide the new correspondence address for any correspondence, including council tax bills, for Property 1. The Council said he had no record of this letter and that it was not received.
7. Miss X said the Council only sent a final notice for the payment of outstanding council tax in August 2024. This notice was sent to Miss X’s father. Miss X said this final notice detailed court costs were added on. Miss X said they wrote to the Council on the same day the notice was received to challenge the amount being claimed and for the court costs to be removed.
8. In response to our enquiries, the Council provided copies of all council tax bills and notices that it issued to Miss X’s father at his address. These bills and notices clearly detailing the outstanding council tax due. A summons was also issued to Miss X’s father’s address by the court.
9. Miss X says the Council was at fault for not sending the council tax bills and notices to Ms Z at her address. However, the Council said it had not been notified about the change in ownership and correspondence address.
10. Therefore, there is some dispute over whether Ms Z did notify the Council about the change of ownership and forwarding correspondence. There is a conflict in the evidence as the Council states it never received this letter, but Miss X has provided a photocopy of the letter they said was sent. I do not consider I can say, even on balance, the Council did receive the updated correspondence address.
11. Nevertheless, I am satisfied we would not find fault with the Council even if it had been notified of the different address. This is because council tax legislation outlines the hierarchy of liability for council tax and this hierarchy determines who is responsible for paying council tax at a property.
12. Miss X’s father is still registered on the land registry as the registered owner of Property 1. Therefore, under the hierarchy of liability, Miss X’s father is legally responsible for paying the council tax at Property 1. Therefore, it was appropriate for the Council to issue the council tax bills and notices to him.
13. If Miss X’s father did not consider he was liable for the payment of council tax, or considered the Council was sending the correspondence to the wrong person, it was reasonable for him to have notified Ms Z or the Council of this.
14. Further, we are not likely to find fault with the process the Council took to recover the outstanding debt as the evidence shows the Council followed the correct process. The evidence shows the Council appropriately issued bills and a final notice, before issuing a summons, and then obtaining a liability order from the court.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman