Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax billing. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council provided inconsistent information about her council tax billing after she moved into a shared property in October 2024. She said she was initially told she was not liable for council tax, but the Council then contacted her asking for money. She said the Council failed to respond to her complaints about the matter.
2. Miss X said she is a vulnerable adult and the Council’s actions have caused her distress. She wants the Council to apologise and backdate her exemption.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint for the following reasons.
• The Council’s complaint response confirms it did not receive evidence of Miss X’s exemption until January 2025. Therefore, we would not be critical of it billing her landlord for council tax before this date. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
• Miss X is not liable for the council tax at the property where she lives; her landlord is. Any bills issued by the Council after she moved into the property were addressed to her landlord, not her. Although Miss X may have felt distressed by the Council issuing council tax bills to her landlord, we would not consider the Council’s actions had caused her a significant injustice.
• In its complaint response, the Council accepted there was a delay in it processing Miss X’s exemption. It said despite receiving the necessary information in January, it did not apply the exemption until April 2025. The Council has apologised for that delay and offered a remedy of £100. That remedies any injustice caused. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.
7. Following the Council’s complaint response, Miss X said the Council still owed her money for payments she had made against the council tax account. The Council has confirmed it did not collect any money through a direct debit set up by Miss X. If the Council needs to reimburse any money, that would be a matter between the Council and Miss X’s landlord as the person liable for the council tax account.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman