Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council told Mr X about his council tax appeal right. There is not enough evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council did not properly tell him about the deadline for appealing to the Valuation Tribunal against his council tax liability. Mr X says that this caused him to submit his appeal too late and the Valuation Tribunal would not hear it.

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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 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. Mr X believed that the Council incorrectly calculated his council tax and he asked for a refund. The Council decided the council tax was correct and sent a decision to Mr X. The Council told Mr X that he could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal within two months of the decision date.
6. Mr X complained to the Council about its decision. The Council issued first and second stage complaint responses to Mr X before the Valuation Tribunal appeal deadline expired. In both complaint responses the Council told Mr X that any dispute over council tax liability would need to go to the Valuation Tribunal.
7. There were also two other occasions before the appeal deadline expired when the Council told Mr X that he should to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he disputed the Council’s decision about his council tax.
8. Mr X appealed to the Valuation Tribunal after the two-month deadline had passed. The Valuation Tribunal declined to accept the appeal late.
9. Mr X says the Council’s complaint response should have told him how long he had left to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. However, the Council told Mr X in its original decision letter of his right of appeal to the valuation tribunal and the two- month deadline for doing so. Therefore, I am satisfied the Council properly advised Mr X of his appeal right and deadline. Mr X did not appeal before the deadline even though the Council told him four more times that this was his next step. I consider the Council was not at fault for not reiterating the appeal period and deadline in its later communications. It had already told Mr X what the appeal period was.

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Final decision

We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council in how it told Mr X about his council tax appeal right.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman