Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax payment dates because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, X, complains the Council only offers flexible payment dates to people who pay their council tax by direct debit. She says this is based on policy not statute and the Council should not issue reminders if this arbitrary date is not met.

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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 X. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered the council tax regulations and our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The Council offers four council tax payment dates for people who pay by direct debit. People who choose not to pay by direct debit must pay by the first of the month. If people do not pay, or pay late, councils issue a reminder. If a person pays late more than twice during a financial year, they lose the right to pay by instalment.
5. X does not pay by direct debit and does not think she should be restricted to one payment date. From the documents I have seen, it appears she pays towards the end of the month. X complained to the Council about the preference it gives to direct debit payers and said the practice is based on policy rather than legislation. She disagrees with the Council’s explanations and does not accept that direct debit is cheaper or more efficient.
6. The Council explained the law allows it to decide what payment dates to offer. It explained the advantages of direct debit and why it issues reminders for late payment. The Council said she could pay, in advance, at the end of each month, provided she allowed enough time for the payment to reach the account by the first day of the following month. The Council denied the practice is discriminatory because anyone can choose or reject payment by direct debit. It explained it offers more dates for direct debit as an incentive.
7. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The law says council tax must be paid as specified on the bill and it is for each council to decide how bills must be paid. This means councils can choose the payment methods and payment dates. There is nothing in the legislation to prevent the Council offering more dates to direct debit payers. The regulations say councils can take recovery action, initially through reminders, if a person does not pay as specified on the bill. X pays her council tax but because she pays late, at least for some months, the Council can issue a reminder and could, after a third late payment, require immediate payment of the full council tax. I appreciate X would like to pay later in the month, and not by direct debit, but this is not an option the Councils offers.
8. There is nothing in the Council’s response to indicate we need to start an investigation. X disagrees with the Council’s statement that direct debit is more efficient and says the Council has not provided supporting evidence, but these are not issues that require an investigation. The Council can choose the payment methods and that choice remains regardless of whether X disagrees with the reasons or explanations. X has questioned why she has received reminders but this is likely to continue if she does not pay as stated on the bill.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman