Summary: There was no fault in the way the Council dealt with collecting Mr X’s council tax. The Council was entitled to take enforcement action and use bailiffs when Mr X did not pay council tax.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained he changed his address with the Council, but it sent council tax bills to an old address so he did not get them. He said the Council will not discuss it with him or take the debt back from bailiffs.
2. Mr X said this caused unnecessary and avoidable distress, upset and stress. He said bailiffs came to his home address which caused his family distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information and documents provided by Mr X and the Council. I spoke to Mr X about his complaint. I considered the relevant legislation and statutory guidance, set out below.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments received before I reached a final decision.

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What I found

What should have happened

7. There are laws and regulations that control how councils collect council tax payments and how they can make people pay council tax they owe. (Council Tax [Administration and Enforcement] Regulations 1992)
8. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect this through monthly instalments. If a person who has to pay council tax misses any instalment, the council will send them a reminder. If they still do not pay, or miss another payment, then they must pay all they owe (that is the full amount for the rest of the year). Councils can use bailiffs if people do not pay their council tax.

What happened

9. In 2023, Mr X told the Council by phone and email that his company had changed his address.
10. In 2024, the Council sent a council tax bill to Mr X’s old address. This got returned to the Council. The Council checked with Companies House, and this showed Mr X’s company had changed address in 2023. The Council re-sent the council tax bill.
11. Mr X complained.
12. The Council said it did not know Mr X’s company had changed address until the council tax bill was returned. The Council said it had no record of Mr X telling the Council about the change of address.

Analysis

13. Mr X sent an email to a specific Council email address in late 2023. He said he also told the Council over the phone. The Council has no record of the phone call. We do not expect councils to have records of every phone call they receive. So I find no fault for the Council not having a record of this call.
14. The Council told the Ombudsman it had checked whether Mr X emailed the Council. It confirmed that Mr X had emailed that specific email address in late 2023. However, from at least January 2023, that email address was no longer in use. Anyone who sent an email to that address got an automatic response. The automatic response said the email inbox was not in use, and gave other ways to contact the Council.
15. Mr X said he did not know if he got that automatic response. He said he “always delete[s] these types of email acknowledgements”. Mr X said he uses letting agencies who send him bills, and he pays whatever bills he gets. He said he does not have time to keep up to date or check these things.
16. I am satisfied the Council had an automatic response set up for anyone who emailed that specific email address. It was Mr X’s responsibility to make sure the Council had the correct address. I am not persuaded the Council is at fault. For this reason, I do not find fault with the Council.

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Decision

17. I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman