Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the administration of a council tax account as the Council has provided a satisfactory remedy and we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant seeks.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council was late in sending him a council tax bill, despite him having been rehoused at the new address by it, and that this left him with large arrears. Mr X also complains the Council lied in court, to obtain a council tax liability order, about the date it became aware of the tenancy. Mr X says he and his wife are disabled and this caused them worry and to be fearful of enforcement agents attending his home. Mr X wants the Council to pay compensation and assistance to take action against the Council officer that attended the court hearing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
3. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. In its complaint responses to Mr X, the Council acknowledged there had been an internal communication failure which led to delay in the council tax account being set up and the recovery action taken. It apologised for the stress and inconvenience caused, cancelled the liability order and removed extra costs that had been added to the account. It also awarded a discretionary council tax reduction which cleared Mr X’s liability for 2023/24. The Council has told me it awarded a further large discretionary reduction for 2024/25.
8. While I recognise Mr X seeks additional compensation, I consider the actions of the Council and the reduction in council tax liability represent a satisfactory outcome to the complaint. We will not therefore investigate.
9. We cannot investigate what took place at the liability order hearing in court as the law does not give us any remit over what takes place in court hearings. We cannot therefore investigate any matter in relation to this.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has provided a satisfactory remedy, and we cannot investigate what was said in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman