Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council could not trace his Council Tax payment. This is because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s previous investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has not found a £250 Council Tax payment he says he made in 2024. He wants the Council to investigate and find his payment.

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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, or
• any outstanding injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
  (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, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. I have reviewed the Council’s complaint responses to Mr X, and emails and records it provided as evidence of its investigation into this matter.
5. In the Council’s emails, its staff discussed findings from checking different payment channels and different card details for Mr X’s payment. This included further checks after Mr X said he had initially given the Council incorrect information about the payment type and card. There was a period of no internal communication between December 2024 and February 2025.
6. In its complaint responses to Mr X, the Council accepted fault for its delay investigating Mr X’s payment. It apologised for the inconvenience to Mr X. It also agreed to waive Mr X’s court summons and liability order fees relating to Council Tax, which he incurred earlier in 2024. This amounted to around £100 of fee waivers. The Council did not uphold Mr X’s complaint that it had not found his alleged payment.
7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The Council has already accepted fault for delaying its investigation. Its apology and fee waivers are an appropriate remedy. There is not enough remaining injustice to justify us investigating this issue further.
8. Mr X also complains the Council has not found his payment. The Council has evidenced the extensive steps it took to investigate this matter. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our investigation, and it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s investigation. Another body may be better placed to investigate, such as Mr X’s bank through a transaction dispute.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s previous investigation of this matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman