London Borough of Croydon (25 009 085)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure bill Mrs X for council tax for over a year. This is because the Council has already remedied any injustice, she suffered due to this matter through its complaints process.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained the Council wrongly closed her council tax account then sent her a bill over a year later.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X complained to the Council because she did not receive a council tax bill for over a year. The Council said it closed her account in error when it received information showing a new tenant had moved into her property. The Council partially upheld her complaint and offered £400 as a goodwill award. The Council also explained it would remove recovery costs and offer Mrs X an affordable payment plan once the account had been through its recovery process.
- Mrs X wants us to find the Council at fault. The Council has admitted fault and offered a proportionate remedy to address the injustice Mrs X suffered. This is what we would expect the Council to do. We will not investigate this matter as it has already been appropriately dealt with through the complaints process.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the Council has already remedied any injustice she suffered due to this matter through its complaints process.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman