Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about council tax liability. If Ms X disagrees with the Council’s decisions regarding her liability, there is a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal which is it reasonable for her to use.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council is holding her liable for council tax which she is not responsible for and unfairly pursuing her for the debt. She also complains about delays responding to her complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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 response, the Council has told Ms X it was reviewing her council tax liability for a period between 2012 and 2013 and would inform her once it had reached a decision. It maintained its position that she was liable for a period in 2014.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. We cannot determine liability for council tax, only a tribunal can do this. If Ms X disputes the Council’s position regarding her liability for either or both periods, it is reasonable for her to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
9. We will also not investigate her complaint about delays in complaint handling. It is not a good use of our resources to investigate complaints about complaints handling where we decide not to investigate the substantive matter. In any case, the Council has now responded to her complaint so an investigation would not achieve anything more.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because if she disputes her council tax liability, there is a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal which it is reasonable for her to use.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman