Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Ms X’s council tax. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for this. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation into more recent matters.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains on behalf of her daughter Ms X the Council unfairly pursued council tax arrears from 2021 when she had made payments. Mrs X said the Council sent letters by post which caused her anxiety and distress. She also said summons costs were not removed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).
3. 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 (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. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X complained to the Council in April 2024 that she was not aware of council tax arrears from 2020/21. She said she paid as agreed but the Council unfairly passed the account to enforcement agents.
7. The Council replied in May and June 2024 explaining the actions it had taken and payments received from March 2021. In August 2024 the Council provided more information about payments and how they were allocated. Although it stated there was no fault in its recovery action, it removed summons costs for two years. It recalled the account from its agent and offered a payment plan of £5 per month.
8. In March 2025 Mrs X complained the Council failed to send Miss X council tax correspondence by email. She said letters caused her stress and she needed support with her council tax due to her mental health. Mrs X said Miss X had paid agreed payment arrangements from October 2022, but the Council said she owed money. Mrs X considered payments were allocated incorrectly to older years.
9. The Council replied that it had already responded to the complaint in 2024.
10. Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman in July 2025 that the Council had not removed summons costs of £187 as agreed. She said the Council now raised money owed from 2017-2021 and amounts kept changing. She said copies of summonses now provided did not have Miss X’s address.
11. Miss X’s complaint about arrears from 2020 is late as it is about matters she was aware of more than 12 months before she complained to the Ombudsman.
12. Even if we were to exercise our discretion to investigate the late complaint, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation. The Council has explained how it has allocated payments. It is not fault to allocate payments to older arrears where payments do not match the arrangement. Councils must send certain letters and notices by post in accordance with regulations.
13. We cannot investigate the summonses sent to Miss X as we cannot investigate the start of court proceedings as set out in paragraph 4.
14. Mrs X said the Council unfairly referred to arrears from 2017-2021, but there is no evidence of this being part of recovery after 2023. Mrs X said the Council did not remove summons costs as agreed in August 2024. The Council has provided evidence the summons costs were removed. Therefore, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for this. There is not enough evidence of fault regarding more recent matters to justify an investigation. The start of court proceedings is out of our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman