Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about Council tax arrears. We are satisfied with the action the Council has proposed to take. Other parts of the complaint are late.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to notify her of her council tax liability in a timely manner, and referred her council tax debt to an enforcement agency following a liability order. She said she was also unhappy with the conduct of enforcement agents. Mrs X said the behaviour of the enforcement agents distressed her and her family. She would like the Council to stop using enforcement agents and enforcement fees to be removed. She would also like the conduct of the enforcement agents to be investigated.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mrs X complained the Council did not tell her about her council tax liability in a timely manner and then passed her debt to an Enforcement Agency.
8. Mrs X purchased her property in 2020, before the property had received a council tax band valuation from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The Council informed Mrs X of her council tax liability in early 2022, when it had received council tax band information from the VOA.
9. In its complaint response, the Council stated it had taken enforcement action against Mrs X most recently in May 2024, before passing Mrs X’s council tax debt to an Enforcement Agency.
10. The Council informed Mrs X of her council tax bill in 2022, it also passed her council tax debt to enforcement agents in 2024. Mrs X did not complain to the Ombudsman about these matters until August 2025. Therefore, these parts of the complaint are late and we should not investigate. We have discretion to set aside this restriction where we decide there are good reasons. In this case I have decided not to exercise discretion because it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have complained to us about the council tax bill, and how the Council managed recovery action sooner.
11. Mrs X also complained to the Council about the conduct of the Enforcement Agents. She said they had rejected her proposed payment plan, wrongly seized items and their behaviour was distressing. In its complaint response, the Council referred Mrs X to make a complaint directly to the Enforcement Agency. It stated if she was unhappy with the Enforcement Agency’s response, the Council would investigate the matter further.
12. Following contact with the Council, it agreed to refer Mrs X’s complaints regarding the Enforcement Agents to the Enforcement Agency and ask them to provide Mrs X with a complaint response. We are satisfied with this approach.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has proposed to take. Other parts of the complaint are late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman