London Borough of Newham (25 014 825)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mrs X’s council tax account. We could not add to the investigation the Council has already done. Additionally, we are satisfied with the Council’s actions so have ended our assessment.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained the Council had not applied a Debt Relief Order (DRO) and council tax reduction to her account. Mrs X also said the Council’s communication with her about these matters was poor.
- Mrs X said this caused distress.
- Mrs X wants the Council to amend her account correctly and ensure bills are sent to her via post.
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 organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
- If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our assessment and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and s34H(1), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The matters that Mrs X complained about were resolved by the Council prior to our assessment of her complaint.
- Following its consideration of Mrs X’s complaint, the Council applied the DRO and council tax reduction to her account. The Council also apologised to Mrs X and agreed to change how council tax bills were sent to her.
- We will not investigate this complaint. We could not add to the investigation the Council has already carried out, and we are satisfied with the actions it took so have completed our assessment.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we could not add to the investigation the Council has already done, and we are satisfied with the actions the Council took so have ended our assessment.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman