Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a council tax bill. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or significant injustice to warrant investigation. Mr A could have appealed to a Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains on behalf of her parents Mr and Mrs A that the Council sent them a very high backdated council tax bill, but it did not explain the reasons for this. It then sent a further even higher backdated bill. This caused Mr and Mrs A anxiety and financial difficulty.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. 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)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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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. Mrs X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
7. The Council replied in June 2025 that Mr A was not entitled to council tax support from 2021 due to his and his wife’s income. It asked for further information regarding their income from 2011. It explained it is the claimant’s responsibility to inform the Council of changes in income and circumstances.
8. The Council later revised Mr A’s council tax support further as it said it had not received all the information it asked for. It said Mr A was not entitled to council tax support from 2011 to 2024. It said that it would send a new council tax bill. The Council gave details how Mr A could appeal its decision to the Valuation Tribunal.
9. Mrs X arranged a meeting to discuss Mr X’s council tax and council tax support. Mr X made a payment agreement with the Council.
10. The Council correctly reviewed Mr A’s council tax support. This led to a very high council tax bill. There is not enough evidence of fault here to justify investigation.
11. There may have been delay in responding to Mrs X’s enquiries. However, the Council provided information in June, and met with Mrs X to explain the matter further. The injustice due to the delay her is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
12. It is reasonable to expect Mr A to have appealed the Council’s council tax support decisions if he disagrees. The Council explained how he could do this in September 2025.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault or significant injustice to warrant investigation. Mr A could appeal the Council decisions to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman