Summary: We have not found fault in the Council’s handling of Mr X’s council tax arrears, the enforcement fees, the repayment arrangement, or his vulnerability and affordability.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to properly explain council tax arrears and enforcement agent fees added to his account. He says the Council and its enforcement agent gave unclear and inconsistent information about what he owed, how payments had been allocated, and why his repayment arrangement was increased. He says the Council did not properly consider his vulnerability, health, financial circumstances and wider household situation before continuing recovery action. Mr X wants the Council to provide a clear breakdown of the debt and fees, review the payment arrangement, and consider whether recovery action remains appropriate in light of his circumstances.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

3. Mr X also complains about enforcement fees added in 2020 and 2021.
4. These fees relate to recovery action which took place several years ago. Given the time that has passed, it would now be difficult to establish reliably what enforcement action occurred and whether the relevant fees were properly incurred. That would limit my ability to reach a sound finding on the historic events.
5. Enforcement Agent A has also confirmed all the enforcement cases have now been cleared. There is therefore no ongoing recovery action arising from those fees. The practical issue now would be limited to whether any historic fee should be refunded.
6. Taking these factors together, I do not consider there is sufficient reason to investigate the fees added in 2020 and 2021.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mr X and the Council were offered an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. There were no comments made in response to my draft decision.

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What I found

Law and guidance

Council tax

9. Council tax is a local tax charged on domestic properties. Councils issue bills setting out the amount due and the instalments to be paid. The amount may be reduced where a person qualifies for a discount, exemption or council tax support.

Recovery of unpaid council tax

10. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 set out the process councils must follow when recovering unpaid council tax.
11. Where a person does not pay as required, the council may issue a reminder and summons and apply to the magistrates’ court for a liability order. Once the court grants a liability order, the council may take further recovery action, including using enforcement agents.

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What happened

12. The following is a summary of the key events relevant to my investigation. It does not include everything that happened.
13. Mr X and Ms S had council tax arrears at their former address. The Council obtained a liability order on 24 February 2025.
14. Before the hearing, the Council agreed Mr X could repay the arrears by eight monthly payments of £150 and a final payment of £154.70. Mr X did not maintain the arrangement in line with its terms, so the Council referred the debt to its enforcement agent, Enforcement Agent A, in May 2025.
15. Enforcement Agent A added compliance and enforcement fees. It later attended Mr X’s address as part of its recovery action.
16. In July 2025, Ms S contacted the Council. She said Mr X was disabled, had severe depression and that the family was experiencing financial hardship following a house move. She asked the Council to intervene because Enforcement Agent A was seeking payments the household could not afford.
17. The Council contacted Enforcement Agent A and asked it to accept £150 per month. Mr X then made payments of £150 to Enforcement Agent A.
18. On 7 October 2025, the Council instructed Enforcement Agent A to increase the arrangement to £300 per month. The Council says it did so because Mr X had not made payments towards the council tax at his current address. Enforcement Agent A confirmed Mr X had maintained the £150 arrangement and that the instruction to increase the payment came from the Council.
19. Mr X disputed the increase and said he did not understand why the balance remained high despite the payments he had made. He also questioned some enforcement fees and asked for a full breakdown.
20. Enforcement Agent A provided statements in October 2025 showing the separate enforcement cases, fees, payments and how payments had been allocated. The Council later provided Mr X’s MP with a further explanation of the total debt, payments and fees.
21. The Council also considered an application from Mr X for a discretionary council tax reduction. It refused the application after considering the household’s income and expenditure and gave Mr X a right of appeal.
22. Enforcement Agent A has since confirmed all the enforcement cases have been cleared and that it received the final payment on 2 April 2026.

Response to our enquiries

23. As part of my investigation, I made enquiries to the Council. Of note, it said:
• the court granted a liability order on 24 February 2025;
• the Council had agreed a repayment arrangement with Mr X, but he did not maintain it, so it referred the account to Enforcement Agent A in May 2025;
• Enforcement Agent A added the statutory compliance and enforcement fees;
• the Council was told about Mr X’s and his household’s vulnerability in July 2025 and passed that information to Enforcement Agent A;
• it asked Enforcement Agent A to accept £150 per month so Mr X could also maintain his current council tax;
• it instructed Enforcement Agent A on 7 October 2025 to increase the arrangement to £300 because Mr X had not made payments towards his current-year council tax;
• it did not complete a formal affordability or vulnerability assessment before increasing the arrangement;
• Enforcement Agent A provided Mr X with statements in October 2025 showing the enforcement cases, fees and payment allocation;
• it had no record of receiving a formal complaint; and
• all the debts relating to the former address have now been cleared.

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Analysis

Recovery of the council tax arrears

24. The Council obtained a liability order on 24 February 2025 for council tax arrears relating to Mr X’s former address.
25. Before the hearing, the Council agreed that Mr X could repay the arrears by eight monthly payments of £150 and a final payment of £154.70. The arrangement was due to run from February to October 2025.
26. The Council says Mr X made the first payment late and that the following payment was both late and below the agreed amount. It therefore considered the arrangement had not been maintained and referred the debt to Enforcement Agent A in May 2025.
27. The evidence supports that Mr X did not keep to the arrangement as agreed. The Council had already given him an opportunity to repay the arrears by instalments before referring the account for enforcement. When the arrangement was not maintained, it was entitled to resume recovery action.
28. I therefore do not find fault in the Council’s decision to refer the debt to Enforcement Agent A.

Enforcement fees and balance explanation

29. When the Council referred the debt to Enforcement Agent A, Enforcement Agent A added a £75 compliance fee and a £235 enforcement fee. These were the standard fees applied at the relevant stages of enforcement.
30. Mr X said he did not understand why the balance remained high despite the payments he had made. He believed enforcement fees of about £895 had been added to the liability order obtained in February 2025.
31. However, the evidence shows Enforcement Agent A was recovering several separate council tax debts, including older liability orders. The total balance therefore included historic council tax arrears and enforcement fees from more than one case, not only the debt referred in May 2025.
32. In October 2025, Enforcement Agent A sent Mr X statements showing the separate cases, the fees charged, the payments received and how those payments had been divided between the council tax debt and enforcement fees. It also explained that the fees were charged at different stages of enforcement.
33. Mr X remained concerned about some older fees. I have explained separately why I have not investigated whether the fees added in 2020 and 2021 were properly incurred.
34. Mr X’s MP later contacted the Council. In its response, the Council provided a further breakdown of the total debt, payments and fees and explained that several liability orders had been referred to Enforcement Agent A.
35. Although Mr X continued to dispute some of the historic charges, I am satisfied he was given sufficient information to understand why the balance was higher than his calculation based only on the February 2025 liability order. I therefore do not find fault in the explanation provided about the balance and enforcement fees.

Increase in the repayment arrangement

36. In July 2025, the Council asked Enforcement Agent A to accept payments of £150 per month. It says this was intended to allow Mr X to pay the arrears while also maintaining the council tax due at his current address. Mr X then kept to the £150 arrangement with Enforcement Agent A.
37. On 7 October 2025, the Council instructed Enforcement Agent A to increase the monthly payment to £300. Enforcement Agent A confirmed the increase was made at the Council’s direction and was not because Mr X had failed to pay the agreed £150.
38. The Council says it increased the payment because Mr X had made no payments towards the council tax at his current address. It says an officer had monitored that account and decided the lower arrangement should no longer continue.
39. The evidence does not include every bill issued for the current address or the complete payment history. The later schedule showing payments from December 2025 does not establish what instalments had previously been due, as the account may have been recalculated during the year.
40. The Council’s records say an officer monitored the account and found Mr X had made no payments towards his current council tax. There is no evidence showing he had made payments towards that account before the Council reviewed the arrangement. On balance, I accept the Council’s account. It was entitled to take this into consideration and increase the amount being paid towards the arrears. I therefore do not find fault.

Consideration of affordability and vulnerability

41. Mr X says the Council failed to take proper account of his disability, mental health, bereavement and financial circumstances.
42. The evidence shows the Council was aware of these matters. In July 2025, Ms S told it about Mr X’s disability and severe depression, the family’s recent house move and financial difficulties. She said the amount sought by Enforcement Agent A was unaffordable and asked the Council to intervene.
43. The Council passed this information to Enforcement Agent A and asked it to accept £150 per month. This was lower than the amount Enforcement Agent A had sought and was intended to allow Mr X to pay both the arrears and his current council tax.
44. When Mr X later asked the Council to reduce the arrears, it invited him to apply for a discretionary council tax reduction and provide supporting financial information. The Council considered his application, bank statements, income and expenditure. It decided the household had sufficient income to meet payments of £300 per month to Enforcement Agent A alongside the current council tax and gave Mr X a right of appeal.
45. The Council accepts it did not complete a separate formal vulnerability or affordability assessment before increasing the arrangement. However, the evidence shows it had already considered Mr X’s circumstances in substance when it intervened and secured the £150 arrangement. It was also entitled to review that concession when Mr X did not maintain payments towards his current council tax. The later discretionary reduction assessment provided a further, detailed review of his income and expenditure, although it was not the basis of the earlier decision.
46. Mr X’s vulnerability did not prevent the Council from continuing to recover a valid debt or require it to accept his preferred level of payment indefinitely.
47. I therefore do not find fault in the Council’s consideration of Mr X’s affordability and vulnerability.

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Decision

48. I have completed my investigation. I have not found fault in the Council’s recovery of the council tax arrears, its explanation of the balance and enforcement fees, its decision to increase the repayment arrangement, or its consideration of Mr X’s affordability and vulnerability.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman