London Borough of Lewisham (25 018 315)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax payments because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Ms X complains that the Council failed to notify her of an increased Council tax payment from her Direct Debit.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X says that an increased payment of Council tax was taken from her bank account without prior notification which caused her stress.
- The Council says that the increase was due to a change in her liability as her student liability ended on 31 May 2024 rather than the previously assumed 31 July 2024.
- In July 2025 the Council wrote to her to advise her that her single person’s discount had been removed from 1 April 2024 and a notification was sent to her online to advise her of the increased bills (for 2024 and 2025).
- Ms X says that she had problems with her online account. The Council says that there was no evidence of problems with her online account and previous communications had advised her of the ability to access bills online.
- I am satisfied that there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council as the notification was sent online. There is no evidence that the online account was faulty or that Ms X could not have accessed her bills and communication online. The Council also advised her that she could de-activate her online account if she preferred written communication.
- There is also a dispute service available through the Bank’s Direct Debt service if Ms X maintains that no proper notification was made. Ms X would nevertheless, have still had to pay the increased Council tax.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman