Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a council tax liability order. This is because we cannot investigate court proceedings. There is not enough evidence of fault in other matters to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council obtained a liability order against her using an unfair process. She said she now faces unreasonable costs and the threat of enforcement action. She would like the Council to withdraw enforcement action, cancel added fees and review its processes.

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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 a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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 use a fair process when it obtained a liability order against her for unpaid council tax.
8. In its complaint response, the Council explained it had issued Mrs X with a council tax bill in, followed by a reminder before it applied to court in May 2025.
9. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action. This includes the issuing of a summons and the level of court costs. If Mrs X disagrees with any legal basis for the summons, then she would need to take this up with the court.
10. We will not investigate the Council’s actions before the issue of the summons because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. The Council said it sent Mrs X the required council tax bill and reminder before it went to court.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot investigate court proceedings and there is not enough evidence of fault in other matters to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman