Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a council tax single person discount. This is because the complaint is late and there is no good reason for this. Miss X could have appealed to a Tribunal and there is not enough evidence of fault in recent recovery action.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council did not properly consider her claim for a single person discount from 2021. It has unfairly taken recovery action for council tax arrears. She says it also failed to respond to provide a full statement showing the council tax, discounts and payments made. This caused her stress and anxiety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).
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.
5. 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
8. The Council replied it had asked Miss X for evidence a number of times and had set out the information needed in an email in April 2024. It advised Miss X she could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. The Council provided a breakdown of the council tax from April 2024 including discounts, council tax support and payments. It said it correctly pursued recovery of the council tax years 2024/5 and 2025/6.
9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a single person discount because it is late. Miss X was aware the Council had not applied a discount for 2021 and 2022 more than 12 months before she complained to the Ombudsman. There are no good reasons for the delay. Therefore, we will not exercise our discretion.
10. In addition, even if we were to exercise discretion to investigate, it is reasonable to expect Miss X to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal regarding the discount. The Council advised how she could do this in February 2026.
11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about more recent matters about the Council’s recovery action for 2024/5 and 2025/6 years, and the provision of statements regarding her account. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation. Councils are not required to hold recovery while a dispute or appeal is outstanding. The Council provided a satisfactory breakdown of the council tax years 2024/5 and 2025/6 in its response in February 2026.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a discount because it is late and there are no good reasons for this. Miss X could also appeal to a Tribunal. There is not enough evidence of fault regarding the Council’s recovery action from 2025.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman