Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled Miss X’s council tax accounts. This is because we are unlikely to add anything further to the Council’s response.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council sent her court summons for council tax bills she says she had already paid. She says the Council transferred money from her sole council tax account without her permission to a joint account she previously held with someone else. Miss X says the Council staff were rude and the situation caused her stress and upset. She wants the Council to issue an apology and provide her with compensation for the stress and the time taken to resolve the matter.

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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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. 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 s34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X initially had a joint council tax account. There was a change in her circumstances, and she changed this to a sole account. There was an outstanding balance owed on the joint account. The Council issued bills at the same time to Miss X for both accounts.
7. Miss X called the Council after receiving letters and court summons for council tax she believed she had already paid. Following that conversation, Miss X sent an email with evidence of a payment she had made.
8. Miss X complained the Council transferred money from her solo account to the joint account without her permission. She also says she was given incorrect advice each time she called the Council about the matter. The Council carried out an investigation. It explained at the time it did not have a system in place to record telephone calls. It therefore was unable to verify exactly what was discussed, so it had to rely on notes that were manually added to accounts.
9. The Council explained to Miss X there had been a misunderstanding about which account the payment she had made was supposed to go to. It said a payment was incorrectly allocated to the joint account and this increased the monthly instalments Miss X was due to pay on her sole account.
10. The Council upheld Miss X’s complaint and issued her an apology. It told Miss X both accounts were up to date with no outstanding balances. It said it would transfer the payment she had made back to her solo account if she wished. However, this would produce a bill for the equivalent amount for the joint account which she was partly liable for. I am satisfied the Council remedied any injustice Miss X suffered and we are unlikely to add anything further to its response.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we are unlikely to add anything further to the Council’s response.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman