Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her council tax. This is because it is late and it is reasonable for her to appeal the council tax decision to the Tribunal. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to take enforcement action to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council wrongly removed her council tax reduction for the 2022/23 tax year. She says she asked the Council to review its decision in 2023, but it did not correct the error until 2025.
2. She also complains the Council continued recovery action despite its errors and has now refused to reconsider the 2022/23 bill.
3. Miss X says the matter has caused her stress, anxiety and financial hardship. She wants the Council to cancel enforcement action, compensate her for the distress and review its handling of council tax reductions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. 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)
7. 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. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right but cannot investigate if the person has already used it. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
8. The Valuation Tribunal considers appeals about council tax liability and council tax exemptions and discounts.

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How I considered this complaint

9. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
10. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

11. The law says we cannot generally investigate a late complaint, unless there are good reasons. If Miss X disagreed with her council tax liability for 2022/23, she could have complained to us at the time. I see no good reason why she could not have done so. Therefore, I will not investigate the Council’s decision on the 2022/23 bill.
12. The Council’s complaints policy allows it to refuse complaints that are older than 12 months. I am therefore satisfied the Council was entitled to refuse Miss X’s complaint about the handling of her 2022/23 tax bill. There is not enough evidence of fault on this point to justify us investigating.
13. In March 2025, after Miss X contacted the Council, it reviewed the decision again and awarded a reduction for a longer period. This reduced her 2022/23 bill.
14. I acknowledge there was an error in the Council’s initial reconsideration of the 2022/23 bill in June 2023. However, the Council has now corrected the 2022/23 bill and applied the council tax reduction. Therefore, there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. If Miss X still disagrees with the reduction applied it is reasonable for her to appeal the Council’s decision to the Valuation Tribunal.

Enforcement action

15. The Council can take recovery action for unpaid council tax where it has obtained a liability order. The law does not prevent a council from continuing recovery while a dispute about a reduction or exemption is ongoing. However, a council may choose to pause recovery if there is an active appeal.
16. After the Council reviewed the council tax reduction in June 2023, it was entitled to continue recovery action as Miss X had not made an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
17. I am satisfied the Council was entitled to continue recovery action in these circumstances, including using an attachment of earnings order. Miss X’s complaint to us does not prevent this. There is not enough evidence of fault on this point to justify us investigating.

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Final decision

18. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late and it is reasonable for her to appeal the council tax decision to the Tribunal. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s enforcement action.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman