Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to comply with a Data Subject Access Request because there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. We will also not investigate Mr Y’s complaint about how the Council handled his Council Tax account because parts of the complaint are outside our jurisdiction. We are unlikely to find fault with the remaining issues complained about.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains about the Council’s failure to comply with a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR). He also complains about the Council’s handling of his Council Tax account, and the actions of enforcement agents instructed by the Council.

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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 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 another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

4. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
6. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Mr Y and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. Mr Y complained to the Council about his Council Tax account. The Council decided its Monitoring Officer was best placed to deal with this, who responded to Mr Y.
10. Mr Y says the Council did not comply with a DSAR, and its response failed to address his original request. We will not investigate this part of the complaint because the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is better placed to consider this. Mr Y can raise a complaint to the ICO about the Council’s failure to comply with a DSAR.
11. Mr Y’s complaint included concerns he raised about his Council Tax liability and the Council’s handling of his Council Tax account. If Mr Y wanted to challenge his liability for Council Tax, it would have been reasonable for him to have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. However, I note that a liability order was issued which allowed the Council to pass the unpaid debt to enforcement agents.
12. Mr Y says he never received Council Tax demands from the Council. However, from the evidence I have seen, I am satisfied the Council did send the correct and relevant paperwork to Mr Y. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify our involvement and we will not investigate this part of the complaint.
13. I understand Mr Y is unhappy that the Council passed his debt to enforcement agents, but it had a right to do this. The enforcement agent recommended the Council to seek a Charging Order because it said Mr Y made his position clear about paying the outstanding arrears.
14. There are laws and regulations that control how councils collect council tax payments and how they can make people pay council tax they owe (Council Tax [Administration and Enforcement] Regulations 1992). Laws and regulations also control how enforcement agents can collect money owed to the council (The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007). If a Council can evidence that it has followed the correct process in doing this, we are unlikely to find fault in its actions.
15. The County Court granted a Charging Order in May 2025. This allows the Council to retrieve outstanding debts owed to it, when Mr Y sells his property. This is a legal charge, like a mortgage, and must be paid off when the property is sold. We cannot investigate this part of the complaint. This is because the law says we cannot investigate complaints where there has been commencement or conduct of civil proceedings before a court of law.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because there is another body better placed to consider part of this complaint. The law prevents us from investigating part of this complaint and Mr Y also had the right to appeal. There is also insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement for part of the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman