London Borough of Newham (25 023 538)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax because the matter has been remedied.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the Council issued a Liability Order against him and delayed dealing with his student exemption application.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X made a student exemption application for Council tax in August 2025 but this were not considered by the Council until November.
- The Council apologised for this and backdated the exemption to the start of the correct period.
- I appreciate that this matter was frustrating for Mr X but, as there was no financial loss, I am not persuaded that a remedy further than an apology is required.
- Mr X says that the Council issued a Liability Order against him for unpaid Council tax. The Council says that this was issued against his landlord and therefore did not affect him. There is no evidence of fault by the Council in this matter and so the Ombudsman would not pursue this part of the complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it has been remedied.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman