Isle of Wight Council (25 023 602)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a council tax summons. This because we cannot investigate court proceedings.
The complaint
- Ms X complains about faults in the Council’s council tax summons. She says that it had the wrong date on it. The Council said the date was wrong due to a system error. The Magistrate could still consider whether to issue a liability order. However, the Council confirmed it refunded the summons cost as a gesture of goodwill.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We cannot investigate this complaint because it relates to court action. The summons is the start of court proceedings, and we are unable by law to investigate as explained in paragraph 3.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is about court action.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman