Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s recovery of council tax. This is because it is reasonable for her to use her right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to properly manage her council tax account. She complains it continued with enforcement action despite her complaint. It also failed to provide copies of call recordings Miss X believes evidence her attempt to resolve this matter. Miss X says this has caused her significant distress. She wants the Council to:

• correct her council tax liability;
• stop enforcement action; and,
• acknowledge its poor handling of her complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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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 complains the Council failed to set up either a direct debit for payment of her council tax or a payment plan for the amount she owed despite her attempts to arrange both. Miss X says the Council continued to enforce her debt even though she had an ongoing complaint about the debt against the Council.
7. The Council explained it had no record of Miss X requesting a direct debit be set up for payment of her council tax arrears. It also states while Miss X did attempt to set up a payment plan, she specified payments would be made in cash instalments, which were then not paid. The Council asked Miss X to provide evidence of the date she moved out so it could correctly calculate her council tax liability for the property.
8. Miss X has a right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about any issue relating to liability for council tax. The tribunal is an independent expert body. The Council must do what the tribunal tells it to. We cannot decide issues relating to council tax liability. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to appeal to the tribunal in this case and the restriction in paragraph 2 applies to this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is reasonable for her to use her right of appeal to the tribunal.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman