Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about count tax recovery and enforcement fees. Part of the complaint is late; we are unlikely to find fault with the Council and an investigation now would not lead to a significantly different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council used enforcement agents to recover council tax without evidence it was legally entitled to do so. Mr X also disputes the Council’s calculations and administration and complains the Council continued enforcement action while his dispute was still live.
2. Mr X says the council’s action impacted his mental health, that he has paid unauthorised enforcement fees and the Council is still taking enforcement action. Mr X wants the Council to pause enforcement action to allow for his disputes to be resolved.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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)
6. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
7. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. In 2023, enforcement agents sent Mr X a notice of enforcement, telling him the Council had got a liability order and intended to take enforcement action to recover his outstanding Council tax. Mr X then entered a payment agreement with the Council. Mr X complained to us in January 2026. I see no reason why, if Mr X disputed the validity of the enforcement action, he could not have complained to us sooner. So, we cannot investigate the Council’s actions prior to January 2025.
11. In February 2025, the Council told Mr X he had broken the terms of his payment arrangement and it restarted enforcement action. The Council then got a further Liability Order in November 2025 to include a second person on the council tax account. As the Council had previously got a Liability Order, we are unlikely to find fault with the Council for recommencing enforcement action against Mr X before it got the November 2025 order.
12. Mr X wrote to the Council to dispute the amount he still owed. The law does not prevent a council from continuing recovery while a dispute is ongoing. We are unlikely to find fault with the Council for doing so.
13. The Council did not agree that it had miscalculated Mr X’s liability, or that it had used enforcement agents without a liability order. However, the Council considered Mr X’s vulnerabilities then decided to recall the enforcement agent and outstanding enforcement fees. The Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve a significantly different outcome, so an investigation into this complaint would not be a proportionate use of public resources.
14. If Mr X continues to dispute the council tax owed, it would be reasonable for him to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because part of the complaint is late; we are unlikely to find fault with the Council and an investigation now would not lead to a significantly different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman