Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a council tax refund in a joint account. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault, in the way the Council dealt with the refund, to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council wrongly refunded £228.03 to his former occupant, Mr Y. Mr X said this was after Mr Y had left the property and that there is now an outstanding balance of that amount in his sole council tax account. Mr X said this financially disadvantaged him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X and Mr Y were previously jointly named on the council tax account for the property. The Council explained that where people are jointly liable, they are jointly and individually responsible for the account, including any credits that arise.
6. The Council said Mr Y applied for a refund from the joint account, and because the refund related to a period where he was equally responsible for that account, it refunded £228.03. The remaining credit was then transferred from the joint account into Mr X’s new sole account. This is why Mr X’s new account showed a balance owed, as part of the credit had already been transferred to Mr Y.
7. The Council’s published information confirms that where there is a joint council tax account, either party may reclaim credits due, and the Council is not responsible for resolving disputes between jointly liable parties about how refunds should be shared.
8. Therefore, it’s unlikely we would find evidence of fault in how the Council administered the refund to justify investigating given it was following its policy.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman