Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a single person council tax discount, or a civil penalty charge added to her council tax account. It would have been reasonable to expect her to have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal about these issues.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council did not respond to her communications about her single person council tax discount. Miss X also complained it issued her with a Civil Penalty charge.
2. Miss X said this caused her to suffer stress and anxiety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council issued Miss X with a Civil Penalty charge because it said she did not respond to its letter, about her single person council tax discount. It had asked Miss X to confirm if her circumstances had changed.
8. Miss X says she responded to the letter, but the Council said it did not receive this response.
9. Because the Council did not receive a response from Miss X it imposed a Civil Penalty charge to her account. It also removed her single person council tax discount. When it did so, the Council told Miss X about her right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
10. The Council also told Miss X of her right to appeal in its complaint response. At the time of this response, Miss X’s appeal right was still active.
11. As outlined in paragraph three, we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has a right of appeal to a tribunal about the same matter.
12. It is free to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal, and it has powers to tell the Council to rescind the penalty and apply the single person discount. It therefore would have been reasonable for Miss X to have used her right to appeal and so we will not investigate.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it was reasonable for her to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about the issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman