Coventry City Council (25 026 302)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about backdated council tax. This is because the Council has already taken action and provided a suitable remedy
The complaint
- Mr X says the Council gave him incorrect advice about his council tax in 2022 because it said his property was not in its area. While the Council has written off three years of council tax, it is seeking payment from April 2025. Mr X says it is unfair for the Council to pursue payment of a significant amount when the delay was due to its own error.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
- The Council replied it had given Mr X the wrong information in 2022 because it said his property was in another local authority’s area. It noted Mr X had not chased up either Council for bills from 2022. The Council confirmed it had written off council tax from December 2021 to March 2025 because of its error. But it did not agree it should write off the current year’s council tax for 2025/26.
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has taken suitable action in view of its fault. It was reasonable to expect Mr X to contact the Council earlier regarding his council tax, which would have mitigated some of the delay in receiving a bill. We would not seek a further remedy.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has taken appropriate action in view of its fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman