North East Lincolnshire Council (25 026 637)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 28 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled his council tax account. This is because any injustice Mr X may have suffered is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council issued incorrect bills and court summons. He says the situation has caused him stress and worry. Mr X wants reassurance the Council has improved its systems to prevent recurrence. He also wants a financial remedy for his time and trouble.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council accepted it wrongly issued notices and court summons. The fault arose because the Council’s system triggered recovery action when Mr X made a payment that did not match the instalments set out in his bill. This resulted in reminder notices and court summons being issued.
- I considered the injustice to Mr X. He experienced avoidable distress and uncertainty. However, the Council took appropriate action to remedy the situation. It cancelled the notices and summons, removed all associated costs, apologised and explained what went wrong. I am satisfied the Council has provided a suitable remedy for the injustice caused. While Mr X seeks a financial remedy, I do not consider any remaining injustice significant enough to justify our involvement.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has already provided a proportionate remedy for the fault and any remaining injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman