Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council sending out a council tax debt letter to Mrs X in error. This is because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and the injustice experienced is insufficient to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained after receiving letters about Council Tax debt for an address she had never lived at. Mrs X said it took several phone calls to the Council before it was sorted. Mrs X said she wants the Council to pay compensation for the stress, anxiety and sleepless nights it caused.

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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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (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. Mrs X received a letter in the post about a council tax debt for an address she had never lived at. Mrs X says it took several phone calls to the Council before they matter resolved the matter and bailiff action stopped. Mrs X was unhappy with the time it had taken to get the matter sorted and the stress it caused her.
6. The Council responded to Mrs X and apologised for the error made. It found the debt was for someone else with the same name and confirmed no further documents relating to the other person would be sent to Mrs X’s address.
7. While there was fault by the Council in sending out a letter to the wrong person, it resolved the matter within a few days of Mrs X alerting it. Therefore, although Mrs X will have experienced some frustration, the injustice from this is not significant enough to warrant our involvement. The Council apologised, which is what we would expect it to do. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome or achieve anything further.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough injustice to justify our involvement and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman