Bristol City Council (25 026 759)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Ms X’s council tax. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains on behalf of his relative Ms X that the Council unfairly pursued council tax for a property she vacated. She believed a student exemption applied. Mr X says the Council added significant costs and fees and its enforcement agent caused Ms X distress and anxiety.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant. 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 explaining the reasons for the outstanding council tax. It said it sent bills and notices to the property address because Ms X had not provided a forwarding address. Recovery continued because Ms X did not respond and the Council the obtained a liability order and passed the account to its enforcement agent. The agent traced Ms X’s address and contacted her. The Council said there was no fault in its actions regarding the billing and recovery process.
- We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigation. The Council explained it is the council tax payer’s responsibility to advise of their change of address even if they believe there is no council tax payable.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman