Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has handled Mr X’s council tax account and the failure to consider his vulnerability before escalating to enforcement action. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to have appealed to the Tribunal for the first part of the complaint and the Council has provided a suitable remedy which is in line with the Ombudsman guidance for the remaining part.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council has handled his council tax account regarding his previous exemption. He said the Council failed to consider his vulnerability before escalating to enforcement action.
2. Mr X wants the Council to:
• review his previous exemption and whether it required reapplication;
• an investigation into whether the recover escalation was proportionate;
• reimburse the council tax he paid between July and September 2025 if fault contributed to liability being assumed; and
• an apology and assurance that appropriate safeguarding triggers are applied before enforcement action in future.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. We will not consider Mr X’s complaint about his council tax exemption or liability. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint where someone has, or had, the right to appeal to a court or tribunal. Mr X could have challenged the Council’s decision about his council tax liability and exemption through the appeal process. I consider it would have been reasonable for him to use that right. We cannot decide whether someone is liable for council tax or entitled to an exemption.
9. We can consider whether there was fault in how the Council considered Mr X’s vulnerability when taking recovery action. Based on the information I have seen, it is likely we would find fault if we investigated. Mr X asked the Council to pause recovery action because of his vulnerability in October 2025. In December 2025, the Council agreed its welfare team would contact him, but this did not happen. Mr X then received a final notice, and recovery action was not paused until February 2026. This delay caused Mr X avoidable distress.
10. We asked the Council to remedy the injustice to Mr X by apologising to him and reminding relevant staff of the need to consider vulnerability promptly when deciding whether to continue recovery action. The Council has agreed to complete these actions within four weeks of the final decision.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint it would have been reasonable for Mr X to have appealed to the Tribunal for the first part of the complaint and the Council has provided a suitable remedy which is in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance for the remaining part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman