Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax liability and discretionary awards because there is a right of appeal to a valuation tribunal. The matter has also been remedied.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council has made administrative errors in the way her Council tax account was managed since she left her former property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Ms X left a property (which she was in the process of selling). She says that the Council failed to remove her former partner from the account, failed to apply the single person discount and issued correspondence to the wrong address.
8. The Council apologised for any errors made and offered compensation of £150 to reflect the any distress caused. The Council also advised her to make an application for a discretionary award to assist with the outstanding Council tax bill.
9. Any dispute about liability for Council tax (or a discretionary award) can be appealed to a valuation tribunal. The valuation tribunal is an independent body which can determine any disputes about liability, discounts or exemptions from Council tax. I see no reason why such an appeal could not be made in this case.
10. Given the right of appeal to a valuation tribunal I consider that the Council’s apology and payment to be a remedy to the complaint and so there are no grounds to investigate this matter further.
11. Any complaint about data protection is a matter for the Information Commissioner's Office and not the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she has a right of appeal to a valuation tribunal and the matter has been remedied.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman