London Borough of Lewisham (26 008 421)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council telling her to make a council tax payment she had already paid. This is because an investigation would not add to the Council’s own investigation.
The complaint
- Mrs B complains the Council sent her reminder letters about an overdue council tax payment from April 2023 which she had paid at the time. Mrs B says she sent proof of payment to the Council twice but the Council delayed resolving the matter and the Council’s letters caused her a lot of distress. Mrs B also says the Council has changed her payment method.
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 an investigation if we decide we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs B.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In response to Mrs B’s complaint, the Council confirmed that it had now found the missing payment which it had missed due to an oversight. The Council said it should have put recovery action on hold whilst the matter was investigated and it sincerely apologised for the distress caused by the reminder notices it sent to her. The Council also offered Mrs B a financial payment of £50.
- The Council has provided a suitable response to Mrs B’s complaint by: identifying the claimed missing payment; accepting fault; providing a meaningful apology; and, offering a financial remedy for the distress Mrs B suffered.
- I find these actions put right the main injustice Mrs B has suffered and an investigation by the Ombudsman would not add to the Council’s own investigation. So, we will not investigate this complaint.
- The Council also says Mrs B’s payment method has not changed. Mrs B may contact the Council if there is an issue with the payment method, but the involvement of the Ombudsman is not justified.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because an investigation would not add to the Council’s own investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman