Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a council tax matter. This is because investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. X complains that the Council delayed confirming that they were not liable for council tax.

Back to top

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
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. The Council made X liable for a council tax bill after their spouse sadly passed away. X contacted the Council to say that they should not be liable because they resided at a different address. X says they wrote to the Council over several weeks to resolve the matter.
6. I will not investigate X’s complaint because the Council has now corrected the council tax account and removed X’s liability for the debt so investigation would not lead to a different outcome. Whilst I do note that X wrote to the Council on several occasions and that it took longer than X would have liked to resolve, I do not consider that this alone amounts to a significant enough injustice to warrant further investigation.

Back to top

Final decision

7. We will not investigate X’s complaint because doing so would not lead to a different outcome.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman