Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about Council Tax liability and exemptions. Ms X has a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal, and it would be reasonable to expect her to use it.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council taking enforcement action for Council Tax debts. The outstanding amount is due to the Council removing a student exemption from Ms X’s Council Tax account. Ms X disputes this as she believes she was entitled to the discount.
2. Ms X also complains about how the Council handled her complaint.
3. Ms X says the matter caused significant distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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)
6. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on Council Tax liability and Council Tax support or reduction.
7. We will not usually investigate complaint handling if we are not investigating the rest of the complaint. This is because there is not usually enough injustice to justify us doing so. We collect information about particularly poor complaint handling practice and report this back to organisations. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34B(8))

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the complainant.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. Ms X complained the Council removed a student exemption from her Council Tax account. Ms X disputed this and said she was entitled to it.
11. The Council went on to take enforcement action because it said Ms X was liable for the amount.
12. Disputes about a Council Tax premium or exemption can be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. The Valuation Tribunal is an independent body which can determine any disputes about liability, discounts or exemptions from Council Tax.
13. It would be reasonable for Ms X to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal here. The right is set out in law and only the Valuation Tribunal could decide whether Ms X is liable for the outstanding balance.
14. For this reason, we will not investigate this complaint.
15. As we will not investigate the substantive matters of the complaint, we will not investigate the Council’s handling of the complaint because it is not proportionate to do so.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it would be reasonable to expect her to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman