Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s recovery of unpaid council tax from previous accounts and a housing benefit overpayment generated in 2017. The Ombudsman should not exercise his discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns matters which he was aware of more than 12 months before he submitted his complaint. These matters were subject to a right of appeal to an independent tribunal when the Council informed him in 2017.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council recovering unpaid council tax debts through enforcement agents. He also says the Council refused to accept his token offer of payment for the amounts owed.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response.

Back to top

What I found

5. The Council sent two of Mr X’s previous council tax accounts to enforcement agents in May 2015 when his arrangements to pay the arrears amounting to £3,000 were broken. Mr X says he offered to pay £1 per month off his current account which has missed payments, but the Council refused it as being too low.
6. The Council awarded an overpayment of over £10,000 of overpaid housing benefit owing to his change in circumstances in July 2017. This included a previous overpayment of over £9,000 from 2013 which remained unpaid. It sent the debt to enforcement agents when a monthly arrangement of £40 was not complied with.
7. The Ombudsman does not normally investigate complaints about matters which the complainant was aware of more than 12 months before complaining to us. In this case the debts were incurred before May 2018 and July 2017 and Mr X could have complained within 12 months. We would not consider complaints about overpayments even if within the time for receiving complaints because there is a right of appeal against the decision to an independent tribunal.

Back to top

Final decision

8. The Ombudsman should not exercise his discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns matters which he was aware of more than 12 months before he submitted his complaint. These matters were subject to a right of appeal to an independent tribunal when the Council informed him in 2017.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman