Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council is wrongly holding him responsible for unpaid business rates. This is because Mr X’s liability has been established at court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council is pursuing him for unpaid business rates he says he is not liable for.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and shared my decision with him.

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What I found

4. The Council considers Mr X liable for business rates for a business premises he no longer occupies. Mr X disputes liability and says his landlord has released him from the lease. He wants the council to correct its billing records and transfer liability to his former landlord or their current tenants.
5. Decisions on business rates liability are not appealable; it therefore falls to the court to determine liability when considering a local authority’s application for a liability order for unpaid business rates.
6. Mr X’s representative, Mr Y, confirms the court has issued liability orders confirming Mr X’s is liable for the unpaid business rates. Because the matter has been considered at court we cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint and we cannot overturn the court’s decision.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because a court has confirmed Mr X’s liability for the unpaid business rates.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman