London Borough of Haringey (19 002 878)
Category : Benefits and tax > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Jul 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s failure to refund over-paid business rates. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the complaint is out of time and against a body out of jurisdiction.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Council’s failure to refund over-paid business rates.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as the Valuation Office Agency. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the complainant's and Council's comments. The complainant has commented on the draft decision.
What I found
- Mr X says that he has run a business from 2014 to 2017. He says the initial business rates charge included a larger space in the building than he actually occupied. He complained in 2015 and an Inspector visited. The Council eventually repaid some business rates but Mr X says that the Council has not paid back the overpaid rates from 2014 to 2015.
- The Council says that the Valuation Office Agency determines how much business rates he pays. There is a right to dispute the Valuation Office Agency assessment and this can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
- I am not persuaded that the complaint about a refund could not have been made within 12 months of the Council’s decision (or delay in inspecting the premises). Further, the dispute about liability or size of property used is a dispute with the Valuation Office Agency and not the Council.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the matter is out of time and it is a complaint against the Valuation Office Agency.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman