Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s enforcement of a business rates debt and Council tax. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and disputes about liability and the amount of the bill are for the courts.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s enforcement of a business rates debt.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault.

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the comments of the complainant and the Council and the complainant has had an opportunity to comment on the draft decision.,

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What I found

5. Mr X was considered liable for business rates and Council tax on a Public House. Mr X says that the Council used bailiffs to enforce these debts when they were not needed as he had paid the bills on time.
6. The Council has listed all the payments and business rates bills since 2018. It also provided details of all Council tax payments and debt.
7. It says that Mr X missed payments and so a Liability Order was obtained in respect of business rates for the property in November 2019 for the previous year’s debt (a previous Liability Order had been obtained for the previous year in 2018).
8. The Council says that bailiffs were instructed to collect the business rates debt in February 2019. The bailiffs decided that Mr X was vulnerable by virtue of age and health. It says that Mr X did not keep to the arrangement to pay the arrears and, after a visit by the bailiffs, the debt was passed back to the Council. The Council says that there remain arrears on the account.
9. There is no evidence that Mr X paid the bills in full and on time such that a Liability Order could not be obtained or bailiffs instructed. The Council’s enforcement is not therefore the result of fault by the complainant and the Ombudsman would not be critical of the Council’s actions.
10. Any dispute about liability of the amount owed is a matter for the courts for business rates or the Valuation Tribunal for Council tax.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman