Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about her liability for business rates. This is because the complaint is late, and the Court has decided Miss X is liable for the amount demanded.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about a business rates bill for July to September 2018. The Council says Miss X is liable for business rates because the property in which her business is based was ‘unoccupied’ for the period in question. Miss X disagrees with the Council’s decision.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered Miss X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Miss X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.

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What I found

7. Miss X’s business moved into its premises in July 2018. Miss X says the premises has a rateable value of £10k and is therefore eligible for Small Business Rates Relief. But the Council has billed Miss X for business rates for the period July to September 2018. The Council says it considers the property to have been unoccupied for July to September 2018 – meaning business rates are payable. It has relied on provisions contained in the Local Government Finance Act to reach this decision. The Council has now successfully applied to the magistrates’ court for a liability order against Miss X.
8. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. But Miss X’s complaint is about her business rates for July 2018 to September 2018. She has been in dispute with the Council since then. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here. I see no reason why Miss X could not have complained to the Ombudsman earlier, and so the exception at paragraph 3 applies to her complaint.
9. But even if Miss X’s complaint was not late, we would not investigate. This is because we cannot investigate a complaint about the Council’s commencement of court proceedings, or its conduct during those proceedings. Miss X had the opportunity to present any arguments or evidence she wanted the Court to consider. The Court was the appropriate body to consider what was a legal matter. It was for the Court to decide whether Miss X was liable for the business rates demanded. The Court has decided Miss X is liable for business rates for the period in question and we will not interfere with the Court’s decision.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late, and the Court has decided Miss X is liable for the amount demanded.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman