Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a refund for business rates. This is because it is a late complaint and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains that the Council charged business rates on an uninhabited property in 2015. The Valuation Office has unlisted the property and Mr X was offered a refund by the Council, however he does not agree with the amount being offered.

Back to top

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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered Mr X’s complaint and his correspondence with the Council. I also considered information from the Council, and the outcome of a previous complaint made to the Ombudsman by Mr X. I considered Mr X’s comments on a draft of my decision.

Back to top

What I found

Previous complaint to the Ombudsman

5. Mr X previously complained to the Ombudsman in July 2017 about the Council charging him business rates on an uninhabited property. The Ombudsman did not investigate as he was unlikely to find fault, and the Council had offered a refund. The Ombudsman suggested that Mr X could complain to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) if he was unhappy with the Valuation Office.

What happened

6. Mr X asked the Council if his property could be unlisted for business rates. The Valuation Office advised the Council that it was not prepared to remove the property until Mr X supplied details of costings for demolition of the property. The Council was required to collect business rates until the property was unlisted, which took place in April 2015.
7. The Council offered a refund to Mr X for the business rates paid up until April 2015, however Mr X has refused to accept the refund. The last communication about the refund was in March 2017.

Assessment

8. Mr X has recently suffered a bereavement which has caused some delay to him bringing the complaint to the Ombudsman. However, Mr X was aware of the amount of the refund prior to the bereavement as the Council last contacted him about the refund in March 2017.
9. Mr X says his complaint is not late because he was advised to complain to the PHSO who directed him back to The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. However, Mr X’s complaint to the PHSO was about the Valuation Office. Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman is about the refund being offered by the Council, not the Valuation Office. Therefore, I think it would have been reasonable for Mr X to have complained to the Ombudsman sooner if he did not agree with the amount being refunded by the Council.

Back to top

Final decision

10. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint was made after more than twelve months of being offered a refund and is out of time. I can see no good grounds to exercise discretion.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman