Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council paid the £150 energy rebate into the complainant’s council tax account. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and insufficient evidence of injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council paid the £150 energy rebate into her council tax account and did not tell her why she had failed the verification checks. Mrs X would like the payment paid into her bank account.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and government guidance. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. The government introduced a £150 energy rebate for council tax payers living in band A to D properties. For people who do not pay their council tax by direct debit, councils could pay by BACS into the person’s bank account or pay the money into the council tax account, thereby reducing the council tax bill by £150. The government guidance says councils must do specific verification checks before paying money into a bank account.
5. Mrs X applied for the rebate. The Council told her she had failed the verification check so it credited her council tax account with £150. This meant her October council tax payment fell to £14. The Council said it did not know why she had failed the verification check because the government does not pass on this information.
6. Mrs X says she would have preferred to have the money paid into her bank account and she is worried because she does not know why the verification failed.
7. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Government guidance required the Council to verify Mrs X’s bank details. The Council could not do this so it paid the money into Mrs X’s council tax account, as permitted by the guidance. It could not tell her why the verification failed because the government does not pass on this information.
8. Mrs X would have preferred to have the money in her bank account but it was not fault for the Council to credit the money to the council tax. And the lower council tax instalments meant Mrs X did not have to pay as much money from her bank account and she could put that money to other uses. As she has received the rebate there is insufficient injustice to require an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and insufficient evidence of injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman