Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has not paid the £150 energy rebate. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council has not paid the £150 energy rebate. Mr X wants the full payment and not just £42.

Back to top

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and government guidance. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

Back to top

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 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. Mr X applied for the payment in May. The Council was unable to verify his bank through the verification process. It asked Mr X to provide further information about his bank account; Mr X declined. The Council could not make a BACS payment as it could not verify the bank account, so in June it paid £150 into Mr X’s council tax account. The revised bill meant he did not have to pay any council tax in July and the August instalment was reduced.
6. The Council also awarded a £20 discretionary payment which it added to the council tax account.
7. Mr X moved in July. The Council issued a final bill which showed he had nothing to pay and had a £42 council tax credit. The Council refunded the £42.
8. In response to his complaint the Council explained what had happened. It said Mr X could have a £170 refund but, as that would leave the council tax account in arrears, he would have to pay £170 by 31 March 2023. The Council explained that if the £170 had been paid into his bank then his closing council tax bill would have been £127. But, due to the £170 credit, he had a refund and had not paid council tax since June.
9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Government guidance required the Council to verify Mr X’s bank details. The Council could not do this so it paid the money into Mr X’s council tax account, as permitted by the guidance. It also awarded an extra £20. The £170 payment meant Mr X’s council tax was reduced by £170 so that was £170 he could use for purposes other than council tax. The payment was not reduced to £42, as Mr X has alleged, but this was the credit after the final council tax bill was generated. The £42 was not the energy payment but a council tax credit.
10. Mr X says he is in financial hardship and says he should have been able to decide how he received the payment. But, the Council gave him the option of providing more information for the verification process and, whilst Mr X may be in financial difficulty, there is nothing more the Council can do to assist.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman