Summary: Mr X complains the Council wrongly charged him Council tax for a property that was not his. This caused enforcement action and significant distress to Mr X. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for failing to properly consider the injustice of its actions when remedying the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council wrongly made him liable for Council tax on a property he no longer lived at.
2. Mr X complains the Council delayed updating its system and billed him for Council tax. When he did not pay the debt, the Council escalated to enforcement action.
3. Mr X also complains about the Councils complaint handling and consideration of the distress caused to him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered Mr X’s complaint and information he provided. I also considered information from the Council.
8. I considered comments from Mr X and the Council on a draft of my decision.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

Council tax

9. Council tax is a combination of tax on the value of a property and a tax on individuals that is payable by the occupier or owner.
10. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1st April. A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If any instalment is missed the council will send the liable person a reminder. If a payment is still not made or a further payment missed, then the entire outstanding balance will be due (that is the full amount for the rest of the year).
11. To use the various powers available to it to recover unpaid council tax, a council will apply to the Magistrates Court for a liability order against those it believes are liable. Once a council has got a liability order it can take recovery action.
12. A liability order gives councils legal powers to take enforcement action to collect the money owed, which can include using enforcement agents. Enforcement agents will add their costs to the debt.

What happened

13. Mr X used to live in Property A until September 2017. When he moved out, he told the Council that he had moved out and was no longer liable for the Council tax.
14. Property A was occupied from October 2017 until January 2022 by other people. When the property become empty again in January 2022, the Council wrongly recorded that Mr X was still the owner and made him liable for the Council tax for the time the property was vacant.
15. The Council sent notice of the debt to an old address for Mr X. When Mr X did not pay the debt the Council got a liability order and escalated to enforcement action. The enforcement agents contacted Mr X after tracing a new address for him.
16. Mr X had not been aware of the debt before this as he had not been living at the address the Council sent correspondence to.
17. Mr X complained to the Council that it had wrongly made him liable for the council tax on property A, despite him moving out in September 2017.
18. The stage 1 response from the Council recognised the Council had not updated its system when Mr X vacated the property in September 2017. The Council had therefore assumed he was liable when the property became vacant again in January 2022.
19. The Council apologised for its action and cancelled the liability order and enforcement action.
20. Mr X escalated his complaint to stage two. He complained the Councils delay in the complaint handling had meant when he was away for work he was unsure if he would return to his belongings having been seized. He also set out that he had incurred costs as he had to pay for credit reference checks.
21. The Council upheld Mr X’s complaint and apologised for the delay in the complaint handling and the distress caused by its actions. It offered Mr X £50 in recognition of the costs incurred for the credit reference agencies.
22. Mr X remained unhappy with the Councils response and bought his complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

23. The Council has already admitted that it should not have made Mr X liable for the council tax for property A from January 2022.
24. The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about Council Tax liability, as this is for the Valuation Tribunal. However, in this case the Council has already admitted that Mr X is not liable, and therefore the Ombudsman can consider the Councils actions following this decision.
25. Mr X experienced significant distress because of the Councils actions. Mr X had to liaise with enforcement agents to try and prevent his possessions from being seized. He was also required to be away with work and the Councils delay in addressing the matter meant he was not sure whether his possessions would be there when he returned.
26. Additionally, Mr X’s workplace required him to tell them of situations such as this, and Mr X was left concerned that the action taken by the Council would impact him professionally.
27. The Councils response recognises that Mr X incurred costs for credit agency checks. However, where fault causing injustice is identified, the Ombudsman expects Councils to use its guidance on remedies to provide a personal remedy symbolic of the distress caused. In this case, the £50 offered by the Council is not in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies and does not take into account the distress caused.
28. The Council also identified service improvements it could make to ensure the fault would not occur again. I have reviewed the suggested service improvements and agree these are reasonable service remedies to address the fault.

Complaint handling.

29. The Councils stage one and stage two response was delayed, and the Council failed to communicate with Mr X about why this is.
30. The Council has not considered the further distress caused to Mr X by the Councils delay and failure to communicate.
31. The Ombudsman recommends a payment in recognition of the time and trouble caused to Mr X from the Councils handling of his complaint.

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Agreed action

32. Within four weeks the Council has agreed to;

• Write to Mr X and apologise for the fault identified.
• Pay Mr X £200 in recognition of the distress caused.
• Pay Mr X £100 in recognition of the time and trouble caused to him in the Councils handling of his complaint.
• Remind staff where fault is found causing injustice, the Council should be considering the Ombudsman guidance on remedies when calculating personal remedies.

33. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

34. I have now completed my investigation. I find fault with the Council for failing to properly consider the injustice caused to Mr X because of the fault by the Council. I also find fault with the Council for its complaint handling.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman