Summary: Mrs X complained the Council incorrectly charged business rates for her business premises and failed to make a refund to her. We will not investigate the amount of business rates payable for Mrs X’s business premises as this is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), rather than any decision by the Council. The Council has now refunded the business rates Mrs X paid, and we have decided to discontinue our investigation as further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the amount of her business rates bill since the 2019/20 financial year. Mrs X says the Council has charged her the wrong amount and failed to make an appropriate refund following a revision from the VOA which has had a financial impact on her business.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

6. Business rates are a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property. The level of business rates payable for each property is calculated by taking a set figure (the rate poundage) decided by the Secretary of State for the Environment and approved by Parliament and multiplying this by the property’s rateable value.
7. The rateable value is decided by the District Valuer on behalf of the VOA, which keeps the business rating list. The Council does not set the amount of business rates owed for each premises; it simply bills and collects the rates.
8. It is not fault for the Council to collect business rates from Mrs X.
9. If Mrs X wishes to challenge the amount of business rates owed, she would need to do this by challenging the rateable value, which she would do by contacting the VOA. If the VOA refuses to change the rateable value, or if Mrs X remains unhappy with any new rateable value decided by the VOA, she may appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
10. Since Mrs X brought her complaint to our service, she has confirmed the VOA has reduced the rateable value of her property and backdated this to 2019/20. She has said the Council has now agreed a full refund of business rates paid since that point and no further money is owed. My view is it is not likely an investigation or a finding of fault is likely to result in a different outcome than this.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council is not responsible for setting the rateable value of Mrs X’s premises. The Council has now refunded the business rates Mrs X has paid, and I find further investigation is unlikely to result in a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman