Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (23 002 542)
Category : Benefits and tax > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Jun 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council gave Mr X incorrect advice about help available in respect of business rates. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our further involvement.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council did not advise him about grants that were available due to COVID-19 for businesses but instead advised him to apply for the Council’s hardship fund for help in respect of his business rate liability. Mr X did not qualify for this and considers he missed out on financial help as the Council incorrectly advised him. Mr X wants the Council to award a discount/ relief on the business rates that he owes.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In his complaint to us, Mr X says the Council wrongly advised him about what help might be available to him in respect of business rates. However, Mr X has provided no evidence of this or information as to when/ how he was so advised. Without such evidence/information, we cannot take the complaint further.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our further involvement
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman