Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s recovery of unpaid business rates from 2021 and 2022. The debts were subject to legal proceedings in the Magistrates Court in 2021 and 2022 and are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council pursuing his business through enforcement agents for the recovery of business rates owing from the years 2021 to 2022. He says the Council should have applied a retail discount for these years as it has for the current year and that his business is threatened by the debts.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X operates a business which he says was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and that he owes unpaid business rates from 2020-2022. He says his business should have been eligible for Expanded Retail Discount relief for these years. The Council says his business was not eligible and after reviewing the case also decided to recover business support grants paid to Mr X during the pandemic because it says they were fraudulently claimed.
7. The Council issued summonses and obtained liability orders in October 2021 and January 2022 for the unpaid business rates. Mr X had an opportunity to make his case for being eligible for discount at the time and we cannot consider matters which have been subject to court proceedings. These events took place outside the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints by the Ombudsman. We will not exercise discretion to consider them now because we have no discretion to investigate matters which have been subject to court proceedings.

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Final decision

We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s recovery of unpaid business rates from 2021 and 2022. The debts were subject to legal proceedings in the Magistrates Court in 2021 and 2022 and are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman