Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s refusal to award him an energy rebate causing him distress and financial hardship. We fault in the way the Council considered Mr X’s entitlement to the energy rebate payment and gave him incorrect information about the scheme. The Council has offered a suitable remedy in this case. So we have completed our investigation.

The complaint

1. I have called the complainant Mr X. He complains about the Council’s refusal to award him a £150 energy rebate from a government scheme causing distress and financial hardship. Mr X wishes the Council to award him the energy rebate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him on the telephone. I read documents the Council provided in response to my enquiries.
4. Mr 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

5. In February 2022 the Government announced a package of support measures to help people with rising energy costs, which included the Council Tax Rebate scheme. Under the scheme the Government funded councils to pay £150 grants (known as an energy rebate) to eligible households who were living in properties in council tax bands A to D on 1 April 2022.
6. In September 2022 the scheme ended but the Government wrote to local authorities extending the end date until 30 November 2022.

Key events leading to the complaint

7. What follows is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain all the information I reviewed during my investigation.
8. Mr X contacted the Council in March 2022 to advise he had moved into his property. The Council noted the property did not exist on its system for Council Tax purposes. In June 2022 the Council asked an Inspector to visit for details. The inspection confirmed the property did exist, so the Council created an account and asked the Valuation Office Agency to band it for Council Tax purposes.
9. Mr X says during this time he spoke to Council officers about whether he would qualify for the £150 energy rebate before the scheme ended in November 2022 as the property had not been banded yet. Mr X says he was told by the officers he would need to wait until the property was banded and he would still qualify for the energy rebate payment.
10. Mr X moved from the property in December 2022 and advised the Council of his new address. The Valuation Office Agency advised the Council of the banding awarded to Mr X’s previous property (Band B). The Council sent Mr X a Council Tax bill for his time at the property between March to November 2022. Mr X contacted the Council as it had not applied the energy rebate to his account. Mr X says officers told him the payment would be processed and added to his account.
11. The Council then told Mr X it would not apply the energy rebate to his Council Tax account as the scheme ended on 30 November 2022.
12. Mr X complained to the Council about its decision and referred to the telephone calls he made where he was told he would qualify for the payment. Mr X said if he was aware he would not qualify then he would have moved to a different property before the scheme ended to ensure he received the energy rebate payment.
13. The Council said it could not listen to the calls as it only retained recordings for three months. It considered the officers provided Mr X with information which was understood to be accurate at the time and given in good faith. The Council apologised if Mr X felt he was provided with misleading information. The Council said the Valuation Office Agency had not assessed the property until January 2023 which meant the energy rebate scheme had ended by then. As the scheme was funded by central government the Council had been required to return any unspent rebate money.

The Council’s comments on the complaint

14. In response to my enquiries the Council accepts it provided Mr X with some misinformation about the energy rebate. But it says this did not affect his ability to move to another property to enable him to qualify for the energy rebate. This is because the eligibility for the rebate depended on where the resident lived on 1 April 2022. So, if Mr X moved before the scheme ended, he would not have qualified as he was not living at the new property on 1 April 2022.
15. The Council has reviewed Mr X’s case and considers it should apply the energy rebate of £150. The Government guidance provided to Local Authorities confirmed that both the Council Tax Rebate and associated Discretionary Fund closed on 30 November 2022. However, the guidance also stated that when changes were made to the valuation list retrospectively, councils were not required to pay or clawback payments. The exception was where a property was a new build and waiting for an official banding from the Valuation Office Agency.
16. In this case, the Council says Mr X’s property was not a newly built property but had not been shown in the valuation list because it had been split into flats. After the inspector’s visit to the property, the Council referred the case to the Valuation Office Agency for a new Council Tax banding in August 2022. But it was not banded until January 2023, and backdated to March 2022. While the Council acknowledges it was not a newly built property as such, it would now determine this particular property does fall within this category as a “New Build”. This is due to the splitting of the existing property forming new dwellings.
17. To recognise that Mr X was given incorrect information by officers the Council will offer Mr X £100.00 compensation for the inconvenience caused to him as well as awarding the energy rebate of £150.00.

My assessment

18. The Council accepts it was at fault when considering Mr X’s entitlement to the energy rebate payment. And it should now award the £150 rebate to Mr X as his property falls under the ‘New Build’ category of the scheme. The Council also accepts it has given Mr X incorrect information about the energy rebate scheme. This will have caused Mr X an injustice through his inconvenience and time and trouble in pursuing the matter.
19. The Council has offered Mr X a £100 payment for the inconvenience caused when considering his eligibility for the energy rebate. The offer of £100 is in line with our Guidance on Remedies so I consider it is a suitable offer for the Council to make. In addition, Mr X will be awarded the £150 energy rebate payment by the Council which is the outcome he is seeking. I do not consider I can achieve anything further for Mr X through further investigation.

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Final decision

20. I am completing my investigation. The Council was at fault in the way it considered Mr X’s entitlement to the energy rebate payment and gave him incorrect information about the scheme. The Council has offered a suitable remedy in this case.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman