Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax arrears. This is because we could not add anything further to the Council’s response. Of the remaining elements, there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X has complained about how the Council dealt with her Council Tax account and the action it has taken to recover Council Tax debt. Ms X says the Council did not properly consider her vulnerability when it decided to instruct Enforcement Agents. She says the Council did not respond to her request to set up a payment plan and the matter has caused extreme distress. She wants the Council to stop enforcement action and respond to her to accept a payment plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained to the Council in 2023 about how it handled her Council Tax arrears. There are laws and regulations that control how councils collect Council Tax payments and how they can make people pay Council Tax they owe. (Council Tax [Administration and Enforcement] Regulations 1992)
6. Laws and regulations also control how enforcement agents can collect money owed to the council. (The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007). If a council has a liability order from the magistrates’ court it can ask an enforcement agent to visit a person’s property and take goods worth up to the amount of Council Tax debt and costs.
7. The Magistrate’s Court granted a liability order in January 2023. Enforcement agents can act on behalf of the Council when there is a liability order.
8. The Council is entitled to pursue Ms X for Council Tax debt by instructing Enforcement Agents on its behalf.
9. Ms X said the Council did not respond to her request to set up a payment plan. The Council said a payment plan was agreed for June 2023 but it was cancelled because Ms X did not follow the agreed arrangements.
10. The Council said it asked Ms X to set up another payment plan in February 2025 and encouraged her to get support for her debts. It said Ms X declined help from the welfare team. I am satisfied the Council tried to work with Ms X to recover the Council Tax and there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council pursued Ms X for payment.
11. Ms X sent a further complaint to the Council in 2026. She said Enforcement Agents continued to pursue her for the Council Tax even though she is vulnerable. Ms X had also mentioned her vulnerability in her 2023 complaint. If there is someone in the household who is vulnerable, the Council can ask for evidence of the vulnerability. The Council said Ms X has not provided any evidence of vulnerability. The Enforcement Agency has also now confirmed the account is being overseen by its welfare team. The Council was entitled to ask for this and we are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council handled this part of the complaint.
12. Ms X said the Council has not accepted payments she made. The Council confirmed it received cheques from Ms X that it added to her account.
13. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s handling of the Council Tax debt. The Enforcement Agency are entitled to ask for evidence of vulnerabilities and Ms X did not provide any. The Council confirmed it received cheques from Ms X and it added the payments to her account. The Council offered to set up a payment plan but Ms X has not yet made an offer of a formal payment plan. An investigation by the Ombudsman could not add anything further to the Council’s response.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we could not add to the Council’s response. Of the remaining element, there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant out involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman