The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating the complaint.
The complaint
Miss Y complains the Council is charging for bailiff’s fees on top of unpaid council tax. Miss Y says this is unfair as she initially disagreed she was liable for the council tax due to a previous arrangement with her previous landlord. She says that she did not receive the earlier correspondence from the Council about the unpaid tax.
Miss Y says the charges have caused her financial difficulty and upset.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 the information Miss Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
When Miss Y initially received a council tax bill, she did not agree she was liable for council tax. She had arranged with her previous landlord that they would pay the council tax on her behalf out of the amount she paid to them for rent and bills. Miss Y has now accepted liability for the council tax and agreed a payment plan with the Council.
However, Miss Y became aware of the unpaid council tax after a liability order was issued and bailiffs contacted her. Miss Y spoke to the bailiffs on the telephone about the unpaid council tax, but did not pay the amount owed at that time.
Following this, the bailiffs visited Miss Y’s new property, which increased the debt by over £200 costs. Miss Y objects to paying this amount because she says the Council sent the earlier correspondence telling her about the unpaid council tax to her previous address after she had moved.
As Miss Y has accepted liability for the council tax, she also accepted liability for any costs relating to the recovery of the debt. Miss Y has not been able to provide information to the Council showing that she informed them that she had moved away from the property prior to July 2021. Consequently, before this date the Council was not at fault for sending letters to the original address.
Once Miss Y was contacted by bailiffs and became aware of the debt, she then had the opportunity to arrange either a payment plan or to fully pay the money owed. The Council’s complaint response says neither payment nor payment plan were arranged by Miss Y. The bailiffs then moved to the next stage of enforcement and visited Miss Y’s home to recover the debt, incurring costs.
As Miss Y had the opportunity to pay the unpaid amount or make arrangements for a payment plan with the Council during this time, it is unlikely we would find the Council at fault.
Consequently, as there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating the complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman