The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate the Council’s handling of a previous complaint relating to Mr X’s Council Tax liability dating back to 2017.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council have made multiple errors on his Council Tax account relating to liability for his property, both in the past and currently.
Mr X wants the Council to stop making mistakes and apologise for their errors.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The complaint Mr X made to the Council in 2017 has been dealt with and we were not contacted within 12 months of Mr X originally making the complaint to them.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because more than 12 months has elapsed since the original complaint was made and there is no good reason for us to exercise discretion to investigate further.
If Mr X has recent and additional issues relating to his Council Tax liability, he can approach us to make a complaint. This can only be done after Mr X has complained to the Council and it has issued a Stage 2 final response.
Any complaint to us should be made promptly after receiving the Council’s final response.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman