The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this council tax complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, wants compensation after the Council issued an inaccurate council tax bill in 2020.
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 an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.
My assessment
Mr X moved to his current home in August 2019. In January 2020 the Council received information which made it think Mr X had moved during July. The Council issued a new council tax bill making Mr X liable for the council tax from July.
Mr X challenged the new bill in March 2020 and said he had moved in August. In response the Council explained why it had changed the liability date to July.
The Council issued a reminder in September 2021. Mr X complained and the Council realised its error. It explained it had wrongly thought he was the landlord of the property. The Council issued a new bill which moved the start date back to August. The Council apologised for the error but declined to pay compensation.
The Council made an error and wrongly changed the start date for Mr X’s council tax liability. I will not start an investigation because, despite the error, there is insufficient evidence of injustice. Mr X has not had to pay any additional council tax, has not incurred any costs, and was not taken to court. And, while I appreciate he was caused some inconvenience, the impact is not significant enough to require an investigation or compensation.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman