The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complained the Council changed how it charges him for the sewerage system in the area where he lives. There was no fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council changed how it charges him for the sewerage system in the area where he lives. He said the Council significantly increased the annual charge. He also said the Council changed the billing period which resulted in him paying more than he believed he should have paid. Mr X said this has caused him anxiety and distress. He wants the Council to reduce the annual charge and to recognise it wrongly asked him to pay more than he should have paid.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether an organisation’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I spoke with Mr X. I considered the information he provided.
I considered the information the Council provided.
Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.
What I found
What happened Mr X has lived in his property for several years. The Council, through a contractor, provides the sewerage service for the area. Mr X said for many years, he has paid approximately £183.00 each year to the Council for his sewerage bill. Mr X said he paid his bill in advance to cover the following year’s billing period. In March 2020, Mr X paid £183.33 to the Council for the billing period between April 2020 and March 2021.
In February 2021, the Council wrote to Mr X and the owners and occupiers of other properties within the area. The Council said it had recently conducted a review of the sewerage system in the area and as a result, it had made some changes in the way it billed the owners and occupiers of the properties. It said, “it has been agreed that the Council cannot continue to subsidise what is a private drainage facility so I am instructed to advise that a full recovery including an annual management fee from all residents connected to the system will be made”. The Council also said it would start to charge people in arrears and this would include the billing period between April 2020 and March 2021.
Following this, the Council issued Mr X a bill of £330.00 for the period between April 2020 and March 2021. The Council considered Mr X had already paid £183.33 for that period and so it asked Mr X to pay an additional £147.67.
Mr X complained to the Council. He said the bill had massively increased and he wanted to know how the Council had calculated the figure. He said he had already paid the bill for the period between April 2020 and March 2021 so it was unfair the Council had asked him to make an additional payment. Mr X continued and said the Council had failed to charge all households for the past several years. Due to this, the Council was now seeking to make up for the money it had lost by charging people more.
The Council responded to Mr X. It said it was unable to establish how it had charged all properties within the area over the last several years. It recognised it could have managed the charging of the sewerage system better. It said it was now trying to use a consistent and fair approach by charging in arrears which meant charging all properties the actual cost incurred during the latest billing period.
The Council informed Mr X the total cost incurred for the period between April 2020 and March 2021 was £8,265.02 for the sewerage system. It provided Mr X a breakdown of the cost. It said the cost was divided between the 25 properties in the area connected to the sewerage system which equated to each property being charged with £330.00. The Council explained to Mr X it had considered the advance payment he had made for this period and so the amount outstanding on his account was £147.67. It continued and said it was entitled to recover all costs relating to the running and maintenance of the sewerage system.
Mr X paid the Council £147.67 however, he remained unhappy and complained to us.
Findings
Mr X is unhappy the Council has increased its charges for the sewerage system. However, the Council is entitled to charge people for the sewerage system they use and it does not need to subsidise the cost. The Council made Mr X aware of its changes to how it intended to collect charges for the sewerage system before it implemented them. The Council was not at fault.
Mr X said the Council charged him twice for the billing period between April 2020 and March 2021. The Council informed Mr X the charge for that billing period was £330.00 instead of £183.33 which he had already paid. It explained to Mr X how it had reached the cost of £330.00. It took into consideration Mr X’s advance payment he had made and asked him to make the remainder payment of £147.67. The Council was not at fault.
Final decision
I have now completed my investigation. There was no fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman