The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about enforcement action the Council has taken to recover council tax arrears. That is because it is a late complaint.
The complaint
Mr X complained to the Council about the action of an enforcement agent in relation to the recovery of his council tax debt. He said they had acted in an intimidating and threatening manner and had caused distress.
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
Mr X complained to the Council about the actions of an enforcement agent in October 2018. The Council responded that month. It did not uphold Mr X’s complaint.
Mr X complained about the matter further at the end of 2019 and start of 2020. The Council did not uphold the complaint and said he had not provided new evidence for it to consider. The Council directed Mr X to the Ombudsman on two occasions if he was unhappy with its response.
Mr X did not complain to the Ombudsman until 2022. Therefore, this is a late complaint and we will not investigate it. Mr X could have complained to us sooner if he was unhappy about the conduct of the enforcement agent and the Council’s investigation into this.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman