The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms X complains that the Council’s error in dealing with a council tax account caused her distress. We will not investigate this complaint because the complaint is out of time and was previously considered in a separate investigation by the Council. The Council’s offer to remedy the complaint to Ms X is also a reasonable settlement of the complaint.
The complaint
Ms X complains that the Council’s error in dealing with a council tax account caused her 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) We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
I considered the complainant’s comments on my draft decision.
My assessment
The Ombudsman investigated a complaint from Mr X, Ms X’s son, in 2019 about council tax billing. The Ombudsman upheld the complaint in a report dated January 2021 and the Council agreed to pay compensation to Mr B of £400 to reflect his time and trouble.
Ms X complained to this office (represented by Mr X) in June 2020. The complaint was put to the Council for a response. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint in March 2021 offering compensation of £400 to Ms X.
The fault of the Council in the council tax billing between 2017 and 2019 was remedied by the Council in January 2021. If Mr X, as representative, considered the offer as inadequate because it did not reflect injustice caused to Ms X he could have responded in January 2021 when the Council agreed to remedy the matter.
I do not consider that the remedy accepted by the Ombudsman for Mr X was unreasonable. Further, any dispute about this could and should have been raised in January 2021. I consider therefore that the complaint from Ms X is out of time and is also too late to dispute the previous agreed settlement by the Council. Nevertheless, the Council’s subsequent offer of £400 to Ms X is reasonable and in line with the previously agreed settlement of Mr X’s complaint.
Final decision
I do not intend to investigate this complaint because the complaint is out of time, has previously been considered by the Ombudsman and has been settled to the Ombudsman’s satisfaction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman