The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council wrongly pursuing Mr X for council tax he did not owe. This is because the Council has proposed a suitable remedy and any remaining injustice to Mr X is not sufficient to warrant our involvement.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council wrongly pursued him for a council tax debt. Mr X had to spend several hours contacting the Council to try to resolve this, including making six telephone calls. Mr X also wrongly received two letters from the Council’s enforcement agents. This has caused Mr X distress and worry, which affected his sleep and relationships.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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.
My assessment
The Council has explained to Mr X that this problem arose due to human error and that it has taken steps to avoid this happening again in future. It acknowledged Mr X has been caused distress by its fault and it has apologised to him for this. It has also offered Mr X a payment of £200 in recognition of the impact this matter has had on him.
While I recognise Mr X remains upset at what took place, I consider that the Council has provided a reasonable remedy to this complaint and one that is broadly in line with our remedies’ guidance. As such, I do not consider there is sufficient remaining injustice caused to Mr X to warrant our further involvement or that this would be in the public interest. We will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has provided a suitable remedy to the complaint and our further involvement is therefore not warranted.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman