The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to take bankruptcy proceedings against Ms X for her unpaid council tax. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for why Ms X could not have complained earlier.
The complaint
Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to take bankruptcy proceedings against her for unpaid council tax. She says the Council failed to apply appropriate discounts to her account which would have brought her below the threshold to start the proceedings. She says the Council’s actions caused her to lose her home.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X acknowledges she failed to pay her council tax on time from 2011. Ms X has never applied for support with her Council tax or told the Council she was struggling to pay her council tax. The onus is on the individual to apply for any support they might be entitled to as councils cannot apply discounts, or provide support, if they are not aware of the individual’s circumstances.
The Council wrote to Ms X to advise her it was starting bankruptcy proceedings in November 2017. The Council said Ms X did not respond to any of its correspondence, so it had no choice but to proceed.
As Ms X knew she was not paying her Council tax liability when it fell due, it is reasonable to say she would have known, since 2011, she was accruing a debt. Further, the Council told Ms X of her debt and the bankruptcy action it was looking to take in 2017. If Ms X thought the Council was wrong to take bankruptcy action, or that the debt had been calculated incorrectly, it is reasonable for her to have complained in 2017, when she first became aware of the Council’s actions.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for why Ms X could not have complained earlier.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman