The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about fees added to his council tax account for non-payment of council tax. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complains about additional fees added to his council tax account due to non-payment of council tax. He says the fees are unfair and he should not have to pay them. He wants the Council to remove the additional fees from his account.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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 issued Mr X with council tax bills for the financial years 2022 and 2023. When he did not pay, the Council issued him with reminder notices. Mr X made some payments but did not fully clear his arrears, so the Council applied to the courts for liability orders.
In April and November 2023, the courts issued liability orders against Mr X for non-payment of council tax.
The Council added fees to his account for the court summons and the liability orders.
Mr X still did not clear his arrears and so the Council passed the debt to an enforcement agent. The enforcement agent added fees for compliance and recovery action. The fees added were in line with the rates set out in law.
We will not investigate this complaint. The Council sent the necessary reminder notices and advised Mr X that non-payment could lead to additional charges. When Mr X did not pay the arrears, it was entitled to start action to recover the debt and add costs for this to Mr X’s account. The enforcement fees added are in line with those set out in law. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman