The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of the Council during court proceedings. This is because the law prevents us from investigating the start of court action or what happened in court.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the actions of the Council and its solicitors during court proceedings to reclaim unpaid council tax.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended) 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
I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because is concerns matters regarding the start of court action or what happened in court. The law prevents us from investigating such complaints.
We have previously considered complaints from Mr X relating to these matters and cannot accept repeat complaints about the same issues. Even if Mr X were raising issues about matters separate from court proceedings that the Ombudsman had not previously considered we would not investigate them because they happened several years ago and are therefore late.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it concerns matters that have been considered in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman