The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot by law investigate this complaint about enforcement action by the Council for unpaid council tax. This is because the issues raised by the complainant relate to liability orders granted by the magistrates’ court. We have no legal jurisdiction to investigate where the issues raised relate to, or overlap with, those considered during the course of legal proceedings.
The complaint
The complainant (Mr X) complains the Council is abusing the council tax enforcement process by issuing him incorrect summonses, amending the amounts deemed owed last minute in court without notice, and obtaining liability orders against him without due process.
In summary, Mr X says the alledged fault has caused him financial loss, stress, and reputational damage. He also says the liability orders have been issued against his company, harming its credit rating and ability to secure lending. As a desired outcome, Mr X wants the Council to withdraw the liability orders issued, suspend enforcement actions, and reissue correct summonses to allow fair challenges. He also wants the Council to review the disputes cases.
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).
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The issues raised by Mr X relate to the Council issuing legal summons for Mr X to attend court for unpaid council tax, liability orders being issued, and the court process. These are all matters which relate to legal proceedings and we have no legal jurisdiction to investigate in these circumstances. Similarly, we have no legal jurisdiction to investigate the enforcement of liability orders as the arguments relate to the validity of these, therefore overlapping which matters considered and decided by the magistrates’ court.
Final decision
We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the restriction I outline at paragraph three (above) applies.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman