The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this council tax complaint. This is because the Council has provided a fair remedy for part of the complaint and because there is insufficient evidence of fault for the other issues.
The complaint
The complainant, Ms X, says the Council failed to set up a direct debit and took recovery action for council tax arrears. She also says the Council did not reduce the council tax to account for the days when the property was unfit to live in. Ms X wants an apology and a council tax refund.
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 an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X moved house but says there was a delay before she could occupy the new property as it was unfit to live in. Ms X tried to set-up a council tax direct debit but says the Council failed to process the application. The Council issued a summons, for non-payment, and charged £78 in costs.
Following Ms X’s complaint, the Council agreed something went wrong with the direct debit. It removed the costs and made a payment arrangement. It looked at photographs Ms X provided of her new home but decided they did not show the property was uninhabitable. The Council told Ms X she could contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) if she wanted to ask for the property to be removed from council tax due to its condition. The Council provided council tax statements and explained the summons would not affect her credit reference.
There was a problem with the direct debit but the Council has provided a fair response by withdrawing the costs. This means Ms X is not required to pay anything more than the council tax and the action will not have affected her credit rating.
In relation to the other parts of the complaint, I have not seen anything to suggest we need to start an investigation. The Council correctly signposted Ms X to the VOA; only the VOA can decide to remove a property from council tax due to its condition. In addition, the Council explained what had happened with the council tax for her old and new home and sent statements. I appreciate Ms X thinks the Council mismanaged the council tax but there is not enough evidence of fault to require an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because the Council has provided a fair remedy and because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman