The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to send council tax bills and letters to the correct address and its eventual decision to take enforcement action against Mr X. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a finding of fault.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council failed to send council tax bills to the correct address then started enforcement action against him. He also complained that he had to make a further payment due to a Council error.
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 Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained the Council failed to send council tax bills and reminder letters to the correct address. He also complained the Council started enforcement action regarding the unpaid balance and after he made what he believed was the final payment, an enforcement agent visited his home, and he was forced to pay more. He said this was due to the Council’s error.
The Council explained that it sent letters to the address held on file and it began enforcement action when it did not receive a response. The Council explained that following contact from Mr X it rebilled the account with the new information he provided, and this led to an increased balance. The Council sent Mr X a history of his accounts with its final response.
Mr X remains unhappy with the Council’s actions. The evidence shows the Council sent correspondence to the address details Mr X provided. It was Mr X’s responsibility to update the Council with the correct details. The Council has provided information showing the actions it has taken on Mr X’s account; there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s management of Mr X’s account. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to result in finding fault with the Council’s actions.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a finding of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman