The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about council tax recovery because it relates to matters which have been considered by court. It is open to Mr X to consider asking the courts to set aside the liability order.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council escalated his council tax recovery to court and enforcement without confirming he had received the reminders or statutory notices.
Mr X said this caused avoidable additional fees. He wanted the Council to refund the additional fees, provide financial compensation, and review its processes.
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) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he became aware he owed council tax for a previous property only after the Council had escalated the matter to court for a liability order. Mr X said he regularly checked the post at his previous address but did not receive any notices from the Council.
The Council said it sent Mr X: a council tax bill; reminders; a final notice; and a court summons to the address it had listed for Mr X.
It explained that the letters were not returned as undelivered, so it obtained a liability order from court to recover the debt.
For the court to make a liability order, the Council must give evidence that the bill and reminder have been posted to the correct address. If the magistrates decide that it is likely that this is true, they must make a liability order.
Mr X said he was not aware of the summons and therefore could not present his arguments in court. However, this would have been considered by the court before the liability order was made. We cannot investigate this complaint because it relates to matters that have been considered by a court. We also have no power to investigate the Council’s decision to begin court proceedings.
It is open to Mr X to consider asking the courts to set aside the liability order. We have no power to set aside a liability order.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it relates to matters already considered by court. It is open for Mr X to ask the courts to set aside the liability order.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman