Mr B complained that following a change in his circumstances, despite telephoning the Council at the end of September/beginning of October 2022 to make a payment arrangement he had not received a Council Tax (CT) bill for his previous address. He left the property in June 2022. He had been contacted by the bailiffs in 2024 in relation to outstanding council tax.
The Council provided assurances to the Ombudsman that it would consider an affordable payment proposal from Mr B. It also referred to ways that Mr B’s CT debt and court costs might be reduced. The Ombudsman as part of an early resolution settlement arranged for the Council to send Mr B relevant CT invoices, including one that had been sent prior to Mr B leaving his property as well as other advocacy information. It also agreed to consider whether there were lessons that could be learnt from Mr B’s case around promoting earlier intervention, given the Welsh Government’s Council Tax Protocol.