Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

West Lothian Council

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Not Upheld Reference 201602701 Sector Local Government Category council tax Decided 01 May 2017

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Full decision

Summary

Mrs C complained that the council were unreasonable in their refusal to suspend their debt-collection proceedings to allow her to provide evidence of her entitlement to a single person's discount for her council tax. She also complained that the council unreasonably refused to refund the full amount of the fees that she incurred.

We did not uphold Mrs C's concerns about the debt collection proceedings because the evidence showed that the council acted in line with the requirements of the Local Government Finance Act (1992) and took reasonable steps to check whether or not Mrs C was entitled to the single-person discount.

We also found that the council acted reasonably in respect of their refusal to refund the fees incurred by Mrs C. The council acted in accordance with their legal responsibilities. We did not uphold the complaints.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201602701 as a PDF (10.94 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018

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