The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We have discontinued our investigation of this complaint, about the Council’s refusal to grant rates relief to the complainant’s business under the expanded retail discount. This is because the complaint is late.
The complaint
I will refer to the complainant as Mrs W.
Mrs W complains the Council refused to accept her business was eligible for the expanded retail discount (ERD). As a result, the Council has held the business liable for business rates for 2020/2021, which Mrs W considers it should not have to pay.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a Council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I reviewed the correspondence between the Council and Mrs W and other employees of her business.
I also shared a draft copy of this decision with each party for their comments.
What I found
Mrs W is a director of a business which provides a range of hospitality services.
In April 2020, the Council sent the business a business rates bill for one of its premises (described on the bill as ‘Warehouse and Premises’), for the tax year 2020/21. The business responded to challenge this, saying it was entitled to the 100% rates discount (the ERD) the Government had just announced.
The Council provided an ERD application form for the business to complete, but, upon receiving the completed form, said it did not qualify for the ERD because the main purpose of the premises did not meet the eligibility criteria.
There was further correspondence between the Council and business through April and May 2020. The business argued a significant part of the premises was open to the public for sale and hire of equipment, but the Council maintained its view this did not represent the whole or main purpose, which was necessary to qualify for the ERD.
After the Council sought a liability order against the business for unpaid rates, Mrs W made a formal complaint in December 2020. She then submitted stage 2 and stage 3 complaints against the Council in January and July 2021, with the Council’s final response – still maintaining the same position – coming on 27 July.
Mrs W then referred her complaint to the Ombudsman on 10 August.
Analysis The law says a person should approach the Ombudsman within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue they wish to complain about.
The Council refused the business’s application for ERD on 14 April 2020. It then reiterated its decision to the business on 27 April and 11 May. Mrs W did not make her complaint to the Ombudsman until August 2021, 15-16mths later. Her complaint is therefore out of time.
We have the power to disapply this time limit, where we consider there are good reasons for the delay in approaching us, but Mrs W has provided no explanation for why she did not approach us sooner.
While I appreciate she made her complaint to the Ombudsman shortly after receiving the Council’s final response, there were significant gaps in her pursuit of the complaint with the Council. After receiving the Council’s decision in April, Mrs W waited eight months, until December, to make a formal complaint; and, after receiving its stage 2 response in February, she waited a further five months, until July, to submit a stage 3. By this point, the complaint was already out of time for the Ombudsman.
I also note there were several different employees of the business involved in its original exchange of correspondence with the Council, not just Mrs W, which means there were others with the standing to bring a complaint to the Ombudsman, if Mrs W had been unable to do so herself.
Taking this together, I do not consider we have grounds to disapply the 12mth time limit in this case, and for this reason, I have discontinued my investigation.
Final decision
I have discontinued my investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman