The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms X complained the Council had not credited payments she made to her council tax account. The Council was not at fault.
The complaint
Ms X complained about errors in the Council’s management of her council tax account. She says she made a £40 cash payment in October 2020 which has not been credited to the account, and an £80 payment she made in February 2021 has wrongly been recorded as £19.52. She says as a result of these errors, the outstanding balance on her account is incorrect. She wants the Council to correct the errors and adjust her account balance accordingly.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I read Ms X’s complaint and spoke with her about it on the phone.
I made enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent me. I also considered information provided by Ms X.
Ms X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
What happened Ms X complained to the Council in early 2022 about several issues, including that it had not credited two payments she made in 2020 and 2021 to her council tax account.
Ms X was dissatisfied with the Council’s response and brought her complaint to us. She provided us with evidence that she had made the payments but said one had not been credited at all and the second payment, although listed on her account statement, was for less than a quarter of what she actually paid.
I made enquiries of the Council. In response, the Council provided evidence the two payments had both been credited to her account. The £40 payment had been received and credited to an outstanding council tax debt from 2018/19. The £80 payment had been received and split across two years where Ms X had outstanding council tax debt. £60.48 was credited to the year 2018/19, and £19.52 to the year 2020/21.
Analysis The Council has provided evidence that both payments were received in full and credited to Ms X’s council tax account. The Council was not at fault.
If there is outstanding debt over more than one council tax years, the Council can decide where it allocates a payment. The decision to split the second payment and allocate it to outstanding debts in two separate council tax years is not fault.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation. The Council was not at fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman