The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a council tax account. This is because we could not add to the investigation the Council has already carried out, and we cannot achieve the outcome that Mrs X wants.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the Council’s handling of her council tax account.
Mrs X says that the Council mismanaged her account, resulting in the Council incorrectly issuing a refund to her which it is now requesting be returned. Mrs X regards this as unreasonable and will place her in financial hardship.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide: we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X says that the Council made various errors with her council tax account. The Council closed her account based on inaccurate information provided by a third party, issued refunds on two occasions incorrectly and has made an unreasonable request for the return of money it says she owes.
The Council has acknowledged fault, provided an explanation for the errors, offered an apology and rescinded some of the debt that Mrs X owes. The Council has also offered Mrs X a repayment plan over a two-year period. We will not investigate this complaint. There would be little we could add to the Council’s findings by investigating further and in any case, could not direct the Council not to collect money it refunded in error.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by further investigation, and we cannot achieve the outcome that Mrs X wants.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman