The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s council tax account. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complains that the Council did not send him a reminder about a missed council tax payment before it issued a summons and increased costs. He says it should have allowed him to make an arrangement.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
The Council replied that it had sent two reminders, one in June 2024 and one in December 2024. The letter in December advised Mr X he needed to bring his account up to date by 6 January 2025. As he did not do so the Council issued a summons in late January.
Mr X says the Council did not follow due process. However, there is not enough evidence of this. The Council sent the correct reminders before the summons. Mr X says the Council should have allowed him to make an arrangement. The Council could consider an arrangement during the process but this is at its own discretion. There is no evidence of fault here that warrants investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman