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Please note: our decisions are published six weeks after they are issued to councils, care providers and the person who has made the complaint. The cases below reflect the caselaw and guidance available at the time of issue and the individual circumstances of each case.
London Borough of Barnet (21 003 494)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about recovery of a housing benefit overpayment. There has been some delay by the Council but this has not caused enough injustice to warrant an investigation.
London Borough of Sutton (21 003 497)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Ms X’s council tax reduction claim. This is because the Council has resolved the complaint by awarding the reduction.
Halton Borough Council (21 003 911)
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his request for the Council to reduce the empty rate business rates charge for premises which he owns. There is no fault on the Council’s part for recovering the unpaid rates. The Valuation Office Agency is the body which deals with valuation matters and it is better placed to consider his challenge to the billing.
London Borough of Bromley (21 004 211)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council assessed the complainant’s benefits. This is because there are appeal rights the complainant could use and there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
London Borough of Redbridge (21 004 282)
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council stopped her council tax reduction and failed to communicate with her properly before resolving the matter. There is insufficient evidence of fault or injustice.
London Borough of Hillingdon (21 004 519)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a refusal of housing benefit and council tax reduction. The Ombudsman cannot investigate a complaint where a right of appeal to a tribunal has been (or could be) used.
London Borough of Barnet (21 004 296)
Summary: Mr X complained that he received an overpayment of Housing Benefit due in part to an error by the Council. Subject to any comments Mr X might make, my view is we cannot investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal.
King's Lynn & West Norfolk Council (20 007 236)
Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to make reasonable adjustments when dealing with his enquiries about Council Tax Support. We do not find fault with how the Council dealt with this matter.
Erewash Borough Council (20 009 615)
Summary: Mr X complains the Council paid the Small Business Grant for his premises to the wrong person and that an officer made an unpleasant comment during a telephone call to discuss the situation. He says the loss of the grant has worsened his financial problems. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. It did consider whether the listing was inaccurate and whether to exercise its discretion to award the Small Business Grant to Mr X but was not persuaded by the evidence provided by Mr X. We are unable to take a view on the comment made by the officer as he denies saying it and there is no recording.
Broxtowe Borough Council (20 011 236)
Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to apply the empty homes premium on her property. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because complaints about the empty homes levy can only be considered by judicial review. Any complaint about the liability of the levy can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (20 011 810)
Summary: Ms X complains the Council set an arbitrary ceiling level in respect of rateable value when determining the criteria for its discretionary grant scheme. There is no evidence of fault in how the Council set the criteria for the discretionary grant scheme. Ms X’s business did not qualify but this was not as a result of fault by the Council.
Thurrock Council (20 012 112)
Summary: Ms X complains the Council failed to pay her a Small Business Grant because she did not provide an email address causing financial difficulties. This insistence on an email address and online application is fault as it was not a requirement of the scheme and is not in line with the Ombudsman’s Principles of Good Administrative Practice. A suitable remedy for the injustice caused is agreed.
London Borough of Croydon (21 003 647)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s council tax account. This is because she could have appealed to the Valuation Office Agency if she disagreed with the amount the Council said she owed. We are also unlikely to find fault with the remaining issues complained about.
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council (21 003 826)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council suspending the complainant’s benefits and conducting a fraud investigation. This is because there are appeal rights the complainant can use, she can defend herself in court, and we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant wants.
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (21 004 151)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a dispute for business rate payments. This is a matter for the courts.
Torbay Council (20 012 456)
Summary: Mr X complains the Council was wrong to refuse him a business grant, causing stress and financial difficulty. We find no fault in the Council’s decision making process.
London Borough of Enfield (21 002 250)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council asking the complainant to pay council tax which he says he does not owe. This is because the Council has written off the debt and the complainant no longer owes any council tax.
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (21 003 814)
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to notify him of new business grant schemes aimed at helping businesses affected by COVID-19. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
Blackburn with Darwen Council (21 004 001)
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council wrongly decided not to refer a claimed split in her business premises to the Valuation Office Agency. This is because the decision did not cause Miss X injustice.
Northampton Borough Council (20 001 885)
Summary: The complaint is about the way the Council bills for council tax when a taxpayer is in receipt of council tax reduction. We cannot uphold one part of the complaint, about when the Council sends out bills. But we do find fault that the Council does not send out calculations when it makes a change to its council tax reduction award. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.
London Borough of Southwark (20 013 699)
Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to apply payments to his council tax account, causing him financial loss. We have discontinued our investigation as there is not enough evidence of fault and it would be reasonable for Mr X to ask the Council to review his evidence of payment.
Cheshire West & Chester Council (21 000 495)
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his application for a business support grant. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Forest of Dean District Council (21 000 954)
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his applications for grants for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (21 001 630)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to award another Discretionary Housing Payment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (21 003 913)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about COVID-19-related grants.
London Borough of Waltham Forest (21 004 631)
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about events following the complainant’s eviction from privately rented accommodation in 2015. This is because it is a late complaint.
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