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Case ref:201101617
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Date:May 2012
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Body:The City of Edinburgh Council
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Sector:Local Government
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Outcome:Some upheld, action taken by body to remedy, recommendations
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Subject:council tax (incl community charge)
Summary
Mr C and Ms C complained about the council's handling of an application for single person discount for council tax. The council had originally decided not to award single person discount but following the introduction of new guidance had revised their decision. Although single person discount had been awarded, Mr C and Ms C were unhappy with the number of questions asked by the council and the lack of explanation for the reasons for the questions. They were also concerned about the handling of their representations on the matter, the quality of information provided and the handling of their formal complaint.
We upheld most of the complaints. Prior to our involvement, the council had accepted that there had been some failings in the decision making processing and had taken action to improve the process and their customer service. During our investigation the council also accepted that they had failed to provide adequate information to Mr C and Ms C during the processing of the application. We did not, however, find evidence of any fault in the handling of the complaint.
Recommendations
We recommended that the council:
• apologise for the failings identified in this complaint; and
• remind staff of the importance of following the guidance previously issued.