Overview
The complainant (Mr C) raised a number of concerns relating to the way in which The City of Edinburgh Council (the Council) had dealt with his correspondence and subsequent appeal in relation to council tax liability, and the way in which his complaint about this matter had been handled.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council's:
- (a) response in not treating Mr C's letter of 6 December 2005 as an appeal was unreasonable (upheld); and
- (b) administration of Mr C's correspondence and investigation of his complaint was inadequate (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) introduce a system to record all council tax appeals on receipt. Target dates should be set to ensure that all appeals are actioned within ten days of receipt, and where appropriate cases are referred to the Valuation Appeals Committee within two months of receipt, unless additional information has been requested. Management information should be produced to provide assurance to senior managers that management and legislative targets are being met, or to identify the need for remedial action to be taken in good time where the targets have not been met. The Ombudsman asks that the Council inform her on the introduction of this recommendation; and
- (ii) review their complaints handling process, introduced in 2006 to ensure it properly identifies the root causes of complaints and uses this information to identify service improvements.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.