‘Goodwill payment’ made to resident over council tax chase-up

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

Westminster City council has paid a resident’s legal fees in a “goodwill gesture” after the authority pursued him for unpaid council tax, despite telling him the bills were on hold.

The council agreed to refund £225 in court fees the resident incurred while trying to pay his tax, a Local Government and Social Care ombudsman report found.

The ombudsman pulled its investigation after the council and Mr X – as he is referred to in the report – came to a “reasonable remedy” following his complaints about the way he was pursued.

Mr X said the council sent enforcement officers to collect the council tax despite telling him his account had been put on hold.

The resident owed Westminster City council tax when he moved into his previous property in January 2021 but didn’t inform the council until a year and nine months later.

The council then issued several backdated council tax bills, which Mr X challenged on the grounds he was a student. Westminster City agreed to place his account on hold until the man provided an exemption certificate but did not confirm how long the hold would last.

In early 2023, they issued Mr X with two reminder notices and by May, they hired an enforcement agency to pursue him for the outstanding balance.

Mr X contacted the council and paid the tax by July 2023 but was unhappy with the way the council had treated him after telling him his account was on hold.

The council agreed to refund collection fees but maintained it had acted “in line” with the correct processes when it began trying to recover the missing funds. The ombudsman agreed.

A Westminster City Council spokesman said: “The council will always offer assistance to those who have difficulty paying their council tax. In this case, the ombudsman found that the council acted reasonably to ensure the correct payment was made.

“However, the council has refunded the court fees incurred by the resident as a gesture of goodwill.”

Picture: Westminster City Hall  (Picture: Westminster City Council)