Mr A complained about Swansea Council’s actions after it was notified that it had been given the incorrect banding for his property, resulting in an overpayment of Council Tax. He said that his online request for a refund was not actioned. Mr A was also unhappy with the Council’s complaint response, and the lack of information provided about the charges to his account.
The Ombudsman decided that the Council had responded appropriately to the information it had about the property banding, and that it had refunded Mr A the overpayment. However the Council did not respond to Mr A’s request for an explanation of the charges and statements issued, and it could not identify what happened to Mr A’s online request for a refund. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement within 2 weeks to provide Mr A with details of the charges, an explanation of the statements issued, and confirmation of action it would take to ensure that all future online requests were documented on the relevant accounts.