Overview
The complainants (Mr and Mrs C) complained about the manner in which Community Charge was recovered by Midlothian Council (the Council). They disputed an outstanding amount the Council indicated as having been owed by Mrs C, and they did not believe the Council had a right to recover the debt through an internal data matching scheme without, in their view, letting them have prior notice of the debt before deferring to this measure.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
(a) the Council failed to take steps to recover the debt until it was highlighted in an employee initiative scheme (not upheld);
(b) the Council was unable to provide contemporaneous evidence of the outstanding debt (not upheld);
(c) the Council pursued the debt in an unreasonable manner (not upheld); and
(d) the Council's arrestment procedure commenced before the complaints procedure was fully exhausted (not upheld).
Redress and recommendation
The Ombudsman recommends the Council notifies complainants that action in relation to the arrestment of wages for the recovery of debt may continue during the handling of the complaint; to avoid the risk of misunderstandings in future cases.
The Council have accepted the recommendation and will act on it accordingly.