Summary: Mrs B, acting on behalf of the family of the late Mrs X, complains the Council failed to provide financial information following Mrs X’s death so that the family was unaware that a benefit overpayment had to be repaid from the estate. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint as it falls outside our jurisdiction because the family was aware of the overpayment in 2017 and it is too late for an investigation now.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains the Council failed to give her and other members of Mrs X’s family details of a DWP benefit overpayment which the Council had been responsible for and which had been discovered when Mrs X died. Mrs B says the first the family knew of the debt, which should have been paid by Mrs X’s estate, was early in 2019 when the DWP sought repayment and after the estate had been dispersed.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. In considering the complaint I spoke to Mrs B and reviewed the information she provided, including the Council’s response to her complaint. I gave Mrs B the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

Back to top

What I found

4. The Council acted as appointee for Mrs X while she was alive. In error it failed to notify the DWP of a change in Mrs X’s capital which led to the DWP overpaying her benefit. This overpayment was discovered on Mrs X’s death in February 2017.
5. Mrs B says she, along with Mrs X’s son, Mr C, who had been named as Executor, sought information about Mrs X’s finances at the time of her death but that the Council refused to provide any. The DWP sent Mr C, as Executor, a letter in May 2017 advising of the overpayment and that it would have to be repaid from Mrs X’s estate. Mrs B says Mr C did not receive this letter and so the family was unaware of the debt before the estate was dispersed.
6. Mrs B says the first the family knew of the debt was in early 2019 when the DWP made contact to recover the overpayment. As the overpayment had occurred as the result of an oversight by the Council in failing to keep the DWP updated on Mrs X’s change in capital, she complained to the Council.
7. The Council responded to the complaint and, while acknowledging its involvement in the creation of the overpayment, said that the overpayment had been identified by the DWP in 2017 and Mr C informed accordingly. It noted that Mrs B’s husband, another of Mrs X’s sons, had instructed solicitors in relation to the matter and that Mr C as Executor had a legal responsibility to make provision for any potential liabilities before sharing out the estate. It further noted that the Council was not responsible for the time taken by the DWP in pursuing the debt.

Assessment

8. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 2 of this statement applies to this complaint because Mrs B and Mrs X’s sons were aware of the overpayment in 2017.
9. The Council’s records show a telephone conversation with Mrs B took place on 26 May 2017 when she asked for information about a request from the DWP for information regarding the estate. The records also show that on 1 June 2017 Mrs B and Mr C brought in a letter from DWP Recovery about the matter. While I note there is a dispute about what letters Mr C had received and when, the Council’s contemporaneous records show contact on this matter in 2017.
10. As it appears Mrs B and the family were aware of the DWP overpayment in 2017, I see no grounds which warrant exercising discretion to investigate the complaint now.

Back to top

Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction as the family was aware of the overpayment in 2017 and it is too late for an investigation now.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman