Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint about a housing benefit and council tax benefit/support overpayment. This is because the matter has been considered in court and by the tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains about benefit overpayments which go back many years. She wants compensation and for the overpayments to be quashed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I read the complaint and got some information from the Council. This includes the tribunal decisions and a press article about Ms X’s conviction for fraud. I invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

6. About 15 years ago the Council provided Ms X with housing after she said she was homeless. Ms X received housing benefit and council tax benefit to help her pay her rent and council tax.
7. The next year Ms X bought a property which she rented out to tenants.
8. Ms X applied to buy her home under Right to Buy. The Council found out about the property that she owned and rented to tenants.
9. The Council stopped Ms X’s benefits and asked her to repay more than £80,000. The Council prosecuted Ms X for fraud. The court found Ms X guilty of benefit fraud.
10. Ms X appealed to the tribunal about the overpayments. The tribunal decided she did have to repay the money but directed the Council to recalculate the amount. The Council recalculated and reduced the overpayment to about £47,000. It notified Ms X and her solicitor of the revised figures. Ms X had 28 days to challenge the revised figures with the tribunal. The Council says Ms X did not dispute the revised figures. The Council says the tribunal closed the file on 1 September 2019.
11. Ms X wants the overpayments quashed and compensation for the stress and anxiety. She is finding it hard to pay the council tax.

Assessment

12. I cannot start an investigation because the issues have been considered in court and by the tribunal. The law says the Ombudsman cannot investigate any matter that has been considered by the tribunal and has formed part of legal proceedings. The tribunal decided Ms X must repay housing benefit and council tax benefit (or council tax support) and the Ombudsman cannot intervene in that decision.
13. The tribunal decided Ms X must repay the money, and the court convicted Ms X of fraud. In this context there is no reason to ask the Council to pay compensation to Ms X. I appreciate Ms X may be struggling to repay the money, or pay her council tax, but that is a consequence of what happened.

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Final decision

14. I cannot start an investigation because the matter has been considered in court and by the tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman