Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council increasing the complainant’s repayments for a benefit overpayment without discussing the increase in advance. This is because the Council has provided a fair response and there is not enough injustice to require an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council increased his payments for a benefit overpayment without discussing it with him first. Mr X wants to resume the payment agreement that was set up in 2019.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• the Council has already provided a fair response, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. In 2019 Mr X agreed to pay £10 a month towards a benefit overpayment. The sum was based on an assessment of his income and what he could afford to pay. Mr X regularly paid until December 2019. In December 2019 Mr X paid £240 which he regarded to be his required payments until January 2022.
5. Because Mr X paid £240 the Council decided he could afford to pay more than £10 a month. It withdrew the payment plan because he had stopped making payments and had paid a lump sum. The Council asked him to pay a higher amount.
6. In response to his complaint the Council apologised for not contacting Mr X when it withdrew the plan and for not discussing what might be affordable. In August the Council set up a new payment plan for £35 a month. It sent Mr X a financial statement which it asked him to return if he thought £35 was unaffordable.
7. Mr X says he cannot afford £35 a month. The Council says Mr X has not returned the financial statement. The Council has recently contacted Mr X again to invite him to submit a financial statement. In response to a draft of this decision Mr X said the Council has changed the payment plan back to the original amount.
8. I will not investigate this complaint because the Council has already provided a fair response. It accepts it should have contacted Mr X before changing the payment plan and it has apologised for not doing so. It invited Mr X to submit a financial statement and has now returned the payment back to the original amount. This is a fair response by the Council and there is not enough injustice to require an investigation. In addition, Mr X says he is satisfied with the outcome.

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Final decision

9. I will not investigate this complaint because the Council has provided a fair response and there is not enough remaining injustice to require an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman