Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax support and a housing benefit overpayment because there is a right of appeal to a tribunal which has been used. There is no evidence of significant fault by the Council which would warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council refused a Council tax support claim and considers him liable to repay a Council tax overpayment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. The Social Entitlement Chamber (also known as the Social Security Appeal Tribunal) is a tribunal that considers housing benefit appeals. (The Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
6. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. Mr X says that he applied for housing benefit and Council tax support in 2022. He says the claims were refused due to a dispute as to whether money in his account belonged to him.
10. He says the Council agreed with him but the Council says that his savings were too high to enable Council tax support to be paid. The Council says he’d been overpaid housing benefit.
11. Any dispute about a housing benefit overpayment could be appealed to a tribunal. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.
12. A further claim for Council tax support was made but this was refused. Again, any dispute about Council tax support could be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
13. Mr X has also appealed against a refusal of Universal Credit but this is not a benefit within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
14. The Council has used bailiffs to enforce the Council tax arrears. Whilst the Council accept Mr X’s partner’s name was misspelt, and the Council’s response could have been clearer, I have seen no evidence of significant fault by the Council in pursuing arrears of Council tax.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is a right of appeal to a tribunal and there is no evidence of significant fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman