Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about housing benefit and council tax reduction decisions. This is because Ms X has appealed. Parts of the complaint are late, and there is not enough evidence of fault regarding other complaints.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council is wrong to pursue recovery of housing benefit and council tax reduction overpayments from 2021. She says the Council
• should refund rent account and council tax credits
• should stop deductions from her benefit as they are causing severe hardship
• did not take account of her disability and used enforcement agents.
• should compensate her for the distress and anxiety she experienced.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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).
4. 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).
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In 2021 following a fraud investigation the Council decided Ms X was not entitled to housing benefit and council tax reduction. The Council sent Ms X its overpayment decisions. It used credits on her rent and council tax accounts to reduce the overpayments.
8. In 2023 the Tribunal partially upheld Ms X’s appeal against the Council’s decision. The Council revised Ms X’s housing benefit and council tax reduction in line with the Tribunal’s decision. It advised her of the reduced overpayments.
9. In April 2025 Ms X complained the Council should not seek to recover the overpayments. She said its decision was wrong and provided evidence. She said the Council should not have used credits on her rent and council tax accounts, and requested a refund. Ms X also complained the Council sent a council tax summons during a mental health crisis, and it used enforcement agents.
10. The Council did not uphold Ms X’s complaint and would not change its decision, or refund credits. It explained the Tribunal found part of the overpayment was correct and recoverable. The Tribunal had considered Ms X’s evidence. The Council had recalled the account from its enforcement agents in 2023 when she advised it of her disability. It said it would now seek deductions from her benefits. The DWP has started deductions of £5 per month from her benefits.
11. Ms X has appealed the Council’s 2021 housing benefit and council tax reduction decisions, so we cannot investigate this as paragraph 2 explains.
12. Ms X’s complaint regarding the Council’s use of enforcement agents in 2023 is late. I do not consider there are good reasons for the late complaint and so I will not investigate it. In addition, the Council stopped using enforcement agents when it became aware of Ms X’s disability and it is recovering by deductions from benefits, having considered Ms X’s circumstances. There is not enough evidence of fault here to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint because Ms X has appealed to the Tribunal. Part of the complaint is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify investigation regarding the complaints that are in time.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman