Summary: Mr X complains the Council is seeking to recover overpayments of housing benefit it previously considered to be non recoverable. The Council did not agree that all overpayments of housing benefit paid to Mr X were non recoverable. But the Council is at fault as it failed to recover the overpayments from Mr X between 2015 and 2018. Mr X was caused some shock as he received an unexpected bill for the overpayments in 2018. The Council has agreed to remedy Mr X’s injustice by apologising to him and arranging a reasonable repayment plan with Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council is seeking to recover overpayments of housing benefit which it previously considered to be non recoverable.

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What I have investigated

2. I have investigated whether there is evidence to show the Council decided overpayments of housing benefit paid to Mr X were non recoverable.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have:
• Considered the complaint and the information provided by Mr X;
• Discussed the issues with Mr X;
• Made enquiries of the Council and considered the information provided;
• Invited Mr X and the Council to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

7. Mr X claimed housing benefit for a number of years. The Council considered it made overpayments of housing benefit for the periods 7 to 28 October 2013 and 10 November 2014 to 22 December 2014 for the sum of £831.31. The Council also considered these were recoverable from Mr X. The Council started to recover the overpayments from Mr X’s ongoing housing benefit.
8. The Council also considered it had overpaid Mr X for the period 22 December 2012 to 11 March 2013. It notified Mr X and his landlord that this overpayment was not recoverable in May 2014. Mr X says the Council decided all the overpayments were not recoverable at this time. Following further correspondence from Mr X, the Council wrote to him in July 2014 explaining that not all the overpayments were non recoverable and there were still amounts to be recovered from him.
9. In 2015 Mr X and the Council entered into a consent order about his homelessness application. The terms of the order provided Mr X would withdraw his appeal and the Council would consider his homelessness application afresh. Mr X has said his representative also raised the issue of the overpayments not being recoverable in court before the consent order was made. Mr X considers this means the Council agreed not to recover the overpayments.
10. In May and June 2015 Mr X made complaints to the Council that it was continuing to recover overpayments from his housing benefit. Mr X considered the Council had made all the overpayments non recoverable. The Council responded and advised Mr X that some of the overpayments were recoverable.
11. The Council offered a tenancy to Mr X in 2015. Mr X says the Council had to confirm if he had any debts, including housing benefit overpayments, before offering the property to him. He considers the fact the Council offered the property to him meant the overpayments were not recoverable.
12. The Council stopped recovering the overpayments from Mr X in late 2015.
13. In 2018 the Council sent an invoice to Mr X for £831.31 for the overpayments. The Council advised Mr X it stopped recovering the overpayments due to a systems error. Mr X made a complaint to the Council. In response the Council confirmed the overpayments were recoverable. It said it stopped recovering the overpayments when Mr X stopped claiming housing benefit. In response to my enquiries the Council has said it stopped recovering the overpayments as Mr X absconded from the address the overpayments related to.

My assessment

14. Mr X considers the Council made all the overpayments non recoverable. There is no evidence to show this was the case. The Council’s letters of July 2014 and May and June 2015 show it explained to Mr X that some of the overpayments were recoverable. The consent order deals with Mr X’s homelessness application. It did not provide that the Council would make the overpayments non recoverable. The Council’s offer of a tenancy to Mr X also does not show the Council decided the overpayments were non recoverable.
15. The Council has given conflicting explanations for why it stopped recovering the overpayment. There is no evidence to show Mr X absconded from the address relating to the overpayment. Mr X notified the Council each time he moved and the overpayments relate to his claims at different addresses. It is likely the Council failed to arrange another method of recovery when Mr X stopped claiming housing benefit. This is fault. As a result Mr X had the shock of receiving an unexpected bill. The Council should remedy this injustice by apologising to Mr X and agreeing a reasonable repayment plan with him which takes account of his financial circumstances.

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Agreed Action

16. That the Council:
1. Sends a written apology for failing to set up a new recovery arrangement with Mr X for the overpayments and for the shock caused by receiving an unexpected bill.
2. Agrees a reasonable repayment plan with Mr X for the overpayments which takes account of his financial circumstances.

The Council should take this action within one month of my final decision.

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Final decision

17. The Council did not agree that all overpayments of housing benefit paid to Mr X were non recoverable. But the Council is at fault as it failed to recover the overpayments from Mr X between 2015 and 2018. Mr X was caused some shock as he received an unexpected bill for the overpayments in 2018. The Council has agreed to remedy Mr X’s injustice as recommended so I have completed my investigation.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

18. Mr X had the right to appeal against the Council’s decision that he had been overpaid housing benefit. I have not investigated if Mr X appealed against the overpayments when they arose and whether the Council properly dealt with any appeal by Mr X. The overpayments occurred between five and six years ago so I do not consider I can reliably establish the facts of what happened due the passage of time.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman