Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss B’s complaint that the Council wrongly applied a cap to her housing benefit. This is because it was reasonable to expect Miss B to use her right to seek a review or appeal when she received the Council’s decision in September 2018.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss B, complained that the Council wrongly applied a cap to her housing benefit. Miss B told us this caused her to incur significant debt and caused her stress, anxiety and depression.

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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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered the information Miss B provided and the Council’s responses to her complaint. I have given Miss B an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

6. In September 2018 the Council assessed Miss B’s claim using income information it received from the Department of Work and Pensions. As a result of this assessment the Council calculated it had overpaid Miss B over £2,500 housing benefit. The Council sent Miss B a housing benefit award letter. The housing benefit calculation details did not record all of Miss B’s children.
7. After she received the Council’s housing benefit decision, Miss B had the right to appeal in writing within one month. She could have asked the Council to review its decision or asked for an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. If she had asked for a review and the Council did not change its decision, she could then have written to the Council asking for an appeal to the Tribunal.
8. Miss B’s rent arrears built up and she faced losing her tenancy. She told us she is so angry and upset because the Council missed many opportunities to fix the problem. Miss B says she asked the Council on numerous occasions if her benefit was correct and if all of her children were on her claim and the Council always said “yes”. She says she also sent in payslips on a couple of occasions. She says the Council only put right the problem after she had informed it of its mistake. This was the day before the court possession order hearing.
9. The Council says in January 2019 Miss B emailed asking it, in particular, to reconsider her earnings. But at the end of her email the Council says Miss B referred to the number of children she was looking after. The Council reassessed her claim and decided it had underpaid housing benefit. But it says it failed to notice it had not taken all of her children into consideration. The Council told Miss B the issue has been raised with the individuals involved and it would give them the necessary training. The Council told Miss B the September 2018 error with the number of her children was caused by an IT system glitch. It says it has been working to ensure this does not happen again.
10. In February 2019 Miss B emailed the Council saying it had not taken account of all of her children. The Council says it put this problem right two days later. As a result, the housing benefit overpayment decreased significantly.
11. The Council has accepted Miss B contacted its call centre on several occasions. But it says, although call centre staff have a good working knowledge of housing benefit, they are not assessment officers.
12. Miss B told us she is not happy with the Council’s response because she does not feel the action it has taken makes up for all the hardship, stress, depression and anxiety she and her children have suffered.
13. We do not normally consider complaints about mistakes the Council has made in its calculation of housing benefit. That is because the law provides a specific right of appeal against Council decisions on housing benefit awards and overpayments. The First Tier Tribunal is the body with the specific expertise and powers to consider housing benefit appeals. For those reasons it was reasonable to expect Miss B to appeal in writing when she received the Council’s September 2018 decision. Telephone calls to the Council’s call centre are not a substitute for requesting a review or appeal in writing.

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Final decision

14. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it was reasonable to expect Miss B to use her right to seek a review or appeal when she received the Council’s decision in September 2018.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman