Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s recovery of an alleged overpayment of housing benefit. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late and it was reasonable for Mr X to appeal to the tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has been pursuing an alleged overpayment of housing benefit since 2013.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
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 considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I also gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on his complaint.

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What I found

6. Mr X says the Council has been pursuing an alleged overpayment of housing benefit since 2013. Mr X says he has always disputed the overpayment. He says the Council has now passed the debt on to its enforcement agents.
7. The matter Mr X complains about dates back six years. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. We look at each complaint individually and on its merits, considering the particular circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are clear and compelling reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here. I see no reason why Mr X could not have complained much earlier, and so the exception at paragraph 2 applies to his complaint. In reaching this decision I have taken into account the point I make below.
8. Decisions about alleged housing benefit overpayments can be appealed to the tribunal detailed in paragraph 4. Parliament set up the tribunal to consider appeals about housing benefit and it is an expert impartial body. So, even if Mr X’s complaint was not late, an investigation would not be appropriate. This is because it was reasonable for Mr X to use the appeal rights available to him.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late, and it was reasonable for Mr X to use the appeal rights available to him.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman