Summary: Ms T complains that, when she contacted the Council for help with housing costs, it delayed in informing her she had to apply for universal credit causing her financial loss. The Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault in failing to inform Ms T at the outset that she had to apply for universal credit rather than housing benefit. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Ms T in recognition of the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Ms T complains that, when she contacted the Council for help with housing costs, it delayed in informing her that she could not apply for housing benefit and, instead, had to apply for universal credit. As a result, she lost out on benefits.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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

4. I have considered all the information provided by Ms T, made enquiries of the Council and considered its comments and the documents it provided.
5. Ms T and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legal and administrative background

6. Universal credit (UC) rolls together several benefits including housing payments that were previously met by housing benefit. It was introduced by the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and was gradually rolled out across the country. The whole country is now covered by UC for new claims.

Key facts

7. Before July 2018 Ms T was in receipt of income related employment and support allowance (ESA) and housing benefit (HB). She inherited a lump sum in July 2018 and notified the DWP and the Council. As her capital now exceeded the capital limit of £16,000, her claims for HB and ESA ended.
8. Ms T says she phoned the Council in January 2019 because her capital was exhausted. However, the Council’s computer system shows she telephoned on 5 December 2018. The notes of the conversation show Ms T was advised she would have to make a new claim online because her previous claim was cancelled when she ceased to qualify. The notes state Ms T refused to go online so the officer sent her a paper application to complete the same day.
9. The Council received the completed application on 11 February 2019 and on 20 February 2019 it wrote to Ms T requesting further information. Ms T provided the requested information which the Council received on 4 March 2019.
10. The Council wrote to Ms T on 13 March 2019 confirming it had awarded council tax reduction (CTR) from 18 February 2019. It also advised Ms T that she should claim UC for help with her rent as it was no longer possible to apply for HB.
11. Ms T claimed UC and her claim commenced on 19 March 2019.

Analysis

12. Ms T says the Council should have advised her sooner that she needed to apply for UC rather than HB. She says that, as a result of its failure to do so, she has experienced financial loss.
13. Ms T was not entitled to claim HB because UC had been in place in the Council’s area since November 2014.
14. Ms T denies contacting the Council on 5 December 2018 and says she first telephoned the Council on 11 January 2019 asking to claim HB. She says she received a claim form on 26 January and returned this on 11 February 2019. The Council’s computer records do not support this argument. They show Ms T telephoned the Council on 5 December 2018. They show no further contact from her until 20 February 2019 when she telephoned asking whether her claim had been assessed.
15. The officer’s notes of the telephone conversation on 5 December 2018 are not detailed and do not state what information Ms T gave the officer and whether or not he advised her to claim UC. They simply state that the officer advised Ms T she would have to make a new claim as her previous claim was cancelled when she no longer qualified. The notes state “have sent paper application”. This was “A Claim Form for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction” which Ms T needed to complete to apply for CTR.
16. I find the officer should have advised Ms T she could not make a new claim for HB and needed to contact the DWP to apply for UC. There is no evidence that he did so.
17. The claim form sent to Ms T asks the claimant to tick boxes stating whether they are in receipt of UC or have made a claim for UC. It then states “you will not be able to claim housing benefit from the London Borough of Sutton. Please contact the Department of Work and Pensions to claim your housing costs. This will be included as part of your universal credit payment. The London Borough of Sutton will still be able to help you with your council tax”. The statement does not make it clear whether this applies if the claimant has ticked ‘yes’ or if they have ticked ‘no’. So, it was not clear from this statement that Ms T had to apply for UC.
18. The Council says it was only when Ms T responded to its request for further information on 4 March 2019 that she made it clear she wanted to claim HB and it responded explaining she would need to claim UC for her housing costs. This is incorrect. The officer told Ms T during the telephone conversation on 5 December 2018 that she would have to make a new claim because her previous claim had been cancelled. So, he was aware Ms T could not make a new claim for HB and would have to apply for UC. He should have informed her of this.
19. In conclusion, I find the Council was at fault in failing to advise Ms T to claim UC during the telephone conversation on 5 December 2018. If it had done so, it is likely she would have received UC a week later. When the Council finally advised Ms T to claim UC on 13 March 2019 her claim commenced six days later.

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Agreed action

20. In recognition of the injustice caused to Ms T, the Council has agreed that, within one month of this decision, it will:
• apologise to Ms T;
• pay Ms T a sum equal to the amount of UC she would have received between 5 December 2018 and 18 March 2019 if she had contacted the DWP to make a claim on 5 December 2018; and
• review its ‘Claim Form for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction’ to make it clear on the front page that if someone is making a new claim for help with housing costs, they cannot apply for HB but must contact the DWP to apply for UC.

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Final decision

21. I uphold Ms T’s complaint.
22. I have completed my investigation on the basis that the Council has agreed to implement the recommended remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman