Norwich City Council (19 013 021)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Jan 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint that the Council is at fault in deciding that it has overpaid housing benefit and in recovering it from him. This is because Mr A may appeal to a tribunal and it would be reasonable for him to do so.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr A, complains that the Council is at fault in deciding that it has overpaid housing benefit, and in recovering it from him.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr A has said in support of his complaint.
What I found
- Mr A says the Council has informed him that it has overpaid him housing benefit. He complains that it has not responded to his request for a meeting to discuss the matter and has not provided him with evidence to prove the overpayment was made.
- Mr A says the Council has now started deducting the disputed overpayment from his wages. He wants it to rescind the overpayment and refund the money it has taken so far.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint. Whether he has been overpaid and, if so, whether it should be recovered, are matters about which Mr A can appeal to the tribunal. Where appeal rights exist, the Ombudsman expects them to be used. It would be reasonable for Mr A to use his appeal rights.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr A to use his right to appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman