Wycombe District Council (19 014 397)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 08 Jan 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s recovery of housing benefit. This is because if Mr X wanted to challenge the Council’s decision it was reasonable for him to appeal to the tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about an alleged overpayment of housing benefit. Mr X disputes the amount the Council says it overpaid 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 considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on his complaint.
What I found
- The Council has been recovering housing benefit from Mr X it says it overpaid him. The Council has been recovering the money through an Attachment of Earnings Order. This means deductions are made from Mr X’s wages. Mr X disputes the amount the Council is recovering.
- The role of the Ombudsman is to look for administrative fault. We are not a right of appeal for people who disagree with a council’s decision about their housing benefit. Decisions about entitlement to housing benefit can be appealed to the tribunal I refer to in paragraph 3. The tribunal is an independent, expert body, set up by Parliament, as a way for the public to challenge decisions about housing benefit. When there is a right to appeal to a tribunal, the Ombudsman normally expects people to use this right, unless it is unreasonable for them to do so. I see no reason Mr X could not have appealed to the tribunal if he disagreed with the amount the Council said he had been overpaid. An investigation by the Ombudsman is not therefore appropriate.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because it was reasonable for Mr X to use the appeal rights available to him.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman