Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council delayed pursuing an overpayment of housing benefit. The Council is entitled to pursue repayment of the full amount. Mr X complains late about events before December 2019 and there is no reason to exercise discretion to investigate.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has delayed over two years in pursuing an overpayment of housing benefit. He says the Council should cancel the debt or accept a lower amount due to its inefficiency.

Back to top

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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered Mr X’s information and comments. The Council has supplied the complaint correspondence. I have obtained its emails with Mr X, about the debt, from early 2018.

Back to top

What I found

7. The Council says in January 2017 it wrote to Mr X about an overpayment of benefit. There was a separate amount owed by both Mr and Mrs X. The Council says Mr X agreed to pay the debt and made some payments in 2017.
8. Early in 2018 the Council communicated with Mr X who requested a breakdown of the debt. Mr X referred to paying two invoices, pointed out that two invoices were issued in his wife’s name, and later (13/4/20) informed the Council that he rather than his wife had been a student. The Council wrote to Mr X on 13 and 24 April 2018 explaining the debt. It also explained about joint and individual liability.
9. The Council says it did not receive payments after October 2017. By mistake it failed to pursue the debt until August 2020 when it traced Mr X’s new address. The Council has apologised for the delay but requires Mr X to pay the debt of 1049.93. The complaint reply dated 25 November 2020 asked Mr X to confirm how much he is willing to pay so that an agreement can be set up.
10. On 8 December 2020 Mr X complained to this office. He says: ‘I may have dropped the ball in handling this at the time’. He says it is not acceptable for the Council to recover the full debt when there have been mistakes on both sides.

Analysis

11. I will not investigate this complaint for the following reasons:
12. The original actions on the debt are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because Mr X complains late, outside the permitted period of 12 months (see paragraph 3 above). This includes actions before December 2019 which Mr X knew about.
13. I will not exercise discretion to investigate because Mr X could have complained to this office sooner and investigation is not likely to achieve anything. Mr and Mrs X would also have had a right to appeal to the Social Security Tribunal against the overpayment. The decision to recover the overpayment is therefore outside our jurisdiction (paragraphs 4 & 5). Mr X knew about the debt in 2017 and could have taken his own advice.
14. The Council is entitled to pursue an overpayment of benefit. Mr X has not disputed he and/or his wife owed the debt and is therefore obliged to pay.
15. The Ombudsman cannot achieve what Mr X wants which is the cancellation or reduction in the debt. The Council has apologised for the delay in handling the case which remedies any injustice.

Back to top

Final decision

16. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council delayed pursuing an overpayment of housing benefit. The Council is entitled to pursue repayment of the full amount. Mr X complains late about events before December 2019 and there is no reason to exercise discretion to investigate.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman