London Borough of Haringey (21 000 591)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 03 Jun 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about steps the Council took to recover a housing benefit overpayment. This is because the complainant has a right of appeal to the Council and then a tribunal.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms C, complains about the Councils decision to recover a housing benefit overpayment.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 the information Ms C submitted along with her complaint, the Council’s response and information it provided. I sent a draft version of this decision to Ms C and invited her comments.
What I found
- The Council are seeking recovery of a housing benefit overpayment paid to Ms C in the 2016-2017 tax year. Ms C disputes the amount owed, and says she was out of the country for some of the time in question.
- Ms C complained to the Council about the matter, who responded at stage one of its complaints process. In December 2020, Ms C asked for her complaint to be progressed to the next stage and asked for the Council to carry out a review of the overpayment.
- The Council has now completed its review of the overpayment that it says Ms C owes and has made some adjustments. It has told Ms C she can appeal if she disagrees.
Assessment
- I will not investigate Ms C’s complaint about the Council’s decision to recover a housing benefit overpayment. This is because the Council has now completed a review and she has the right of appeal. If Ms C does appeal and is unsuccessful, she may appeal to the tribunal.
Final decision
- I will not investigate this complaint about the recovery of a housing benefit overpayment. This is because Ms C has the right to appeal to the Council and then the tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman