Epsom & Ewell Borough Council (21 004 128)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 Aug 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about housing benefit overpayments created by the Council in 2019. It was reasonable for him to appeal the overpayment decisions to the Social Entitlement Chamber which is the proper body to consider benefit appeals.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council’s creation of housing benefit overpayments on his account in 2019. He says the Council failed to properly take into account his wife’s fluctuating earnings which were not represented by the payslips used for the calculation.
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 information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says the Council placed overpayments on his housing benefit account related to his wife’s earnings in 2018 and 2019. He says the Council failed to take into account his wife’s fluctuating earnings due to changes in her ‘zero hours’ contract.
- Mr X complained to the Council about the benefit decisions in 2020. It says he was notified about his right to appeal the decisions on the notification letters at the time and it will not consider these matters further now.
- We will not normally investigate complaints about housing benefit overpayments and decisions where the complainant could have appealed these decisions to the independent tribunal.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about housing benefit overpayments created by the Council in 2019. It was reasonable for him to appeal the overpayment decisions to the Social Entitlement Chamber which is the proper body to consider benefit appeals.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman