Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about repaying a housing benefit overpayment because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council did not tell him it had changed its bank details and it was not receiving the payments he was making to repay a housing benefit overpayment. Mr X says he should not have to repay the outstanding £423.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X. This includes the Council’s response to the complaint. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. In 2012 the Council asked Mr X to repay a housing benefit overpayment of £693. Mr X set up a standing order to pay £10 a month. In 2015 Mr X noticed that his payments were being rejected. He made about nine other attempts to pay but they were returned to his bank.
5. In 2021 the Council told Mr X he still owed £423. It said it had changed its bank details in 2015. It also said his account had “become stuck in the system” and it had only recently become aware of the outstanding debt. The Council said Mr X had received benefit he was not entitled to and he still needed to repay it. The Council offered another payment plan of £10 a month for six months.
6. Mr X does not recall the Council telling him it had changed its bank details and he does not think he should have to pay the £423.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice. Due to the time that has passed it is unlikely we could establish if the Council told Mr X about the change of bank details. However, Mr X was aware that his payment had been returned so he could have contacted the Council in 2015 to ask why his £10 had not been accepted. Mr X could also have contacted the Council when his other payments failed. Mr X knew he still owed money for the overpayment and knew he had not made any payments since 2015. It would have been better if the Council had contacted Mr X about the outstanding debt before 2021. But, the amount has not increased and Mr X has not made any payments since 2015.

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Final decision

8. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman