Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council recovering a housing benefit overpayment which it notified Mr X about in 2016. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council recovering a housing benefit overpayment which was issued to him in April 2016. He says the Council was partly responsible for the overpayment and he should not be expected to repay it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. 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)
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X was informed by the Council in April 2016 that he had incurred an overpayment of £2910.01 because he had not informed if he was receiving student finance. The Council accepted that it had failed to add his child credits and his wife’s student income but the overpayment was recoverable due to the change in his income. The Council advised him in May 2016 that he could appeal the decision and he was aware of this.
8. Mr X did not complain to us about the overpayment decision until October 2022 which is five years beyond the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council recovering a housing benefit overpayment which it notified Mr X about in 2016. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman