Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about housing benefit overpayments. This is because the complainant could have used her appeal rights and because it is a late complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, does not agree she should have to repay housing benefit which the Council told her about in 2019. She says the overpayment was caused by Council errors and the debt is too old to be recovered. Ms X wants the Council to review the overpayment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review 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 use this right. (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)
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes correspondence from 2019. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council notified Ms X of several housing benefit overpayments between 2015 and 2019. Ms X did not use her appeal rights. She asked for a review of an overpayment raised in 2019. In October 2019 the Council provided a detailed summary of all the overpayments, offered appeal rights for those that could still be appealed, and asked her to set up a payment plan for the total overpayment of £6291. The letter noted Ms X had repaid some of the overpayment and referred to Ms X moving and not providing a forwarding address.
8. Ms X did not appeal in 2019 after getting the review reply. In 2024 the Council sent an invoice for £6255 to her current address. Ms X has contacted the Council to repeat that she disputes the overpayment.
9. I will not start an investigation because, because 2015 and 2019, Ms X could have appealed to the tribunal. It is reasonable to expect her to appeal because the tribunal is the appropriate body to consider disputes about overpayments and the Council notified Ms X of her appeal rights.
10. I also will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint. Ms X has known about some of the overpayments since 2017 and received a comprehensive summary in 2019. She knew the Council had not cancelled the overpayment and knew she had not appealed to the tribunal. I have not seen any good reason to accept a late complaint because Ms X has known about the overpayment for more than a year and because, as I have said, she could have used her appeal rights.
11. The most recent invoice was issued in 2024. Ms X says the debt is too late for the Council to recover. It seems Ms X is referring to the statute of limitations but, even if this applies to any of the overpayments, it only refers to a council taking court action and does not refer to other methods of recovery such as making deductions from someone’s pay.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint because Ms X could have used her appeal rights and because this is a late complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman