Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a housing benefit overpayment because the complainants could have appealed to the tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainants, Mr & Mrs X, complain about a housing benefit overpayment. They say they cannot afford to repay the overpayment in a lump sum and the Council has not replied to their letters or emails.

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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. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction. This includes appeals about overpayments.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainants and the Council. This includes correspondence about the overpayment and the decision letters. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council asked Mr & Mrs X to repay a housing benefit overpayment after it found out Mr X had a pension he had not disclosed. The pension affected Mr & Mrs X’s entitlement to housing benefit and council tax support and created overpayments. The Council asked Mr & Mrs X to repay the overpayments.
8. Following correspondence from Mr & Mrs X the Council revised the amount of the overpayment and notified them of their appeal rights. An officer spoke with Mr X to explain the overpayment. The Council told me Mr & Mrs X have not asked to repay the money in instalments.
9. I will not start an investigation because Mr & Mrs X could have appealed to the tribunal if they dispute they should have to repay the overpayment or disagree with the amount. It is reasonable to expect them to appeal because the tribunal is the correct organisation to consider benefit appeals and the Council notified Mr & Mrs X of their appeal rights. It is not our role to decide if the overpayment is correct or say whether it is recoverable.
10. Mr & Mrs X say the Council has not responded but I have seen correspondence between both parties and there have been calls.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint because the complainants could have appealed to the tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman