Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about recovery of a housing benefit overpayment. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigation. Part of Mr X’s complaint is late.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains he repaid two housing benefit overpayments but the Council misallocated them and it is seeking repayment. He says the Council continued to take recovery action while he was making his complaints about the matter.
2. Mr X also complains the Council did not act when he notified it he was working in January 2024 and this meant the overpayment increased.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
7. The Council replied that it did not uphold his complaint that payments were allocated incorrectly. It said
• It notified Mr X of the overpayment in May 2024. He was not entitled to housing benefit when he started work.
• It had sent him an invoice and reminders, but Mr X did not reply or pay.
• Mr X became entitled to housing benefit again later in 2024. It made deductions from his entitlement each week to reduce the overpayment.
• Mr X paid £1200 to his rent account in 2025. This had cleared his rent arrears.
• It had no record Mr X advised the payment was for the overpayment.
• Mr X paid also paid £92 by to his rent account.
• Mr X paid £1211 to the Council for another overpayment when it invoiced him.
8. Mr X says he has evidence he asked the Council to allocate the payments he made to the overpayment not his rent account. The Council asked for this evidence, but it says it has not received it.
9. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation. The Council notified Mr X by invoice and later made weekly deductions from housing benefit. The payments Mr X made were allocated to his rent account as he paid into the rent account.
10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the matters in paragraph 2. This is because the complaint is late as it relates to events Mr X was aware in January 2024. This is more than 12 months before Mr X complained to the Ombudsman and there are no good reasons for this.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigation. Part of Mr X’s complaint is late and there are no good reasons for this.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman