City of Wolverhampton Council (25 016 030)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 03 Dec 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a housing benefit overpayment as the matter has been appealed to a tribunal.
The complaint
- Ms X complains that the Council has sought recovery of an overpayment of housing benefit from 2014.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X says that the Council is trying to recover an overpayment of housing benefit from a property in which she resided in 2014. She says that this is unfair and the Council has not provided a proper detailed explanation.
- Ms X has appealed the decision in June 2025.
- The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. I see no reason why an appeal could not determine this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she has appealed to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman