Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a housing benefit overpayment. This is because the complaint is late. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s recent actions.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council’s housing benefit overpayment decision in 2015 was wrong, and it should not continue to recover it. She says the Council did not advise her how she could appeal and it has not taken account of her medical condition and the hardship it has caused.

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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. 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)).

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
6. The Council replied it had advised her of the right of appeal in 2015. As she had not appealed it had recovered the overpayment by making deductions from her housing benefit. It had then sent her an invoice for the remaining overpayment. It noted Ms X’s circumstances were difficult. It advised Ms X to contact its overpayment recovery team to discuss affordable repayments.
7. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council overpayment decision in 2015. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons for this.
8. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation into the Council’s more recent actions in 2025. The Council has explained the reasons for its continuing recovery of the overpayment. It has advised Ms X to contact its recovery team to discuss an affordable arrangement.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for this. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s recent actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman