Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a housing benefit overpayment and appeal delays. This is because the complaint is late and there is no good reason for this. And even if we were to investigate, it is likely we would consider the Council has taken suitable action.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has delayed over 10 years in responding to her appeal about a housing benefit overpayment. She says the Council should not have decided it had overpaid her as she was subject to domestic abuse. She complains the Council’s delay caused her frustration and anxiety. She seeks payment of the housing benefit overpayment recovered from her and financial compensation for the distress 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 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).
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 investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Ms X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
8. The Council replied that its delay in submitting Ms X’s appeal to the tribunal was significantly longer than expected. It apologised for this and said one of the reasons was a backlog of appeals from the time of the Covid 19 pandemic. The Council explained it had made service improvements to prevent delays in future.
9. The Council’s final responses noted Ms X had withdrawn her appeal. It stated it was satisfied the overpayment was correct. However, the Council it noted Ms X was applying for a Debt Relief Order. It said it had considered her inability to pay, and it had decided to write off the outstanding balance of £5900. It confirmed it would not refund the £2100 it had already recovered. It did not consider financial compensation was appropriate.
10. We will not investigate this complaint regarding the Council’s delay from 2015 in sending its appeal submission to the Social Entitlement Tribunal. This is because the complaint is late and there is no good reason for this. It was reasonable to expect Ms X to complain earlier or to seek help to complain.
11. We cannot investigate a complaint when a complainant has already appealed because the appealable matters are for the tribunal to decide.
12. Even if we were to exercise our discretion to investigate the Council’s delay in progressing the appeal to the tribunal, we would not do so because the Council has taken suitable action. It has apologised and made service improvements to prevent delays in future. I note the Council has also written off the outstanding overpayment having considered Ms X’s current circumstances. These are suitable remedies and we would not make further recommendations. I have taken into account the Council’s view that it was satisfied the overpayment was correct. It would have been reasonable to expect Ms X to pursue her appeal to the Social Entitlement Tribunal if she disagreed with the Council’s decision. That Tribunal could decide whether the Council’s decision on the full overpayment was correct.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because part of it is late. She has used her right of appeal, and the Council has taken satisfactory action.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman