London Borough of Haringey (26 013 142)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Aug 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the recovery of housing benefit overpayments. This is because the complaint is made late.
The complaint
- X complains about the Council’s recovery of housing benefit overpayments, which he says he has paid.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I will not investigate X’s complaint because it is made late. X has been aware of the overpayments for several years and the Council dealt with a complaint X made about the issue in 2024. I see no good reason why X could not have complained to us sooner.
Final decision
- We will not investigate X’s complaint because it is made late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman