Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled his council tax and housing benefit claims since 2011, homelessness, and more recent debt recovery. Mr X complains late about much of the history. The Council has agreed to deal with its debt recovery actions via its complaint procedure.

The complaint

1. Complaint 1: Mr X complains the Council has demanded too much council tax from him between August 2011 and December 2020. Mr X says the Council failed to pay his council tax support entitlement. He says the flat he lived in during 2016 was in the wrong council tax band. The Valuation Office unfairly refused his request in 2016 to change the banding.
2. Complaint 2: Mr X complains the Council failed to deal properly with his housing benefit account. Mr X says in 2011 the Council failed to correctly pay the first and last housing benefit payments of a claim. He says it owes him £1186 housing benefit for the years 2014 to 2018. He says the Council has failed to backdate benefit. It sometimes refused him discretionary housing payments during this period which caused his family hardship.
3. Complaint 3: Mr X complains about the Council’s actions when he was homeless. He says he was in 7 different bed and breakfasts over a period of 15 months. In 2019 the Council promised to provide a deposit and first month of rent when they found a new home but it failed to do so. Mr X says in 2019 he had to pay storage costs for his belongings and the Council failed to cover the full cost. He says he had to borrow money from a friend.
4. Complaint 4: Mr X complains the Council has in 2019-20 recovered a council tax debt in an unreasonable way. Mr X says the Council applied costs to the council tax account when it ignored or delayed replying to his communications about the debt and wrote to the wrong address. He says it deducted £29.70 per week from his benefits for 13 months. It ignored his pleas about the deductions and the impact of being homeless for so long. Mr X says the Council caused hardship to his family and he has young children. Mr X also complains the Council is threatening to pursue recovery of a housing benefit overpayment of £91.72 which it says goes back to 2018. He does not believe he owes this money. Mr X says the Council has caused him time and trouble and distress and should pay him compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
6. 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)
7. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
8. 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)
9. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

10. I have considered Mr X’s information and comments and discussed the complaint with him by telephone. I have considered the Council’s communication including on the 2017-18 position.

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What I found

11. Mr X’s information refers to the Council refusing discretionary housing payments in 2014 and 2015. It says a payment was made for the final months of 2017.
12. The Council wrote to Mr X in January and March 2021 about the position at the flat. It says on 30 August 2018 Mr X left the first floor flat and stopped being liable for council tax. The Council refers to changes in the council tax support position in the earlier 17 months due to changes in Mr X’s income. It says it sent him decision notices.
13. Mr X says he moved to homeless accommodation around 2019 and remained there for some 15 months.
14. Mr X says from early 2020 the Council has deducted debt from his universal credit. He says the deduction was £29.70 per month, not the lower amount the Council says it deducted. Mr X says he has young children and could not afford the deduction.
15. The Council’s communication with this office in December 2020 refers to an attachment to benefit and says the council tax debt was paid off on 17 December 2020. The Council has written recently to Mr X threatening to send the housing benefit debt to bailiffs.
16. On 3 December 2020 Mr X complained to the Ombudsman. The Council wrote to Mr X on 17 March explaining the position at the 2018 flat but did not explain the debt recovery or current position. The Council has also written to Mr X, in May 2021, with a breakdown of his council tax account 2011 to 2020 showing payments and costs. I have communicated with the Council and it has agreed to deal with the complaint about debt recovery actions via its complaint procedure.

Analysis

17. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint for the following reasons:
18. The history of Mr X’s council tax and housing benefit claims before December 2019 is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because Mr X complains late after the permitted period of 12 months (see paragraph 7 above). This includes earlier decisions on discretionary housing payments. Also, the Council’s 2017/18 decisions on the first floor flat and most of the period he was homeless.
19. I will not exercise discretion to investigate the earlier period because Mr X could have complained sooner.
20. Disputes about the level of benefit or overpayment of benefit are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because they can or could have been appealed to the benefits tribunals (see paragraphs 7-9). I consider it reasonable for Mr X to have used his rights of appeal if he disagreed with the level of benefit awarded or wanted to challenge the decision to recovery an overpayment.
21. We cannot investigate the Valuation Office which is not a body within our jurisdiction and the Council’s actions go back to 2016.
22. Regarding complaint 4, the debt recovery actions on council tax and housing benefit, the Council has agreed to deal with the complaint. If Mr X is unhappy with the outcome or the Council fails to deal with the complaint he can return to this office.

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Final decision

23. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaints about how the Council handled his housing and council tax benefit claims since 2011, homelessness, and more recent debt recovery. Mr X complains late about much of the history. The Council has agreed to deal with the debt recovery via its complaint procedure.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman