The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to stop housing and council tax benefits and reclaim overpayments of benefits in 2019. This is because the complaint is made late and the complainant had the right of appeal to a tribunal.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mrs X, complains about the Council’s decision in 2019 to stop her council tax and housing benefit and sought to recover overpayments of benefits.
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) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In 2019, the Council wrote to Mrs X to notify her of its decision to end her housing and council tax benefits and reclaim an overpayment of benefits.
Mrs X was aware of the matter in 2019. I see no reason why a complaint about this could not have been made to this office within 12 months of this date. I therefore consider is made late and will not investigate it further.
Furthermore, any dispute about the recovery of an overpayment of housing or council tax benefit can be appealed to a tribunal. The tribunal is an expert body and their decisions are binding on the Council. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the complaint is made late and she had the right of appeal to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman