The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council issuing a housing benefit overpayment to Mrs X. It was reasonable for Mrs X to submit an appeal to the Council and the independent benefits tribunal if it was not withdrawn.
The complaint
Mrs X says she received notifications from the Council in May about a housing benefit overpayment. She says she has made complaints about the Council issuing overpayments without considering her appeal properly in the past.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X received notifications from the Council informing her that she owed overpaid housing benefit which related to the period from April 2020 to March 2022. She queried this with the Council because she had made a complaint to us the previous year about an appeal against another overpayment covering some of the period in question. The Council told her that this was a separate matter and that she had not made an appeal against this overpayment.
The Council’s notification letters advised Mrs X that if she wished to challenge or appeal the decision, she should do so in writing within one month as she had done previously. There is no evidence that she has submitted an appeal before she complained to us in September.
We cannot determine whether or not an overpayment of benefit is correct. Only the independent benefits tribunal can do this. Mrs X was aware of her right of appeal and has used this in the past when we found fault with the Council because it delayed handling her previous appeal.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council issuing a housing benefit overpayment to Mrs X. It was reasonable for Mrs X to submit an appeal to the Council and the independent benefits tribunal if it was not withdrawn.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman