The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the recovery of a housing benefit overpayment. This is because the Council has provided a satisfactory response.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s use of an Attachment of Earnings Order (AOE) to recover a housing benefit overpayment.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 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) It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X was repaying a housing benefit overpayment. He stopped paying in 2022 because he stopped working. He told the Council he would resume payments when he found a new job. The Council applied a hold for one month.
The Council wrote to Mr X in February 2024 to say it would ask his employer to make deductions from his pay (AEO). The letter gave Mr X 14 days to contact the Council about this, but Mr X did not get the letter until April. By then the Council had implemented the AOE.
Mr X immediately contacted the Council. He complained about the AOE and offered £20 a month. He referred to the impact of the AOE on his health and said he had never refused to pay. The Council recalled the AOE and set up a payment plan for £20 a month from May.
Given the lack of contact from 2022 to 2024, the Council could have invited a payment plan in 2024 rather than immediately applying for an AEO. That said, Mr X could have made a payment offer when he found work. It is unfortunate Mr X did not get the letter until April because, in February, he would have had a chance to challenge the AOE before it was implemented; but, the Council is not responsible for problems with the post.
I will not start an investigation because the Council has provided a satisfactory response. It immediately cancelled the AOE when Mr X got in touch and agreed the payment plan Mr X had offered. I acknowledge Mr X says the AOE affected his health, but the Council quickly withdrew it and agreed the payment plan instead.
Mr X has suggested the overpayment is not recoverable. But, it was created some years ago and it is now too late for Mr X to argue he should not have to repay it.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because the Council has provided a satisfactory response.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman