The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a housing benefit overpayment. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for this.
The complaint
Ms X complains about a housing benefit overpayment from 2016. She says it is wrong, and she wants to dispute it. The Council says it will make deductions from her earnings. Ms X states she is disabled and this will cause her hardship.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X complained in 2025 about the Council’s recovery of a housing benefit overpayment. She said it was wrong, and she wanted to challenge it.
The Council replied the overpayment was for a period ending in 2016. It said it was too late to appeal now as it was out of time. It asked Ms X to provide details of her income and expenses so it could agree an arrangement.
We will not investigate this complaint because Ms X was aware of the overpayment more than 12 months ago. The complaint is therefore late and there are no good reasons for this.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman