• The complaint
• The Ombudsman’s role and powers
• How I considered this complaint
• My assessment
• Final decision

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the recovery of a housing benefit overpayment issued in 2013. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council recovering a housing benefit overpayment which was issued in January 2013 following her benefit claim ending in 2012. She says the courts later proved that her daughter had been resident with her and that her ex-partner had made a false claim about her residence. She says she should not owe the overpayment being claimed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X says the Council is recovering a housing benefit overpayment from her which it first told her about in 2012. She says she was in a difficult relationship at the time and that her daughter had always been resident with her even though her ex-partner made a claim to the Council otherwise. She says the courts later confirmed that her daughter was resident.
7. The Council says it notified Miss X of her benefit ending in November 2012 and in January 2013 issued an overpayment of housing benefit. It says Miss made contact and challenged the overpayment at the time and she was sent details of how to appeal to the independent benefits tribunal. She did not submit an appeal and made some payments towards reducing the overpayment.
8. We will not investigate this complaint which was made outside the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner. If we had received a complaint within 12 months we would have advised Miss X to appeal to the First-Tier tribunal which is the body responsible for deciding benefits disputes.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the recovery of a housing benefit overpayment issued in 2013. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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