How far back can I claim HB?

real1314

spacemonkey95 wrote: »

I am in a similar situation. I have been receiving housing benefit since December 08, and now I have submitted a claim for housing benefit to be backdated between April 08 and November 08. This is because I had a telephone conversation with an HMRC employee when I SPECIFICALLY asked if I was entitled to housing benefits in my situation, and was told 'no'. It was only by chance in November that I discovered that information had been inaccurate and so I applied.

Unfortunately I do not remember the exact date and do not know to whom I spoke, but then if this employee was giving me incorrect information then there are probably no notes or anything to back up my claim. Is there anything I can do to raise the situation above 'my word against theirs', or am I screwed?

If you ask the wrong person about something, it doesn't count. You can't claim that you were mis-advised about Barclays bank charges because you asked in the post office.

spacemonkey95

Well that's not strictly true is it. The fact is that the Inland Revenue hold information about all the different types of benefits etc... as can be shown by a quick search on their website. To then claim that they are not directly where you make the claim from is no defence. Therefore they are not the 'wrong person'.

In actual fact it is like claiming you were mis-advised about Barclays bank charges by Barclaycard. If they don't know the answer they shouldn't give you incorrect information for the hell of it.

The Inland Revenue have a responsibility to either give people the correct information, or refer you to the correct area if they don't know.

hbgirl

spacemonkey - are you an HB decision maker? sorry to be a bit sniffy but as real1314 says, it can and will be taken into account by the DM. you are expected to make reasonable, relevant enquiries to obtain benefits you are entitled to. i would not approve a backdate on that basis alone. sorry

spacemonkey95

This misinformation was during a lengthy telephone conversation during which I discussed a number of issues with the inland revenue employee. These included previous tax returns, my eligibility for any benefits (working tax credits included), and any grants or loans for the small business I run. Therefore it is not unreasonable to assume that the information I was given should have been correct.

It is a preposterous suggestion that I should then have had to go to another department and ask the same questions to someone else just in case the original information given to me might have been inaccurate. A system where you have to check and double check any information provided does not constitute 'reasonable, relevant enquiries' to me.

Macro_3

spacemonkey95 wrote: »

This misinformation was during a lengthy telephone conversation during which I discussed a number of issues with the inland revenue employee. These included previous tax returns, my eligibility for any benefits (working tax credits included), and any grants or loans for the small business I run. Therefore it is not unreasonable to assume that the information I was given should have been correct.

It is a preposterous suggestion that I should then have had to go to another department and ask the same questions to someone else just in case the original information given to me might have been inaccurate. A system where you have to check and double check any information provided does not constitute 'reasonable, relevant enquiries' to me.

It doesn't really matter whether you see it as reasonable or not, it's the opinion of the assessors that matters. HMRC and the LA are not simply different departments, they are completely seperate. The benefits system is highly complex, and it simply would not be possible for a specialist in one area, such as tax credits, to give sound advice on another area such as housing benefit. It would be like consulting a gynaecologist if you had a heart problem, or a chiropodist when you need a midwife.

Looking at it from the other point of view, assessors get backdate requests almost daily that blame their delay in claiming benefit on misadvice and it generally goes down like a fart in a spacesuit. It's also very rarely that the misadvice can be substantiated, which is one problem you'll have.

The fact is that you knew that the benefits were out there - after all, you knew enough to ask HMRC about it. You failed to make enquiries with the LA. Why should you be entitled to a backdate because you didn't do your homework? Where would we draw the line?

hbgirl

well a lot of benefits system does seem "preposterous" i am afraid, but them's the facts.

Macro, you are right in your points and thanks for your post, but it's not actually the "opinion of the assessors" that matters, it's simply the law! i make decisions day in day out that i personally disagree with but i have to administer the law.....

good luck with the backdate request but i am not optimistic....

Macro_3

hbgirl wrote: »

well a lot of benefits system does seem "preposterous" i am afraid, but them's the facts.

Macro, you are right in your points and thanks for your post, but it's not actually the "opinion of the assessors" that matters, it's simply the law! i make decisions day in day out that i personally disagree with but i have to administer the law.....

good luck with the backdate request but i am not optimistic....

Controversial, but I disagree. There is no legislation that defines what is and what isn't good cause. In fact, guidance states that ignorance of itself and failure to make enquiries does not necessarily rule out good cause. The key is if the ignorance and failure to make enquiries were reasonable.

'Reasonable' is a very subjective word, and I therefore do think it's not about a black and white application of the law but about opinion, and reason. It's about whether in the assessors opinion good cause is demonstrated.

I have known claims to be successfully backdated through ignorance, both in the office and on appeal.

OP still has no hope, though. :rotfl:

NASA_2

spacemonkey95 wrote: »

It is a preposterous suggestion that I should then have had to go to another department and ask the same questions to someone else just in case the original information given to me might have been inaccurate.

Would you have asked the DVLA about housing benefit?

Its 100% right that you should have to check with the relevant department or agency. You listened to someone that wasnt trained to deal with your enquiry. I'd turn that backdating request down as quickly as I did when someone gave me the 'My mate told me I couldnt apply' excuse.

spacemonkey95

I'm not sure why some of you are persisting down that route. The Inland Revenue DO deal with these things - if they didn't then they wouldn't have benefits information on their website. They deal with Working Tax Credits which have a relationship with Housing Benefits so they are implicitly required to know about Housing Benefit.

And if DVLA had information about Housing Benefits on their website, and professed to know about it on their telephone helpline, then yes I WOULD ask them... and I would expect them to give accurate information.

Please stop making these pointless analogies.

Macro_3

spacemonkey95 wrote: »

I'm not sure why some of you are persisting down that route. The Inland Revenue DO deal with these things - if they didn't then they wouldn't have benefits information on their website. They deal with Working Tax Credits which have a relationship with Housing Benefits so they are implicitly required to know about Housing Benefit.

And if DVLA had information about Housing Benefits on their website, and professed to know about it on their telephone helpline, then yes I WOULD ask them... and I would expect them to give accurate information.

Please stop making these pointless analogies.

The Inland Revenue might have benefit information on their website because, generally, the people who are entitled to Tax Credits are more likely to be entitled to some form of help with housing and council tax. That doesn't make them experts, it just means that the government is seeking to disseminate information about benefits in order to improve uptake and this is one way of targeting the relevant demographic.

I'm sure if the average tax disc purchaser were more likely to be entitled to housing benefit, they would put info on the DVLA site too


Edited to say, I've just had a look on HMRC and he only information I can find on Housing Benefit is regarding how it is affected by Tax Credits. Maybe I'm missing it.