why i do not recieve council tax benefit

handyman27

Hi All,
I wante advice from this forum, as i am on Low income and i recieve working tax credit and child tax credit at the maximum, as i only work 16 hours a week with the minimum rate £5.83 and hour due to lack of work where i work, as they lost majority of orders due to Recession.

However in 2004 i had savings of £30,000 which i was using for renovation the building which i brought. However at the time i did not notify the council i had the savings due to i was going to spend the money on this gutted house. They found out and stopped my rebate and i had to pay back from 2002 and the years and they took me to court and found me guilty for not notifying them. However i have spent all my savings on the building work like loft conversion, central heating, double glazing, new wiring, roofing and i have showed them the invoice and they will not accept this as reducing savings, as they said they will just take every year so much savings off and work it out this way.

Every year i have filled in an rebate application form, but they refuse to give rebate, as they saying i have still have the savings theoritically.

mouseymousey99

Not quite sure what your question is?

Indie_Kid

Deprevation of capital maybe?

AnxiousMum

Basically what they are telling you is that you did have £30,000, and rather than relying on the government to provide you with extra income, you should have used the above £30,000 to provide for your needs rather than something that was not absolutely necessary.

I'm assuming the above renovations were for the house you were living in at the time? Could it be that they are going based on the equity that you have in the house?

fluffymovie

I would say that the council have made a deprivation of capital decision. In such cases, we would treat you as still having the savings that you spent as they considered that the spending was done in order to claim benefit,

If you make a claim, the council must notify you of their decision and if it is a capital deprivation issue, they must notify you of your appeal rights. I would say that your only route would be to appeal on the basis that you didn't spend the money to claim benefit but to improve your home in ways that were required.

handyman27

Thank you all for your replies.

They are classing as the deprivation of capital and this will take for ever to reduce and i went to appeal process and did not win, as the welfare rights would not support me, as i have been found guilty at the court.

I do not know what to do, as at the moment i am paying £130.00 a month and i am struggling and the council does want to know. You know how they work once they find you guilty.

sunnyone

handyman27 wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies.

They are classing as the deprivation of capital and this will take for ever to reduce and i went to appeal process and did not win, as the welfare rights would not support me, as i have been found guilty at the court.

I do not know what to do, as at the moment i am paying £130.00 a month and i am struggling and the council does want to know. You know how they work once they find you guilty.

And you are complaining why?

You broke the law and stole money from tax payers, you may have paid it back but only because you were caught, not out of the goodness of your heart.

karenx

I wouldnt be complaining if I were you. You got away with it for so long and now its all caught up with you. You should be glad you havnt been given a large fine or even a prison sentence for fraud.
Just accept this has happened and you have been in the wrong and now get on with your life. Get another part time job, or your partner can get 1 also to help with paying the bills

handyman27

Hi All,
Thank you for your reply.

Yes i call my self really lucky for not going to Prison and i have changed since which i did community hours helping the charity disabled centre and since then i have been involved in the helping the community and working tirdlessly making the area safer and not to make the same mistake i did.

I had to pay a fine of £500 and i had to pay it within a month.


It has gone over 6 years and i still can not claim council tax rebate.

Caz3121

handyman27 wrote: »

It has gone over 6 years and i still can not claim council tax rebate.

I believe there is a calculated 'spend rate' for capital that is acceptable. It is possible even at this spend rate, after 6 years you are still calculated as being over the limit. Maybe someone on here will know what that would be to give an indication on when it is likely to be accepted that you are below the threshold without deprivation

handyman27

How do they calculate the Depriation capital and what is the yearly depriation calulation before i could be entitled to the rebate, as i am struggling the end meets due to my hours are reduced at work and does not look good.

Please help or advise,

Thank you all for your replies.