Housing and council tax benefit overpayment?

afc80

terryw wrote: »

If the Op did not even know that this money was being paid how has she "materially contributed" to the overpayment?

not only that, there is no way that she could have stopped the hb being continually rebated to her rent account.

You could argue that she should have checked her rent account and would have noticed that hb was still being paid and budgeted accordingly.

i am still of the opinion that this is an admin error for any part of the o/p that occured after the LA were infomed and that she would win an appeal

appeals teams are separate from HB teams and nearly always find in favour of the customer in my experience. This may be different if lollys LA are taking weeks to action all cocs as there o/ps will be very high

The DWP do not like hb write offs

afc80

markyb33 wrote: »

And i am speaking from a social housing perspective. The landlord would be invoiced. (i volunteer for one in housing benefit collection) Perhaps the 2 weeks could be collected from the tenant at a push, but it would be difficult to persuade HB office of that.

By social housing i assume you mean council housing. If you mean Housing Associations, they come under the Rent Allowance scheme for HB.

Stock transfers of council houses may be different?, we dont have these in Scotland.

they, being the LA can choose to write off the o/p, they cannot send an invoice to themselves.

lolly1981

hello
I live in a council house rented from norwich city council so any HB paid wouldve gone straight to them.
I accept that i have to pay for the 2 weeks it took me to get my bum in gear to do change of circumstances. however i feel that as i did everything i was supposed to with regards to informing them of COC and they have it on their system as was confimred to me, when i called when i discovered the payments were being made...it isnt because of a back log of change of circamstances as when i told them they were still paying the rent when they shouldnt they stopped it that day
i think based on the 'official error' angle i might at least ask for a review.

just to add they cant recover it from my rent account as that was in arrears before it was paid so they are unable to take it causing my arrears to get bigger (their words not mine) so they have to bill me.

afc80

Get your appeal in now. You will win for the o/p that occured (after the 2 weeks have elapsed). They will write it off imo, if they dont, take if further, they will eventually relent for such a small sum of money.

Aberdeen City Council for Private HB alone pay out 8 million pounds a year, and Aberdeen is a very rich place with unemployment at 3 per cent. Your o/p is small beer.

Amistoso_2

lolly1981 wrote: »

ok i feel very much like you are 'having a go' ....not once did i say i wasnt going to repay...yes i knew i wasnt entitled hence me calling them and telling them i wasnt, i wasnt aware until 2 months after the fact that they were still paying even though they said they would cancel.



as i said before i was never gonna not pay if that was the case..just wondered what anyone else had done

lolly1981 wrote: »

i have had a quick read through especially looking at the individual cases..it seems that i could possibly get them to review it and maybe get the overpayment dropped because of an 'official error' it seems that it does depend on the case.
but from what i said i informed them of the change
i didnt know the payments were being made until i got my statement.

oh dear, we have gone from "never did I say I wasn't going to pay" and you felt people were having a go at you to trying to get off the hook!! I was kind of feeling sorry for you up until that point OP!!

lolly1981

well in all fairness i will pay if i have to...i never said i wouldnt. however if i am able to get it dropped why shouldnt i? if the council theirselves agree that its their fault and accept that then whats wrong with that. people do it with bank charges.

i am ok with having to pay..as i have said time and time again. i am just looking att the option.

goodness me....youd think id come on here saying im going to commit fraud and do this that and the other to get money i am not entitled to. well im not!!! i am just taking EVERYONES advice on board!!

Amistoso_2

bank charges are a completely different case, this is money for rent you got and shouldn't have had, so really at the end of the day wether you can swing getting off with it or not you owe that money!
and while you mention banks, you do know it's illegal to spend money paid into your account in error when you are fully aware it's not your money? same thing here, you know full well your not entitled to it, get your other half to help you pay it off perhaps?

lolly1981

you obviously havent been reading the posts properly!!! ...it never went into my bank account or my hand for that matter...it was paid directly to the council!!!
and ONCE AGAIN...i have NEVER said i WONT pay it back..i havent even said that i WILL appeal just that i am able to!!

dmg24

lolly1981 wrote: »

well in all fairness i will pay if i have to...i never said i wouldnt. however if i am able to get it dropped why shouldnt i? if the council theirselves agree that its their fault and accept that then whats wrong with that. people do it with bank charges.

i am ok with having to pay..as i have said time and time again. i am just looking att the option.

goodness me....youd think id come on here saying im going to commit fraud and do this that and the other to get money i am not entitled to. well im not!!! i am just taking EVERYONES advice on board!!

Because it is not your money to keep.

lolly1981

it isnt norwich city councils money to keep either ...wont stop them tho will it!
again i have not said i WILL appeal...just that i could.! talk abouty a witch hunt!