Help needed please

pickles123

Hello,
Can anyone please help with a querry I have with my claim for ctc and wtc ? I have been permenantly separated from my husband for a good many years, he lived with his mam in her own home then a council property under her name. He has always paid our mortgage as we agreed when our youngest child reaches 18 the house would then be sold or if i was in a financial position to buy him out then that. At the time of separation I had alot of help from a lone parent advisor and got myself a job, contacted all utillity companies ect and opend up my own bank account, lifes been hard with 3 children but my parents are very supportive and help with childcare. anyway getting back to things, my husband has never changed his address with his bank or driving licence and took out a car loan last year on his name for our daughter as I haven't got the best credit score. He also took a mobile phone contract out for my 14 year old daughter at this address. He said long ago that things like this are ok as this is still half his house and as he travelled alot with his work he would rather his bits and bobs stay here. I asked my lone parent advisor about the bank details staying at this address years ago and she said that was fine. Sadly his mam died in march and he had to move out of the council flat in may as his name was not on the tennancy, he's been staying with a work collegue for the past few weeks but last week he told me he cannot afford to pay the mortgage and pay his way at his friends,,, we are still up in the air with this one but to add fuel to our fire ctc have contacted me to ask why after being separated for so long have we not divorced and they have searched my husbands name to still be linked with living at this property which he is not, theres no way I would claim as a lone parent and break the law, they have asked me to ask my husband to provide proof of him living with his mam before she passed away, I said I would contact him and ask,,,,well I did and he said he has nothing in his name at his mams address as not to get his mam into trouble as it was a 2 bedroomed old age pensioners flat thats why he never changed the few things he has on his name from my address,,,, Grrrr now Im worried I can't show them anything what will happen. Any help or advice would be really welcomed.

karenx

Sorry to be the barer of bad news but as you have no proof he wasnt living there there isnt much you can do! Esp as he was registered as being at your house, paying mortgage etc it will all look a bit suspicious that he cant provide anything to say he didnt live there.
You may find yourself having to pay back the benefits if you cannot find a way to prove you lived there alone.

welshmoneylover

pickles123 wrote: »

Hello,
Can anyone please help with a querry I have with my claim for ctc and wtc ? I have been permenantly separated from my husband for a good many years, he lived with his mam in her own home then a council property under her name. He has always paid our mortgage as we agreed when our youngest child reaches 18 the house would then be sold or if i was in a financial position to buy him out then that. At the time of separation I had alot of help from a lone parent advisor and got myself a job, contacted all utillity companies ect and opend up my own bank account, lifes been hard with 3 children but my parents are very supportive and help with childcare. anyway getting back to things, my husband has never changed his address with his bank or driving licence and took out a car loan last year on his name for our daughter as I haven't got the best credit score. He also took a mobile phone contract out for my 14 year old daughter at this address. He said long ago that things like this are ok as this is still half his house and as he travelled alot with his work he would rather his bits and bobs stay here. I asked my lone parent advisor about the bank details staying at this address years ago and she said that was fine. Sadly his mam died in march and he had to move out of the council flat in may as his name was not on the tennancy, he's been staying with a work collegue for the past few weeks but last week he told me he cannot afford to pay the mortgage and pay his way at his friends,,, we are still up in the air with this one but to add fuel to our fire ctc have contacted me to ask why after being separated for so long have we not divorced and they have searched my husbands name to still be linked with living at this property which he is not, theres no way I would claim as a lone parent and break the law, they have asked me to ask my husband to provide proof of him living with his mam before she passed away, I said I would contact him and ask,,,,well I did and he said he has nothing in his name at his mams address as not to get his mam into trouble as it was a 2 bedroomed old age pensioners flat thats why he never changed the few things he has on his name from my address,,,, Grrrr now Im worried I can't show them anything what will happen. Any help or advice would be really welcomed.

I'm sorry but I don't think you'll have a leg to stand on. He's been paying the mortgage, had bank & contract statements sent to the house and has nothing linking him to his mam's.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it?

pickles123

Ahhh no don't say that, Im worried stupid now, I have just text him to try and find something linking him to his mams address,,, can't believe I may get into big trouble due to being naive, im so anoyed at myself, does anyone know if it needs to be a bill or could it be anything, he texted me back saying he's kept a few bits of his mams paperwork and there may be something in that like a paper bill with his name on but he will have to go through it, other than that he has nothing. Hindsight is a very wonderful thing indeed.

karenx

I dont think they will accept just 1 item. Compared to probably about 10 things linking him with your household
Everything of mine is registered to my house apart from the RAC which goes to my mums as its a joint account, I dont think benefits would think I lived there just because 1 thing goes there compared to every other bill etc that comes to mine. Do you see what I mean?

Benefits_Bod

In the circumstances described in the OP, the onus is on HMRC to make the argument; not on a claimant.

Ultimately, it may come down to the credibility of the claimant and any witnesses. There is one question that springs to mind...

Did the now deceased mother have a single person's discount for Council Tax purposes? If not, does her local council have records of the name(s) of the other occupiers? Also, was the mother on HB/CTB? If so, the son would have been disclosed on the HB/CTB claim.

I would ask that local authority to provide this information. In anticipation of the council citing the Data Protection Act, there are two observations:

1) The DPA does not normally apply to the data of deceased persons.

2) In any case, where data is required for the purpose of exercising legal rights (or proceedings), the DPA is disapplied - Section 35(2) of the DPA.

If HMRC make a "living together" decision and an appeal is then made against that decision, the appeal process falls within the meaning of "legal proceedings".

pickles123

Oh no,,, I can't beleive this is happenig to me, I have done nothing wrong and have never been told that he can't use the address for his personal things, banking, a car loan for my eldest daughter and a mobile contract for my youngest daughter,,, there is no way he's lived here in the past, our separation is for real and we have spoken about divorce now his mam has passed away, can I really get into trouble for something I haven't done,,, he pays the mortgage instead of maintenence and as I live in the house I pay the house insurance. Im feeling sick now.

bestpud

I think you should get yourself down to the CAB asap as you may well be in big trouble.

Ignorance is no defense and I can't quite believe you really thought it ok for him to use your address for post and even store personal items there. Well, you knew it was suspect as you asked a lone parent advisor...

But anyway, none of that helps now.

All you can do is find any evidence you can, seek advice from the CAB and tell the truth.

I imagine the not knowing will be hard but it will get easier once you know what is going to happen. For now, there is no point stewing about it.

Can you get to the CAB tomorrow morning?

Benefits_Bod

Just keep a clear head and stick to the facts. Collect as much evidence as you reasonably can - including letters from your former partner, family, neighbours etc

Now, don't panic about the rest of this post - it is purely a case of forewarned is forearmed!

IF (and the "if" is stressed) at some stage you are asked by HMRC to attend an interview that is to be conducted "under caution", you are under no legal obligation to attend - no matter what is stated in any official letter about such an interview.

If you decide to attend, make sure you attend with someone who knows their stuff. Whatever happens, don't allow yourself to be railroaded.

I appreciate this is not a nice situation, but don't lose sight that the crux is whether or not your former partner was living at your address - no other address matters (although it would obviously be helpful as evidence). It can be strongly and quite reasonably argued that the social structures of yesteryear have long since become much more blurred and it isn't at all uncommon for separated couples to have post sent to the address of a former partner. Of course, things like credit applications are a different kettle of fish - there may be legal implications for the applicant if such an application is made using an address that is not the applicant's address. But, the issue remains unchanged from YOUR point of view - this being the address(es) he actually lived at.

pickles123

Thanks Bestpud, when I said bit's and bobs I actually ment mail,,, no other personal belongings. Will get as much advice as I can next week as im working,,,,, ironic isn't it,,, we separate,, i find a job to support myself and children instead of staying home claiming whatever you claim when you don't want to work and it looks like I may be in big trouble,,,, my life just gets better, thanks for advice anyway.

bestpud

Few more thoughts:

Where does his employer think he lives?

Have you left him on the electoral roll at your house, or did you remove him? I'm guessing he'd struggle to get finance if he wasn't on there...

Can you produce bank statements showing he has done his own weekly shop, and you yours?