Council Tax Benefit Help please

dvds2000

Hi Guys

Little advice please if anyone can help - sorry in advance for the length of the post

My friend (yes really my friend!) is currently self employed, 2nd year of trading made a loss, so income was zero.

He currently claims CTB, and as has been for a while is in the middle of a review.

He's having a nightmare with them at the moment though and is tearing his hair out at the moment.

He got the renewal form at the in the middle of June, but they didn't enclose a self employed details form, so he had to ring and get one sent out. The day it came he completed it, handed it in the next day along with the renewal form, accounts from previous year and bank statements as requested.

Around 3 weeks later they sent a letter back asking him to complete the enclosed self employed details form (which he had already) and provide proof of expenses for 9 things, of which only one was actually mentioned in the p&l accounts. He called the call centre and the girl stated they hadn't got the form (even though he had a receipt for handing it in) and she would send another out. He also asked what to do about the 8 items they had asked for proof of expenses for that he didn't use and was told to provide proof he hadn't spent any money on them. He was a little gobsmacked at that and asked if he could just send a letter in stating he didn't and she said no, he had to prove it. So he asked how he could prove he didn't have any van expenses as they only way he could think of doing it would be to write to everyone in the uk asking if they had ever sold him a van, and she said yes you will have to do that. Idiot.

So he got the self emplyed details form a few days later and rang back to double check he needed to complete it and the girl said, no we already have it, but you need to do another as you haven't completed section 2. When he said that he didn't have to as it says at the top 'SECTION 2 TRADING FOR LESS THAN 12 MONTHS' and he was trading for over that, she said it doesn't matter still fill it in!

So he went in again (just before the bank holiday in August), handed the new SED form in, proof of rent and made a statement (as the girl on the desk actually knew what she was doing) saying the only expense from the list was rent and none of the others applied.

He got a letter today saying 'further to the information provided, I have noticed that your bank accounts are in joint name with MRS xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx. Your housing/Council tax benefit claim has been suspended until you proviode a written statement as to why you have 2 joint bank accounts with this person, can you also confirm your relationship.

It also suspended the claim from the start of august and gave him until Friday to provide the statement or the claim will be terminated.

As you can guess he isn't exactly happy. He works 6 days a week, 8.30 - 6.00 and has to keep closing the shop to go into the council handing forms in and making statements. The point he made to me was that they have had the statements since late July, they should have asked for this information well before now, and he could have told them and done the statement on one of the other occasions when he has had to close and go into the council offices. He has tried to speak to the claims processor on the phone in the past to get the above problems sorted, but just gets told there are only 2 people dealing with self employed and neither take phone calls. He tried to speak to them in person at the council, and got told the same.

The letter is wrong in what its asking for. He only has one joint account not two as mentioned. (It is actually a joint account with his mother). It also mentions housing benefit when the claim is council tax only.

So after all that what he wants to know is, can they suspend the CTB for him having a joint account? Does he actually have to explain who the other person is and what the relationship is between them as he doesn't feel it is any of their business (and probably feeling stubborn after everything else that has gone on).

I've searched about and can't find anything that says they can suspend the claim for him having a joint account with someone, so hoping someone on here can help please

Many thanks in advance, and even more apologies for the length of post!

Duncombe

They are able to suspend the claim if they feel there is information missing/required that may not entitle him to CTB. Clearly this is the case.

If they have asked him to explain who the other account holder is and what the relationship is between them then I suggest he does so. It really would be in his best interests.

Its a shame he seems to have come across lots of incompetent people dealing with his claim - I imagine it must be very frustrating.

dvds2000

thanks for the reply, yes he is very frustrated, as I was there when he got the letter I got his rantings - the council are lucky they were closed

Can I ask why having a joint account would make them think there was missing or incorrect information? It's not as if it would change the amount in the account (there was about £200 in so nowhere near enough to reach the savings level). Also he has claimed for at least 3 or 4 years I know of (he was claiming jobseekers before starting the business and CTB) and the same account has been shown every year, so they already knew it was a joint one, and have never queried it before now.

Is it possible for him to complain about the handling if the whole thing?

Duncombe

Hmm, that does seem strange given that you say the account is not a new one. It may just be that they have made abit of a fumble of the whole thing - as you have already indicated - and he is having to go through the rigmarole of reproviding them with info they already have.

I would imagine you can complain - it certainly seems like he has grounds for it!