Council Tax Baliff Help - desperate please

watchtheworldcomealive

Please help

I moved property in January 2008 but my ex is in same house, for a short period in 2007 I had claimed council tax and housing benefit as I had 8 operations and was very ill, when I returned to work I stopped claiming (that was September 2007)

In May 2008 (five months after I left the property) the benefits section "accidently and inadvertingly (their words) made a payment to my previous landlord (lha) and council tax account, £300 for CT £1500 for rent. BUT I WAS UNAWARE OF THIS AS I HAD MOVED

As my ex had run up large arrears by this time the LHA refused to give back the money and council tax benefit was paid to the council tax account.

I was unaware of this until the council tax traced me in late 2009 and I contacted them to ask them what they were talking about and they admitted their mistake but said as the payment had been made it was my responsibility to pay it back.

I am self employed but on a low income and have been struggling to pay it back in small amounts, I had missed admittedly a couple of payments as on very low income but had been mostly paying and they hadnt said anything about the missed payments.

Fast forward to 2011, I recieved a letter three weeks ago asking me to get in touch with pheonix recoveries baliffs asking me to make a payment arrangement, the amount was a strange amount so I asked them what it was, they wouldnt tell me! Apparently it related to a liability order in 2008. I have had some issues with debt which is exh since I left him and not mine and knew nothing of a liability order and was paying to council direct and had had nothing from them about the couple of missed payments but the pheonix letter stated I had been contacted several times by council and ignored them.

I asked for seven days to clarify what the debt was, they would not give it.
I clarified what the debt was and agreed to payment plan but asked to pay weekly, I also have asked 3 times for the method in which they want me to pay as none was attached even though stated it was attached.

They ignored my request to pay weekly and stated that as I didnt pay x amount on the 28th February (because they wouldnt give me details to pay!!) they can not enter into an agreement with me and will be taking further action.

They wont tell me how to pay!
They are claiming costs for two visits prior to their initial letter to me in Feb, both dates I was home and no one came and I didnt recieve 14 days notice of visit.
They are also ignoring and not acknowleging letters stating we are classed as a vunerable catagorie and asking them to either accept payment plan or refer back to council tax dept

Please help

hallowitch

I was unaware of this until the council tax traced me in late 2009 and I contacted them to ask them what they were talking about and they admitted their mistake but said as the payment had been made it was my responsibility to pay it back.

This is not true if the overpayment was down to councils maladministration then you do not have to pay it back
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/213/regulation/100/made
The Housing Benefit Regulations 2006

Recoverable overpayments

100.—(1) Any overpayment, except one to which paragraph (2) applies, shall be recoverable.
(2) Subject to paragraph (4) this paragraph applies to an overpayment caused by an official error where the claimant or a person acting on his behalf or any other person to whom the payment is made could not, at the time of receipt of the payment or of any notice relating to that payment, reasonably have been expected to realise that it was an overpayment.
(3) In paragraph (2), “overpayment caused by official error” means an overpayment caused by a mistake made whether in the form of an act or omission by—
(a)the relevant authority;
(b)an officer or person acting for that authority;
(c)an officer of—
(i)the Department for Work and Pensions; or
(ii)Revenue and Customs,
acting as such; or
(d)a person providing services to the Department for Work and Pensions or to the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs,
where the claimant, a person acting on his behalf or any other person to whom the payment is made, did not cause or materially contribute to that mistake, act or omission.

watchtheworldcomealive

sorry it relates to council tax not the housing benefit but both payments were made at same time.

hallowitch

same thing if your councils maladministration caused the problem you do not have to pay it back

get in touch with your MP ask him to look into it on your behalf explain the urgency of your problem IE the bailiffs have been sent to collect this and this could result in the removal of goods

watchtheworldcomealive

Thanks for that, its the council tax the balliff is for which was "inadvertingly" paid at the same time, does the above still apply?

They saying I am responsible because they wrongly accused me of benefit fraud during the period and I was cleared.
Basically I was on HB and CTB which was paid a month in arrears but attempted to go back to work even though still very ill, I got a job as a teaching assistant and rang them. The person I spoke to used to be a t,a and said that as my wage was so low I would still be entitled. When the reviewer came out a few weeks later I had been rushed into hospital for emergency surgery again and had to give up my job again, I was in middle of claiming to go back on incapacity
and relying just on tax credits for my child at this point but had recieved a last payment of £235 for the month from work.
I told the reviewer I was not working, relying on tax credits and applying for incapacity again.

They traced that I HAD been working previously as council school and tried to do me for fraud, but I was cleared as I HAD told them I was working at the time and luckily could say who I had spoke to and at the time of the interview I was no longer working. I then went back to work fully in the september.

Somehow they are saying even though they paid ctb and hb a month in arrears and I had stopped claiming in September that it is my fault they made a huge lump sum payment almost a year later when I wasnt even at the property anymore.

watchtheworldcomealive

The email says

When you were originally visited by a collegue on the 12/06/07 your claim was suspended at the 27/05/07 for rent and 13/06/07 for council tax.(it was actually reinstated until I went back to work in September but they dont mention that!)
Unfortunately in May 2008 a payment was inadvertently issued to your Landlord for £1536.84 for the period 27/05/07 to 24/02/08.
This payment was posted out on the 08/05/08 and your ex landlord has confirmed that this payment was received by them.
At the same time a council tax payment was credited to your account for the period 14/06/07 to 26/09/07.
Therefore as rent and council tax benefit has been received for the period stated above this overpayment is recoverable from you.