I need help with a council tax rebate letter please

thesim

Hi all,

I've had a bit of a tricky situation regarding council tax as I ended up in arrears. However, upon speaking to the council they have suddenly noticed that as we are in reciept of SDA we shouldnt have been paying as much as what we were- they had the proof back from 2003 but never did anything with it and as I was 16 at the time I was unaware that it would make any difference.

I have been told by the council I need to send a letter in to reclaim the money, but I've never had any experience writing any letters to the council, especially for refunds on overpayments.

Is there anyone who has a mock up of what it should look like?

Thanks.

thesim

*bump* Anyone?

allen35

It may be a good idea to seek assistance from a welfare rights org' similar to a citizens Advice Bureau so they can calculate what overpayment you are looking at.

If you are going to write a letter yourself include dates, conversation you had with council worker, name/date if poss',

You could start it with...

' I would like to request backdating of Council tax benefit from 2003 due to the fact you were aware i was in receipt of SDA and didn't use it in the calculation.

it has come to my attention i wasn't receiving my correct benefit after speaking to........ from your offices on......

i feel this is a Council admin' error due to me providing evidence of all household income.

I would appreciate a prompt reply so the correct entitlement of benefit can be applied to my claim so as to avoid any arrears..



Take the letter into office with proof of all household income so they can copy it and request a receipt, include name, address, council tax ref' number and your National Insurance number.

Macro_3

Is sounds like you have a credit on your council tax account due to a recent backdated payment of benefit made to your account, is that correct? If so, just a simple letter would suffice.

Failing that, if you visit in person they usually have a simply proforma that can be filled in to claim back credits.

tallerton

If no claim for a reduction in council tax only due to disability is not made, how far back can a claim be made? I thought it was 6 years at most, and at best you would have to show good reason why it had not been chased regularly up since.

I understood it to be that notwithstanding that the council had the information on which a claim could be based, and has been with them for years, it is not for the council to offer a reduction. It is for the council tax payer to make a recognised claim, in writing.

Am I wrong?


Ignorance of or lack of knowledge that a claim should have been made is generally no excuse, even if that claim had have been made earlier and entitlement was certain.

CIS

they had the proof back from 2003 but never did anything with it and as I was 16 at the time I was unaware that it would make any difference.

As you were under 16 it would have made no difference to you as you couldn't have claimed council tax benefit - was the claim in someone else's name ?. You are not personnaly liable for any council tax under the age of 18.