I have been denied Housing Benefit backpay.

MamaMoo_2

You will need proof that you asked the council for advice in an official capacity, (eg proof of a meeting to discuss your finances, proof of what was said etc) and proof that you were told you could not claim HB, (not just that it wasnt mentioned) which it doesn't sound as if you have.
When I went to my council, they used calculators to work out what I was entitled to, and printed off a breakdown of what I could apply for, and how to apply. This advice was given in a financial meeting when discussing applying for pregnancy benefits.
If you had a meeting like this, and you can prove the information was not just omitted, but you were told "no, you are not entitled", then you have a good case. If you asked informally over the phone etc, and did not have an official meeting, then you will be hard pressed to prove that it is the council's fault and not simply that you didn't bother researching it correctly.
Also, are you now claiming tax credits?

cosmic-dust

MamaMoo wrote: »

Also, are you now claiming tax credits?

samwich1979 wrote: »

For the reasons stated above this is why i cannot be arsed to even claim my Tax Credits!

Wonder how many others dont bother?!

One would think if you can't afford to feed yourself and your family one would actually bother their a rse to claim

MamaMoo_2

cosmic-dust wrote: »

One would think if you can't afford to feed yourself and your family one would actually bother their a rse to claim

Precisely why I asked as "Can't be arsed to apply for tax credits" seems a bit stupid. Especially when the OP is saying

I am not going to give up on something i believe i should be entitled to have and would have got had i known i could have claimed earlier, im up to my eyes in debt for gods sake do you really think id not claim for money?!

samwich1979

I tried to apply for Tax Credits and when i rang them they were trying to verify my identity over the phone and because i got married and my name had changed they wouldnt send the forms out to me until i had a meeting at the local council with identification.

I couldnt do anything about the I.D as during a urgent house move in June we lost our marriage certificate, i havent got a passport and i dont drive so have no other photo I.D and cant afford to get any of these. So i have no way to prove who i am, so hence the cant be arsed.
Never had to prove who i was to get HB, so why all this for TC?

MamaMoo_2

samwich1979 wrote: »

I tried to apply for Tax Credits and when i rang them they were trying to verify my identity over the phone and because i got married and my name had changed they wouldnt send the forms out to me until i had a meeting at the local council with identification.

I couldnt do anything about the I.D as during a urgent house move in June we lost our marriage certificate, i havent got a passport and i dont drive so have no other photo I.D and cant afford to get any of these. So i have no way to prove who i am, so hence the cant be arsed.
Never had to prove who i was to get HB, so why all this for TC?

Funny, I've had to provide two forms of ID for my husband and I to claim HB. Plus months of bank statements, wage slips, proof of benefits.
You can also get a copy of your marriage certificate. If you "can't be ar*ed" to get a copy, that's your issue, but personally, if I was in as much debt as you must be (as you're so desperate for a couple of hundred pounds back pay) then I'd be straight on the phone to the GRO to get a copy of my marriage cert.
It's also strange that they wanted you to go to the council for a meeting, when the council have nowt to do with tax credits.
Also, IIRC, when I phoned up to apply for tax credits, they didn't ask for any proof of ID etc. I'd suggest you try again.

Arg

dseventy wrote: »

Ignorance of entitlement is not a reason for back-payment.

Funny that when the shoe is on the other foot the DWP or councils claim fraud for not properly informing them. Having said that,it might be the case here.

SuziQ

It is extremely simple to get a replacement marriage certificate from the register office. I have just applied for one as I am getting divorced. Other ID they will usually accept is a utilities bill, council tax bill etc.

samwich1979

SuziQ wrote: »

It is extremely simple to get a replacement marriage certificate from the register office. I have just applied for one as I am getting divorced. Other ID they will usually accept is a utilities bill, council tax bill etc.

Doesnt it cost money to get a replacement?

So i definately wouldnt need photo I.D because these are the things they mentioned over the phone to me?

samwich1979

Arg wrote: »

Funny that when the shoe is on the other foot the DWP or councils claim fraud for not properly informing them. Having said that,it might be the case here.

What do you mean by "it might be the case here"?

fluffymovie

I think that it has gone a bit off topic here but I think that the main issue should be, "were you misinformed" or did you not claim earlier as "you didn't think you would be entitled"

Although a claimant may have an entitlement, unless they make the claim, in accordance with the HB regs 2006, then money isn't paid.

The HB guidance manual sets out grounds where we can consider backdating a claim. It states

If someone claims HB/CTB for a past period, you may, in certain circumstances treat the claim as made from an earlier date. The claimant must state on the claim form, or during the telephone call, that the claim covers a past period. This makes it a claim for backdating.
W2.521 Before backdating a claim, you must be satisfied
• the claimant has shown good cause for failing to claim earlier and
• that good cause existed continuously during the period for which backdating (if any) is allowed up until the date the claim for backdating was made
[FONT=Frutiger LT 56 Italic,Frutiger LT 56 Italic][FONT=Frutiger LT 56 Italic,Frutiger LT 56 Italic]

HB Reg 83 & (SPC) 64; SI 1996/462 from 1.4.96; CTB Reg 69

[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=L Centennial 55,L Centennial 55][FONT=L Centennial 55,L Centennial 55]Good cause
[/FONT][/FONT]W2.522 To establish if a claimant has shown good cause for not claiming earlier, you must be satisfied the reason for not claiming earlier is such that any reasonable person of that age, health and experience would probably not have claimed earlier in the same way as the claimant. The burden of proving good cause rests on the claimant but you must examine all the relevant facts in each case.
W2.523 Although the DSS Adjudication Officer’s Guide (AOG) has now been replaced and the good cause provisions no longer apply to the other income-related benefits, you may find the extract from the AOG guidance on ‘good cause’ contained in [FONT=Frutiger LT 56 Italic,Frutiger LT 56 Italic][FONT=Frutiger LT 56 Italic,Frutiger LT 56 Italic]Annex A [/FONT][/FONT]at the end of this chapter useful.
At the very end, is guidance on what we look at to consider whether a claimant has shown continous good cause. http://dwp.gov.uk/docs/hbgm-a2-claims.pdf

Whether you made a claim for other benefits would be relevant. If you were misadvised, would be relevant. What the money is needed for is not relevant.