Council Trying to screw us: Need help

tbs624

RustedKnight wrote: »

How convenient. A letter in a pristine envelope arrived this morning, dated 21 Oct 2011 with all the information on it needed for us to sort out the money we "owe".

So I can now see that the council is charging us an extra £20 a week for the last 3 months because they have automatically assumed that because my partners hours went over 24 hours once, they will every month henceforth.......

They're also apparently trying to claim £196 in council tax from 3 months ago to 31 march 2012 based on this one month she had overtime.
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As has been said earlier in the thread, if *you/your partner* are in receipt of benefits then the onus is on *you/your partner* as the claimants to notify the various authorities of any change in your personal circumstances. Read the small print - it's there on every form you sign.

It has to be done that way around otherwise the costs would be phenomenal. Were you expecting the Council/Benefits Office to contact all claimants at the end of each week/month to check?

You probably realise that you could have saved yourself this hassle by informing them in writing, copy kept, of the exact dates between which your partner was able to have extra work hours.

Perhaps you both thought that as it was just for a month then keeping quiet would save you some extra money but as you can see it doesn't work like that. It's part of the benefits "trap" unfortunately.

There is a debt free wannabe board on here with much helpful info on how to get your finances in order or you may find it helpful to talk to a local free debt counsellor.

CIS

So I can now see that the council is charging us an extra £20 a week for the last 3 months because they have automatically assumed that because my partners hours went over 24 hours once, they will every month henceforth.

That's how HB (and CTB) work - unless you contact them to advise otherwise the claim will be assessed on the last income details supplied.

BitterAndTwisted

You started this thread on Monday and this correspondence arrived today. Does this mean that you weren't down at the Council's offices first thing on Tuesday morning? You didn't need that letter in your hand to go and see them to sort this mess out. You're not working so in theory you've got all the time in the world to attend to pressing matters like this.

I've had my own HB and C Tax messed up time and time again. Serves me right for claiming and then sorting out some temp work and then claiming again. They once suspended both my JSA and HB/C Tax benefit for three months. However, I was down at the Council offices on a weekly basis so they knew what was going on and they made notes on their system to reflect it. I am now on first-name terms with the Rent Collection Officer and the chap at the Benefits office. It takes time and effort but they knew every step of the way what I was doing myself in order to resolve the issue. This goes a long, long way to get people to want to help you. Being patient, polite and friendly does, too.

WhiteHorse

clutton wrote: »

Rachel as long as you are going down to collect a rent statement, then take the wages slips with you and .... do it again.... if they do take you to court, they will look UTTERLY stupid if you have given them relevant facts twice and they still ignore them.....

Follow up any personal visit with a confirmatory latter. Send that Recorded Delivery too.

It's not just that councils are organisationally incompetent, and that staff are often only too ready to lie.

Much council paperwork is generated by computers. They churn out letters, regardless of how nonsensical they may be, letters of which the council itself is often unaware.

RustedKnight

tbs624 wrote: »

As has been said earlier in the thread, if *you/your partner* are in receipt of benefits then the onus is on *you/your partner* as the claimants to notify the various authorities of any change in your personal circumstances. Read the small print - it's there on every form you sign.

It has to be done that way around otherwise the costs would be phenomenal. Were you expecting the Council/Benefits Office to contact all claimants at the end of each week/month to check?

You probably realise that you could have saved yourself this hassle by informing them in writing, copy kept, of the exact dates between which your partner was able to have extra work hours.

Perhaps you both thought that as it was just for a month then keeping quiet would save you some extra money but as you can see it doesn't work like that. It's part of the benefits "trap" unfortunately.

There is a debt free wannabe board on here with much helpful info on how to get your finances in order or you may find it helpful to talk to a local free debt counsellor.

The council know my partner is on shift work with no set pattern of shifts and hours.

I'm sorry but the replies i'm getting on here are disgusting, from accusing my partner of hiding the letters from me, to us trying to scam some extra money out of our benefits.

We didn't know she'd gone over her 24 hour limit until she recieved the monthly paycheck, which gets handed in to the council every month, we had no idea it would cause this much hassle and confusion.

Thank you to all who gave useful advice, and to all those who have been offensive, abusive and outright rude, I sincerely wish you a merry christmas, and hope you learn to be less rude to people in need of help on the internet.
I shaln't check this thread any more, i'm fed up of the attacks.

gingergee

I have to send my wage slips in every month cos im on a zero hours contract. Then the next month my HB changes to reflect what i have (or havent earned). Some months i get a lot, some a little. I ring up after the 22nd of each month and speak to the bloke who deals with it ( we are actually on first name terms now lol) and i check how much has gone in (its paid in arrears) Then i change my s/o accordingly. Maybe that would be worth a try? It can be uber complecated and took me ages to get into a routine. Don't give yr house up though cos i sure you wont get one again with the housing like it is. And as for missing post, i get letters from months ago sometimes cos i live in middle of nowhere!!! Hope its sorted for you, try to enjoy xmas anyhoo x xxx regards G x