Advice needed to deal with Council

hopeful_here

Mckneff, answer is in 2nd last paragraph of my last posting. As a result of this they reissued it.

McKneff

Sorry, missed that.................

hopeful_here

no problem, questions are welcome.

jon1965

So can I ask, how much do you owe?
I assume it is a mixture of Housing benefit and council tax benefit, be honest here, was it there mistake or did you mislead them? If it was a mistake, why didn't you notice
I know these are intrusive questions but must make a difference to the councils position. If you gave all the info in good faith and they miscalculated you have a stronger hand.
If you misled them, well you are lucky not to be in court.
If you "knew" it was a mistake but hoped they wouldn't notice it thats also quite serious.
I guess it's all about how much you owe and how much you are paying back

hopeful_here

The key question for me is whether the council can force an arbitrary increase in payments given I have not stopped paying the original amount.

jon1965

Well that depends what was agreed when you came to your arrangement and if there is any legal basis for it.
Many repayment plans come with the aside that they will be reviewed in 6 months for example.
You really don't tell us enough about the issue for people to give accurate advice, most people on here will not judge you if you have made a mistake.
Did you not notice that the DD was not being taken?
Did you tell the council?
How many payments were missed
Can you afford to pay the missing payments in one lump sum?
Maybe one suggestion, is to get all the facts together and write a letter of complaint/offer of repayment to the manager of the department (or ask the council who is the person to escalate the issue to)
I am trying to give you advice but feel a bit blind as I don't know all the facts

hopeful_here wrote: »

The key question for me is whether the council can force an arbitrary increase in payments given I have not stopped paying the original amount.

hopeful_here

Basically agreed to a monthly sum for repayment (which was as a result of errors on their side and mine. I however was the one who discovered it and brought it to the council's attention). They did mention wanting an increased amount in the future but nothing agreed.

The Direct Debit was stopped on the council side not mine. They sent the threatening letter which alerted me to the missed DD and also to the previous letter they had sent to my old address.So they thought I had stopped payment and was not replying to their letters.

I paid it directly into their account that month and each month since.

So I am up to date with repayments albeit at a lower amount than the higher amount they arbitrarily want.

I have actually written a complaint letter to the manager of the department highlighting the various errors they have made but have had no response as of yet.

rising_from_the_ashes

It does appear to have been a mix of blunders.....

However, how did you not notice the d/debit wasn't being taken out of your account?

As others have said, many agreements of this nature are subject to regular reviews and in this regard the Council are fair in asking you to complete the income/expenditure sheet - which you've complied with.

Did this show that you had the funds to pay more? If so, then again, they're entitled to ask for this.

I do think you're right lodging a complaint which they must respond to within a certain timescale so hopefully something will be worked out.

Meantime, paying the original figure exery month is essential but you must provide your employer's details etc as requested as you could end up in a sticky situation if this isn't done.

Hope it's sorted soon

jon1965

Hi thanks for answering the questions. The only thing I think you need to check on is if you mus provide your employers details. If it was after a liability order i wold agree that you have to, but if this is an "informal" arrangement I am not so sure. (I know councils do have some draconian powers so check it out"

hopeful_here

hi rising from the ashes,

No i didnt notice it initially, so many DD go out at one time. But I did pay it in the same month as was due. They havent reset the DD so I am paying in directly. By paying and communicating with them i want to show I am acting in good faith.

The letter that was sent to wrong address asked for more detail on my income and expenditure but also trebled the amount they want me to pay back.

This makes no sense to me on the one hand they say they dont have enough information and the other they TELL me to pay more! If anything the information I provided shows I have no ability to pay anything extra.

They came back and told me the amount I pay in council tax was less than I actually pay to them each month and they sent the letter to my old address.