Council tax overpaid??

hartcjhart

Hi sorry if this is in the wrong section,if so please move it,

Basically my father has had Demetia/Altzheimers for apx 5 years,we have just found out that he should not be paying council tax, how far back can we reclaim the payments,
TIA

mynameistallulah

For what reason should he not be paying, the severe mental disability criteria? If so, it is not as simple as having a certain condition. Does he live alone?

hartcjhart

yes he lives alone, we have been told by the council that he should not be paying and they have 'marked' him as exempt,
but they were saying that they are not sure(perhaps not wanting to say) about reclaiming for the time he should have been exempt
cheers

mynameistallulah

hartcjhart wrote: »

yes he lives alone, we have been told by the council that he should not be paying and they have 'marked' him as exempt,
but they were saying that they are not sure(perhaps not wanting to say) about reclaiming for the time he should have been exempt
cheers

You need to get evidence that he fulfilled the criteria for the whole period, for instance a medical letter. As far as I am aware there is no limit to how long an exemption can be backdated.

weanie

I am sorry that I cannot answer your exact question but I can say thqt my mother had a similar examption for a few month before she went into a residential home. To achieve this exemption from the council, we had to ask for a form from them and forward it to her GP for him to sign and confirm her mental state.
We never thougth about asking for it to be backdated as we accepted that the conditions were only met when the GP signed the form. Councils each have slightly different ways of organising council tax and so this will be a difficult one to navigate. Good luck.

mynameistallulah

weanie wrote: »

Councils each have slightly different ways of organising council tax and so this will be a difficult one to navigate.

It should not be difficult - the law is clear on this, and each LA must abide by it.

pmlindyloo

mynameistallulah wrote: »

It should not be difficult - the law is clear on this, and each LA must abide by it.

So what does the 'law' say about backdating in these circumstances when the OP's father should have been exempted because of severe mental disability?

Backdated to when?

From my reading LAs do vary on when they backdate the award to.

For instance, back to when AA/DLA was awarded, back to when doctor confirmed the client's mental state, back for 6 months......

So what is the 'law' please?

A reference woud be helpful - thanks.:)

dseventy

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

The only way to get it extended back more than a few months is to prove applicatons were turned down or advice was given of no entitlement.

Who has been looking after your fathers financial affairs over the last 5 years?

D70

mynameistallulah

dseventy wrote: »

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

The only way to get it extended back more than a few months is to prove applicatons were turned down or advice was given of no entitlement.

Who has been looking after your fathers financial affairs over the last 5 years?

D70

That applies to an award of benefit, not an exemption. No good cause needs to be demonstrated for backdating of an exemption.

The relevant statute is the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

dseventy

mynameistallulah wrote: »

That applies to an award of benefit, not an exemption. No good cause needs to be demonstrated for backdating of an exemption.

The relevant statute is the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Happy to be corrected.

I would still however ask questions of the person looking after the affairs of a man with dementia.

D70

hartcjhart

mynameistallulah wrote: »

That applies to an award of benefit, not an exemption. No good cause needs to be demonstrated for backdating of an exemption.

The relevant statute is the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

many thanks for the info