council want 2 weeks rent after 7 years!

jus71_2

Hi, hope someone can help

I moved house almost 7 years ago, and was in reciept of housing benefit. A few days ago I got a letter from my local council saying that I owe them over £100 as I should have given them 4 weeks notice when I left instead of 2. So as I wasnt entitled to housing benefit anymore I owe them for the 2 weeks I wasnt even living there! Can they still chase me for it after all this time? They have never been in touch before even though they knew my new address? They are threatening me with legal action if I don't pay up:(

Thanks, Justine

The_ROG_fan

Did your council give you monthly rent statements? (My council, Southwark, does.)

If so, and if you've kept them, dig out the relevant one and see what it says.
If not, ask them for a copy of the rent statement for that period.

jus71_2

they never sent me them but every now and then I would ask for one. I had this problem with council tax - they said i owed 2 weeks worth - but I paid that as they got in touch about a year after I moved.

The_ROG_fan

jus71 wrote: »

they never sent me them but every now and then I would ask for one. I had this problem with council tax - they said i owed 2 weeks worth - but I paid that as they got in touch about a year after I moved.

That's interesting about the CT - I thought that had to be paid monthly, and at the beginning of the month at that!

ZTD

It'll be time barred. Six years is the limit. There's a stock letter you can send, alas I don't know where it is.

wherediditallgo

jus71 wrote: »

Hi, hope someone can help

I moved house almost 7 years ago, and was in reciept of housing benefit. A few days ago I got a letter from my local council saying that I owe them over £100 as I should have given them 4 weeks notice when I left instead of 2. So as I wasnt entitled to housing benefit anymore I owe them for the 2 weeks I wasnt even living there! Can they still chase me for it after all this time? They have never been in touch before even though they knew my new address? They are threatening me with legal action if I don't pay up:(

Thanks, Justine

The Local Ombudsman frowns on councils who try to claim money they think they're owed, when their own maladministration was at fault. If you were supposed to have given 4 weeks notice, they've had ample time in which to contact you about it as they clearly know where you live. It can't have taken 7 years to work out where your Housing Benefit ended & your personal liability started! If you haven't had any contact from them in all this time about the money, then I think this has come up because of an internal audit which automatically requires them to chase the money, & leaves out common sense.

I suggest that you check this out with your local housing advice centre or the CAB. You could also lodge a complaint with the council's complaints department. If their admin is so shaky that it's taken them 7 years to ask for the money, I think they should be required to prove you didn't pay it. If you put in a complaint about the letter (without admitting any liability for the debt), the complaints section will have to contact the rents section about it. I'd be very surprised if they'd think an arrears claim from so long ago would be worth chasing up, especially as you don't live there any more. I think contact from the complaints section & from somewhere like the CAB will make the rents section drop the issue.

jus71_2

Many thanks for all the helpful advice. I will certainly ring them on Tuesday and mention a few of the things mentioned. The flat where I lived was part of a number of blocks demolished a few years ago and they are about to build new ones on the the same site. I'm wondering if this is why I have been chased for the debt.

Thanks again:) Justine

firesidemaid

ZTD wrote: »

It'll be time barred. Six years is the limit. There's a stock letter you can send, alas I don't know where it is.

yes, i've heard this mentioned many times before. if someone chasing debt has not been in touch for 6 years, then the debt (if it truly exists) is classed as expired.

ZTD

sazzacat wrote: »

yes, i've heard this mentioned many times before. if someone chasing debt has not been in touch for 6 years, then the debt (if it truly exists) is classed as expired.

Its because you only have to keep records for 6 years. So if you'd paid it, you would already have disposed of the receipt. it might be worth mentioning to the council, that timely disposal of records which no longer have a purpose is a vital part of their data protection duties.

msmicawber

I think the question of whether or not this is statute barred depends on whether it is pure rent that they are claiming or repayment of housing benefit. If it's benefit that they want you to repay then it's not statute barred (I think they have 12 years to pursue you), but if it's pure rent, then I believe it falls into the normal debt category and they can go whistle for it.

You might want to double check on the Benefits & Tax Credits board as a couple of posters there work in Benefits departments and can quote regulations.