Backpayment of underpaid housing benefit

singingsister

Hi guys,

From looking at our tax credit award notice against our housing benefit award notice, it appears that the housing benefit calculation has overestimated our tax credit award by £50 - that is to say that they have calculated our housing benefit award on us getting £50 a week more working tax credits than we actually do.

I have spoken to our benefits office and they have told us to take our tax credits award letter in and our claim would be re-assessed and any monies owed to us due to an underpayment would be paid to us.

However, we were discharged from BR in Nov 2012, would we lose this refund to the OR or are benefits excluded? I recently received notification that a tax refund I was due was going straight to the OR as it was for the tax year during our BR.

Advise please?


singingsister

CKhalvashi

Benefits are generally excluded from BR, and you'll be looking at LHA backdating for either 4 weeks or 3 months (can't remember which off hand, as my specialist housing area is homelessness, not benefits).

Have you had a previous award notice since you applied for LHA? Did you have to show bank statements? (99% of the time, you will), and why was this not raised at the time?

There are too many when, why and what at the moment, unless I have those three questions answered, and I may need more info then, to get it checked out.

CK

debt_doctor

Hi,
If you are discharged with no IPA in place then the back payment is yours to keep.
If an IPA is in place, AND you have earned income then this money could be assessed as an income boost and an IPA could be varied th claim more of the non benefit income.

DD

CKhalvashi

debt_doctor wrote: »

Hi,
If you are discharged with no IPA in place then the back payment is yours to keep.
If an IPA is in place, AND you have earned income then this money could be assessed as an income boost and an IPA could be varied th claim more of the non benefit income.

DD

This is what I was trying to explain here.

Thanks!

singingsister

Hi guys

Nope we have no IPA.

And CKhalvashi - looking at our awards letter for housing benefit and our awards letter for tax credits (which was issued a few motnhs before we applyed for HB) I think the council have made a mistake as we would have put down on our claim form for HB what was on the TC awards notice - plus the benefits office require your TC awards letter to access your HB claim!

CKhalvashi

singingsister wrote: »

Hi guys

Nope we have no IPA.

And CKhalvashi - looking at our awards letter for housing benefit and our awards letter for tax credits (which was issued a few motnhs before we applyed for HB) I think the council have made a mistake as we would have put down on our claim form for HB what was on the TC awards notice - plus the benefits office require your TC awards letter to access your HB claim!

In which case, send a complaint in writing to the Director of Housing Benefits, or whatever they're called in your council, asking them to review the decision.

CK

singingsister

CKhalvashi wrote: »

In which case, send a complaint in writing to the Director of Housing Benefits, or whatever they're called in your council, asking them to review the decision.

CK

Hi

They've said we need to take our TC awards letter in to them and they will review and refund us accordingly.

CKhalvashi

singingsister wrote: »

Hi

They've said we need to take our TC awards letter in to them and they will review and refund us accordingly.

That's another way of doing it.

I'd do both at the same time if I were you, as then it's formally logged on the systems, protecting you should they not budge.

Sorry, I'm a local Cllr, and 9 times out of 10 work against the council on things like this, and will take a sterner line than you're told to by them.

I'm elected by the local community, the person working there isn't.

CK

singingsister

CKhalvashi wrote: »

That's another way of doing it.

I'd do both at the same time if I were you, as then it's formally logged on the systems, protecting you should they not budge.

Sorry, I'm a local Cllr, and 9 times out of 10 work against the council on things like this, and will take a sterner line than you're told to by them.

I'm elected by the local community, the person working there isn't.

CK

OK. Thank you.