[Help] Council Tax + Housing Benefit

Jordxn

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

So basically your Mum has been caught failing to declare your change in circumstances and now she has been caught out you are claiming to have left home and been living elsewhere since the end of 2011!

You are unable to prove you have been living at your friends. He didn't tell his mortgage company and probably failed to declare the additional income to the tax man. Everything still goes to your Mother's address.

So the overpayment is correct and recoverable.

She can only appeal and ask for a reconsideration of the decision.

How far away are you now living from you Mother?

I live 20-30 miles away.

Jordxn

Dovah_diva wrote: »

Yeah, I'm sure it has been a tough childhood. However, without the safety net of benefits it would have been a whole lot harder. Also, I don't believe that your Mum got advice 19 years ago and then bam! Nothing since then. I bet her benefits have increased, she would have completed forms etc. At the very least your sister could have helped.

Whatever. Fact is, she'll have to repay the debt. Both you and she need to learn from this and move on.

I simply don't know, she has been helped by the job centre too, but they have only helped her with sending stuff off to the council and using a computer as she doesn't know how to use one. I guess my Mum didn't deal with the problem like a normal adult would, she just put it aside, probably because it stresses her out and she doesn't understand it, but I'm trying to do the best by my Mum and sort it all out for her, so I don't want your sympathy, but your help and advice as a person who is more experienced would be great. I don't appreciate assumptions or harsh replies.

jacques_chirac

Jordxn wrote: »

I'm 19 and for an average 19 year old, at least I have a job...at least I worked my !!! off at school and college and now at work. I pay tax on my income, but I didn't know that I had to update the council that I left home. I left when I was 17 years old. I didn't know 2 years down the line it would create this problem for my Mum...so what If my Mum has been claiming for 19 years, it doesn't rule out the fact that she has tried her hardest to get a job, she has never missed an appointment, she goes to all of the courses they send her on...she doesn't moan about it, but at the end of the say, she needs to live and needs to proper benefits and help, so it hurts when people call her a fraud, when she isn't the normal you or me, she has problems, ones which she needs help with. I'm young so this council tax/housing benefit is a lesson learned, but people with more life experience shouldn't be making such awful assumptions about me or my Mother. I'm trying to sort it out at the end of the day.

I have not called her a fraud, but I do think we are not getting the full story. If she is as incapable as you say, how is it that she has never missed an appointment? The two are contradictory.

The best thing you can do now is contact the council to make a repayment plan. Once you have done that you need to sit down with your mother and her GP and discuss whether she is fit for work, and what other support she may be eligible for.

Jordxn

Anyway, as I don't have proof to show that I have been living elsewhere, what should I do?

1. Get my friend to send a letter to the council and hope that it's enough

(or)

2. Move back home, pay rent, council tax and gas/electric/water and pay off the large £4,000 debt for the over-payment?

CKhalvashi

jacques_chirac wrote: »

Given the reactive nature of you providing the paperwork, I doubt a letter would suffice. Where are you registered as living with your bank/ doctor etc?

And a bank/doctors letter may be the only way of resolving with this, plus bank statements showing £200 a month leaving your account when it wasn't before.

CK

princessdon

Jordxn wrote: »

I simply don't know, she has been helped by the job centre too, but they have only helped her with sending stuff off to the council and using a computer as she doesn't know how to use one. I guess my Mum didn't deal with the problem like a normal adult would, she just put it aside, probably because it stresses her out and she doesn't understand it, but I'm trying to do the best by my Mum and sort it all out for her, so I don't want your sympathy, but your help and advice as a person who is more experienced would be great. I don't appreciate assumptions or harsh replies.

She has committed a fraudulent act - not updating her circumstances. Harsh but true, they don't appear at present to be prosecuting her or she'd have been invited to interview under caution. They appear to accept the act was a genuine oversight but that doesn't mean no payment.

As we've all said, sort out better payment terms, get her a benefit review, my advice is not to fight this as you have little to no chance of winning as evidence points to you being there and the stress of an investigation sounds like it would be too much for your mother.

princessdon

Jordxn wrote: »

Anyway, as I don't have proof to show that I have been living elsewhere, what should I do?

1. Get my friend to send a letter to the council and hope that it's enough

(or)

2. Move back home, pay rent, council tax and gas/electric/water and pay off the large £4,000 debt for the over-payment?

Number 1 could cause an investigation - for your mother and your friend.

Plus she will still have some council tax and housing to pay.

Jordxn

jacques_chirac wrote: »

I have not called her a fraud, but I do think we are not getting the full story. If she is as incapable as you say, how is it that she has never missed an appointment? The two are contradictory.

The best thing you can do now is contact the council to make a repayment plan. Once you have done that you need to sit down with your mother and her GP and discuss whether she is fit for work, and what other support she may be eligible for.

She hasn't missed an appointment at the job centre because she has to go to one every two weeks and she has a card reminding her of that. She doesn't forget that because she goes to the job centre all the time to use the machines and look for a job. She doesn't forget that because she buys 3 different local newspapers to look for jobs. I've looked at all of her letters from the council, they haven't sent many this year until recently. She's not incapable to the point where she can't do anything, but it's a case of her ignoring the problem at hand and not being able to cope or deal with it. She doesn't really understand the process and procedures. She didn't know to update the council and she probably didn't get anyone to explain the letters to her either. I have explained what I can to her now, but it's too late...so I think I'll just need to pay the bill. I wish she told me about it earlier,.

pmlindyloo

Before you go to CAB with your mother about this you need to find all the paperwork relating to the overpayment. If your mum hasn't got it/they didn't break it down then request a breakdown from the council.

It is very important that CAB can check that the amount of overpayment is correct. I have known of cases where the non dependent deduction for council tax and HB was made at the highest rate in the event of change of circumstances not being reported.

Take your salary slips with you from the beginning of your employment to show what the deductions should have been.

In the meantime have a careful think about if you have any evidence of your living at your friend's house. Get your friend and his partner to write a letter detailing when you moved in. I don't know whether there is any way that they can give a sworn statement in front of a solicitor. (Anyone?)

I also feel that you might not be able to prove that you moved out.

If they do accept your friend's statement that you moved out then your mum will still owe the housing benefit office some money because she has a spare bedroom.

However, she should be due a rebate on her council tax as she would have been entitled to the single person's discount (as your sister is a student - she will need a student exemption certificate from her university))

This is very messy and you are going to need some help. Hopefully the amount will not be as large as you think and your mum will be able to spread the payments over time and at a small amount as she is on benefits.

I feel that people are trying to help as regards your mum's 'problems', not as a result of their being nosy but because if your mum does have some documented 'issues' this may serve well as a 'excuse'/good cause that she did not notify them of a change of circumstances.

Jordxn

princessdon wrote: »

Number 1 could cause an investigation - for your mother and your friend.

Plus she will still have some council tax and housing to pay.

Yeah, I don't think they have accused her of fraud - maybe they are aware of her health circumstances? I don't know, but they are requesting the following amount:

Overpayment of Housing Benefit: £2,800 (October 2011 - July 2013)
Overpayment of Council Tax: £500 (October 2011 - July 2013)
Yearly Council Tax: £1150 (That's for Band B as far as I know)

I will need to contact them tomorrow for further clarification and ask what housing benefit/council tax reductions she currently receives and what she will receive if I move back into the property. I wish I never moved it, it's just created more problems for my Mum unfortunately.