Council tax benefit

K.Morrisy

I have not been understanding the letters I am getting from council tax. They dont make any sense and it costs a lot to ring up.

I have been emailing many times, just got a reply.

they say since April I do not get CT benefit anymore. But I still thought I get some help.

turns out finally I am getting to the bottom of it. My council tax bill is £1730.91 with benefits of £27.20. Yes £27.20 for the year.

My question is how the hell is anyone on benefits ever supposed to be able to afford that?

Its a big shock to suddenly go from 100% of your council tax being paid to having to now pay £1703yr.

I am falling way behind we pay what we can but its still not enough. Is there any place we can go to for help or anything, its just hit me that we are going to have to move because we really can not afford this just sprung on us.:mad:

MidnightHour

The going rate now is 20% if on benefits, although some councils charge less or more, the £27.20 is probably what you have to pay.

Go to your local council website and it should have a calculator to work out what you should be paying.

I just worked out you should be paying roughly around 28 per month providing you are on the correct benefits.

K.Morrisy

MidnightHour wrote: »

The going rate now is 20% if on benefits, although some councils charge less or more, the £27.20 is probably what you have to pay.

Go to your local council website and it should have a calculator to work out what you should be paying.

I thought something did not seem right. But I keep getting large bills every month.

No reading through it they said my council tax bill is £1730.91 with benefits of £27.20

I just wrote back asking

Thank you for your reply.

so my council tax bill is £1730.91 with benefits of £27.20. Is that £27.20 for the year. That's all the council tax benefit we are entitled to?

My question is how is anyone on benefits ever supposed to be able to afford that? We have two kids and on very low income. My wife has a part time job but its only bringing in £500mth, I am frantically looking for work.

Its a big shock to suddenly go from 100% of your council tax being paid to having to now pay about £1703yr.

I am falling way behind we pay what we can but its still not enough. Is there any place we can go to for help or anything, its just hit me that we are going to have to move because we really can not afford this just sprung on us like this. I did not realise such a big shock change since April.

Is there any way I can apply for more help or anything. We literally can not afford that, I will do my best with repayments but I realise we will have to more now. Can you give us a few months to find a new place?

K.Morrisy

MidnightHour wrote: »

I just worked out you should be paying roughly around 28 per month providing you are on the correct benefits.

Wow that would be a dream, we are getting bills for well over £170mth and we really can not afford them.

What do you mean correct benefits? We get WTC, childTC, and housing benefit.

jacques_chirac

Which local authority do you come under?

Exactly what income do you have, and do you have capital over £6,000?

Your questions to the council are not phrased in a way that will get a helpful response. You need to ask them how they are calculating your entitlement.

MidnightHour

You need to contact the council in person or by phone tell them your income and get them to recalculate.

The sooner the better so any deduction can be back dated as far as possible.

MidnightHour

K.Morrisy wrote: »

Wow that would be a dream, we are getting bills for well over £170mth and we really can not afford them.

What do you mean correct benefits? We get WTC, childTC, and housing benefit.

Sorry i had worked it out with you just being on benefits, nobody working, it does seem very high though as your wife earns so little.

Contact them asap, or go to a benefit advisor in your area.

Own_My_Own

I'm a single parent of 2 on a low income. My eldest is on ESA and we get no council tax benefit at all.
It has been hard this year finding the extra £130 a month. Last year we got most of it paid.

Caz3121

K.Morrisy wrote: »

My question is how is anyone on benefits ever supposed to be able to afford that? We have two kids and on very low income. My wife has a part time job but its only bringing in £500mth, I am frantically looking for work.

They will also include the tax credits as income - I am guessing that could be as high as £820 per month

K.Morrisy

Thanks all, I have just asked them Dear sir.

Could you please tell me how you are calculating my entitlement?

We were getting 100% of our council tax paid before April. Nothing has changed in our circumstances.

We are on very low income and thought we already applied for help with council tax when we applied for housing benefit.

We have no savings over £6000 and only income of £500mnth from wages and workingTC and childTC.

Please can you tell me how you are working out my entitlement?

jacques_chirac

We could try to work it out for you, but you need to give us some figures to work with - tax credits can be a considerable boost to your income.