Council Tax reduction problem need advice.

craftycrafty

Can anyone help. We have been claiming council tax reduction for 2 1/2 years. My partner is retired and I was unemployed for a lot of that time. I did a temporary seasonal job last year and am working again now in a seasonal post. We have always informed the council of changes and provided all the evidence of income such as pensions and my wages. Today I received a new bill for nearly £5000 when I phoned to get more information, I was told that my reduction had been mis calculated, they had not included my partners private pension. They agreed that they had all the correct information from me. I am going to appeal but has this happened to anyone else or does anyone have any advice please.

nannytone_2

was his private pension shown on the award notices?

if not, then it is your responsibility to check the awards and inform the council of any errors.

if it was on the award letters then you should appeal

Housing_Benefit_Officer

I assume you or your partner sent the annual increase notifications of the Private Pensions as and when they were received?

craftycrafty

Yes every time we were asked for wage slips proof ect we provided it asap. at one point they even refunded an overpayment.

agrinnall

You must have a very high band property if 2.5 years reduction comes to £5000 - that's a reduction of £2000 a year. If you can't afford the CT I'd suggest downsizing to somewhere cheaper.

Alice_Holt

Here is a guide to the process of appealing:

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Challenging-a-Council-Tax-Support-decision/What-are-my-options

Housing_Benefit_Officer

To have an over payment of £5,000 in two and a half years your partner must have a pension of £10,000 per year. Every additional £1 income reduces Council Tax Support by 20 pence.