Reclaiming council tax for attendance allowance

Mick_ccaffrey

I discovered on Moneysavingexpert.com that if you are caring for a person with dementia in your own home, you can claim back some council tax and can backdate claims to 1993.
However on submitting my claim for my mother in law who died in 2008, the council in York are requiring written evidence of her entitlement to attendance allowance. I contacted DWP who pay the allowance but they have replied that they only keep records for 5 years.
Is this the case or am I being fobbed off? Without this evidence my claim is useless and unfortunately when we moved house 2 years after her death we disposed of all paperwork.
Can anyone offer any advice as to where to go from here?

CIS

Mick_ccaffrey wrote: »

I discovered on Moneysavingexpert.com that if you are caring for a person with dementia in your own home, you can claim back some council tax and can backdate claims to 1993.
However on submitting my claim for my mother in law who died in 2008, the council in York are requiring written evidence of her entitlement to attendance allowance. I contacted DWP who pay the allowance but they have replied that they only keep records for 5 years.
Is this the case or am I being fobbed off? Without this evidence my claim is useless and unfortunately when we moved house 2 years after her death we disposed of all paperwork.
Can anyone offer any advice as to where to go from here?

It is correct that the regulations require an entitlement to a qualifying benefit. This needs to be proven to the council (along with the other criteria) to qualify. The DWP however should have records going back more than 5 years (they used to hold records longer than that when I worked for them).

If the council say no and you wish to still dispute it you would need to look at a valuation tribunal appeal.

Craig

Mick_ccaffrey

I have fulfilled all the criteria barring the evidence of eligibility for attendance allowance.
I will try ringing DWP again and see if a different call operative can get me back any further.

Bogalot

You mention we - if there was more than you and your mother in law living there you would not qualify for the single person discount even with the confirmation.