Council

maggie.michael1

Hi guys I have a huge problem with my old council basically I moved out of my old property and informed the council a month before I moved and I have them the notice in which they said was fine they never once informed me I had to pay back any housing benefit overpayment or rent arrears until 2 months ago I am stressed to the bones because I have autism they said if I don’t pay anything back they will take me to court I even told them I cannot pay anything until I have my benefits or a job sorted they don’t care what kind of help can I get

poppy12345

maggie.michael1 wrote: »

Hi guys I have a huge problem with my old council basically I moved out of my old property and informed the council a month before I moved and I have them the notice in which they said was fine they never once informed me I had to pay back any housing benefit overpayment or rent arrears until 2 months ago I am stressed to the bones because I have autism they said if I don’t pay anything back they will take me to court I even told them I cannot pay anything until I have my benefits or a job sorted they don’t care what kind of help can I get

With such little information it's impossible to help you.



Why have they told you, you've got an over payment? Have they sent a letter? If so what did that letter say?

calcotti

If you are having difficulty managing debt I suggest you get debt advice. A debt adviser can hep you negotiate a level f repayment that is affordable (or at least less of a burden).

Tomsdottir

Are the council saying that you didn't qualify for housing benefit (HB) in your old property because you had moved into your new one and were getting HB there?

There are rules which mean you can get HB for two homes in some cases. For example, you may be able to get HB for both your old and your new homes, for up to four weeks, if you could not reasonably avoid having to pay rent on your old home. This can happen where you have to sign up for your new property in order not to lose it, for example.

Or (if you aren't getting HB in your new home) are they saying that you didn't qualify for HB in your old one after you moved out, because you were no longer "normally living" there? The letter about the HB overpayment should tell you what the reason for the overpayment was.

Usually, you only have one month to challenge a decision that you have been overpaid, but this time limit can be extended.

Just because an overpayment has occurred, doesn't mean the council has to recover it, so as well as (or instead of) appealing, it's possible to ask the council not to recover the overpayment. The council will usually want to see evidence of hardship (though that in itself may not be enough - most people would experience hardship as a result of repaying an overpayment). Guidance to councils tells them that they should consider:
• financial hardship
• terminal illness
• senility or learning disabilities
• severe medical conditions
• health and welfare
• all other relevant factors.

You could ask a local advice agency for help with both of these things. https://advicelocal.uk/

[Deleted User]

This happened to me. I moved from one property to another property, let the old council know. I moved again some time later. About two years later I received a letter saying I owed £450 in overpaid HB for the old property (presumably as the HB was paid when I was living in the second property.

If I had been told at the time (letter sent to second property, which they did have the address of) I could have gotten the debt cancelled as you are allowed a transition period. Once i was informed i was told it was too late as you only have a year to ask for this to happen.

I couldn't afford to pay the £425 back as I was barely managing. I did write explaining the situation, was told it was too late to do anything about it, I owed the money and must start paying. I had a social worker who wrote to them explaining the situation and they just cancelled the debt, despite previously telling me this never happened.

If you have any support worker, see if they can write a letter for you. Even a letter from a GP (which may cost you with no guarantee of success).