Is there a way a local authority can find out how much money you have in your bank accounts?

macman

How much is he in arrears? The LA cannot issue an S8 until he is at least 2 months in arrears. They would then need to give a minimum of 8 weeks notice before a possession order can be applied for. With current court backlogs, that could take several months, so there's little chance that a possession order could be granted before next summer.
And for an LA to start eviction proceedings against a pensioner with dementia is not a good look, they are not going to do that without trying every other option first.
I would try and find out if he has been paying his other utility bills: gas/electricity/water? If you can get as many of these bills onto DD as possible, that would avoid these problems recurring.
POA should be pursued, but if he is unable to demonstrate that he understands what he is consenting to, then it's not going to be possible.

skm1981

I feel like he must be paying his other utilities, maybe they are direct debit, because surely his electricity/gas etc would be cut if he wasn't paying which it hasn't.  I don't know how far in arrears he is.  I think in the summer, it was around two months he hadn't paid, then my dad did agree to pay that off, which he did.  He started paying his rent again, but then I've now found out stopped again.  He owed £1200 about a month ago.  I don't know how much his rent is, so I don't know how many months that works out at though

RAS

skm1981 said:

One of the things he's said is that he has friends who live in council flats and they don't pay rent.  I've told him their circumstances are likely to be different from his, but it's just difficult with him because I don't know if he's telling me the truth when he says he's got no savings or if he genuinely doesn't. 

One possibility, next time he says that his friends don't pay rent is to explain that his friends will have applied for pension credit or housing benefit. And may be getting money off their Council Tax. If you see any of these friends when you or bro are with him, ask them what help they getting?

If he'd like to do the same, he just needs to apply for these benefits, and you'd be happy to help him fill in the forms, next time you are up. Try and print them off and ask him to help you fill them in.

Re your brother, does your dad never open his wallet? The colour of his debit card might give you a clue as to where he banks? And can bro proactively pop in to see dad hoping there is some mail present?

wild666

The DWP can access the basics of a persons account like how much is in it and the deposits and outgoings but nothing more. This is how they find out who has more than £6,000 in savings or in some cases more than £16,000 so they can stop any U|C or ESA payment or at least reduces them and make the claimant pay back any money plus they also add a £40 charge to the repayments. 

pmlindyloo

I am wondering if it is possible for you/brother to pay off his rent arrears?  There is no reason why the local authority wouldn't accept this from you.

You could tell your dad that you are going to do this because you do not want him to be evicted from his home.and this may well make your father open up about why he doesn't want to pay.

If he isn't paying because 'his friends don't pay' then you can open up the conversation about his applying for Pension Credit which, if awarded, would mean that his rent and council tax would be paid for him.

There is no upper limit of £16000 savings for Pension Credit.  Any savings over £10000 will see his Pension Credit calculation reduce by £1 per week for each £500 over the £10000.

If he is receiving DLA middle or high rate for care, he lives alone and no one claims Carer's Allowance for him then he would also be eligible for the severe disability premium in the calculation for Pension Credit.

It is perfectly possible that he would would be entitled to Pension Credit but, of course, you would need to know his financial details to apply.

Some offices of Age Concern employ benefit advisors and would visit him at home to assess his eligibility.  You could do some googling for his area about this.
Also some local housing associations have benefit advisors so this may be another route you could take.

This then would be a start to get a handle on his finances.  

If he received Pension Credit then there would be more likelihood of his getting some help with moving to a new home.

Good luck!

BungalowBel

My late m-i-l was always convinced that 'the council' were singling her out because she had to pay rent and her sister didn't.  (The real reason was, she had got a small pension from her late husband, which pushed her over the threshold).  I think maybe trying to persuade your father that his mates who don't pay rent must be on Pension Credit and encouraging him to apply for it should be the next move (of course if he doesn't get it, it may make him even more resentful!).