Denied Council Tax Benefit whilst on furlough and then on Universal Credit

Alice_Holt

PhoenixFlames said:

i)  We've heard back from the council tax office and they have advised that any income over £74.05 a week means that full council tax is due. 

ii) They have also stated this is regardless of any/all outgoings....... 


iii) They've confirmed that anyone on £301 per month is liable for £125 of that to go to council tax in full.  

    i)    I'd double check that.  That may not be right.
    
     Has she received a letter declining CTr with calculations and giving appeal rights? 

    Either contact your local advice agency,or check the details of the LA CTR full policy on their council website.

    Did you involve her councillor ?   


 
ii)  Yes, outgoings are irrelevant. Calculation is done using Applicable Amounts.  

  I've linked an LA page on applicable amounts. 
From which you can see that anyone on UC can (for that LA) receive the maximum council tax reduction allowed, subject to any non dependant deductions for other adults who live with you.


https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/benefits/question-about-claims/applicable-amounts-housing-benefit-and-council-tax-reduction

Look at the link which shows:
Applicable amount £73.1
Severe Disability Premium £64.3

For those not on a means-tested benefit, then a calculation is done looking at your applicable amounts. Which can still give help through CTr.

For additional income above those amounts, then for every extra pound you have, you lose 20p from your council tax reduction.

Each LA has it's own scheme - so I've given you this as an example.

Generally PIP is disregarded as income (it certainly is for HB).



iii)   What's the significance of £301 pm (which is c.£69 pw) ??

Does your daughter live alone?  
I'm assuming she receives UC and PIP ?  Am I correct?
Perhaps you could give us her circumstances.
Who is her LA (council).




I suggest you go back to my earlier post, and pick up some of the suggestions or at least she visits her local advice charity with full paperwork.

What you have been told seems very questionable to me, I share your surprise that the LA expects someone on an income of £75 a week to pay c40% of that just for their CT 

PhoenixFlames

We seem to be getting closer to the problem.  Another letter received has calculated her income completely wrongly.  She's obtaining P60s etc to prove there is about a 50% error and this is why she has ended up with no eligibility for some years.  Thanks for your example - it is almost identical to the calcs received with the incorrect income being the issue so far.  

We are going to stick to written communications following telephone contact as there seems to be a large difference between what we are told on the phone and what happens (and/or what is accurate when it comes to the bill being received - genuinely was told on the phone that this £75 a week was a cutoff and not where the CTR eligibility curve started which is where my £301 a month came from). 

We are also inquiring as to whether her requests for assistance with applications and access to the discretionary fund were processed past the form letter rejections received.  She has approx 6 emails sent over the past few years asking for help and access to their calculations without response when she had less than £200 a month income.  This error could have been uncovered far sooner had someone responded to ANY of the wageslip information provided.  

She now receives UC and the lower reduced capacity to work with PiP application ongoing.  

Alice_Holt

Copy in her councillor with the correspondence.

PhoenixFlames

Hi.  Brief update.  She has now had her entitlement for the new year assessed and has been told she must pay £6 a month.  We are now asking for this calculation to be repeated for the previous two years as clearly it was in error (she had less income some weeks than she did now).

PhoenixFlames

If anyone has experience or can point me to resources for the appeals process I would appreciate it.

Further contact with the council today has led them to stating:

They have no records of her contacting them to ask for council tax assistance in the last three years.  Her record is "empty".  I find this incredibly unlikely.  She has been told that there is no proof of her having contacted them or applied for assistance in the last three years apart from the current claim.  I have personally been present whilst she has had some of these conversations!

Helpfully, she still has many emails sent from before and is now taking screenshots of her phone which shows several of the calls made to them and the duration. 

Honestly starting to think this is all a bit crazy.

sheramber

I think you would need to tell us the council concerned to help you re appeals.

You could contact your local CAB who may be able to help you

Loz01

I used to work in customer services for C Tax and unfortunately if the advisor did not make any notes about the call, there won't be a record, or thats how our system works. The council I work at don't record calls either. Anything to do with discounts/exemptions or C Tax support is always an online application/form that people are directed to, to try and avoid "he said/she said" about what was said on a phone call, because the problem is people claim they called up 4 years ago to inform the council or something and there's no proof or record, Ive had people say it to me many times "oh I told you 5 years ago my son moved in..." and the dept had absolutely no idea lol.

Bigwheels1111

Every council I’ve dealt with sat No, does not matter at all the first reply is No.
My claim for council tax refund went as follows, due to hand / wrist surgery I was not able to claim as I’m left handed and surgery was on the left hand.
Reply, No.
Reason for appeal, Surgery.
Appeal letter, can you read the the claim letter, the 5th word is surgery.
Appeal granted.
Its a complete joke.