Council tax support- recalculating bill every month despite me earning the same amount

Islarosie101

Since I moved into my house last April, I have had 9 “recalculation” bills from my council. I am a single parent to 2 young children and earn £550 a month from employment so am eligible for some council tax support. 

My income is paid the same day each month and never changes as I always work the exact same hours. Every month or so, I receive an “updated” council tax bill, and the monthly payments change drastically. 

For example, in November 2024 it suddenly went from £65 to £109 per month. Reason apparently being “UC income change”. Then in February this year, I had a recalculation and a rebate of £76.

I have contacted them so many times about this as it makes it so hard to budget and I haven’t got much to spare once food/rent and bills are paid. I said that I need it clarifying what I’ll be paying going forward.

anyway, recieved my annual council tax bill a few weeks ago, £55 per month. 2 weeks later, an updated one (again no changes to my income whatsoever) updated to £120 per month!

I was in tears at this point as money is so tight and it’s just impossible to manage when I don’t know what I’ll be paying from month to month.

i called them up and literally begged them to just please help me out and get to the bottom of why this is happening. They seemed confused and said they’d have a look at my earnings etc and get back to me. This was last Friday so a week tomorrow. I also emailed them Wednesday with the same information so that there was a paper trail.

i feel like they aren’t taking this seriously and I’m losing my mind over it. It’s totally unfair to treat someone like this and ignore any requests for help. At this point I want to cancel my DD but I know this isn’t a good idea.

what rights do I have here? How do I escalate it? I’m anticipating receiving another bill soon recalculated I just know it

8dayweek

Does your UC award fluctuate quite a bit? I’ve noticed in most local Council’s CTR schemes they have a policy of reassessing if UC award changes up or down by more than £x amount. You should be able to find your local Council’s CTR scheme details on their website.