council tax overpayment

groovychick2007

hi
i moved house on 17th feb i informed the benefits section on 15th feb that i was moving and to stop paying my council tax and housing benefit ( i would of gone in earlier but was told to inform as close as possible to my moving date) Today i have received a letter from the benefits section of my old council to say i owe a weeks council tax dated from 17th feb to 24th feb also recieved another to state my housing benefit ceased on 17th feb due to moving out of area, How do i stand have i got to pay this money as it is their mistake not mine

Fran

Yes you do have to pay the money back as it's an overpayment and you weren't entitled to that extra week's benefit.

groovychick2007

that cant be right .. they were informed i was moving my h/b hasnt been overpayed so howcome they overpayed my c/t

Eager_Elephant

Your Council Tax overpayment is known as a technical overpayment.

Council Tax is paid from x date to 31/3 every year so if you leave mid way through then you get a letter that says you have an overpayment.

Of course you won't have because the Council Tax department will close your Ctax account from 17th so you won't owe any money.

Personally I think this confuses people and the letters should not be sent

EE

Fran

groovychick2007 wrote: »

that cant be right .. they were informed i was moving my h/b hasnt been overpayed so howcome they overpayed my c/t

You only informed them 2 days before and it probably wasn't processed straight away. It is right and you do have to pay it back. See: Preston.gov website for example.

What happens if I have been overpaid benefit?
We can recover almost all overpayments - the only exception being when we or the Department for Work and Pensions office make a mistake, and you couldn't reasonably be expected to know there'd been an overpayment..... It will be recoverable if:

You did not tell us of a change in your circumstances, such as an increase in your income.
You did tell us about a change but continued to receive benefit that you are not entitled to.

What happens if I have been overpaid benefit?
We can recover almost all overpayments - the only exception being when we or the Department for Work and Pensions office make a mistake, and you couldn't reasonably be expected to know there'd been an overpayment.

What will happen if I fail to repay an overpayment?
Failure to repay an overpayment may result in further action being taken. This could mean that your debt may be passed to the County Court for a Judgment to be granted against you. This will then affect your ability to get credit.

Curveygirl

Is it possible that your Tenancy had not actually run out till the 24th? In otherwords, did your notice go up to the 24th. If so, you are still liable for Ctax till then, and your ex Landlord becomes liable after the date the Tenancy ends. If that was the case, even if you moved out the week before on the 17th, then you would still have to pay the extra bit between 17th and 24th as Benefit is only paid where you are resident

groovychick2007

no my tenancy ended on 17th feb new tennants started from 18th feb as it was a mutual exchange i have emailed them to ask them to explain as tried all thursday and friday to get through