Council Tax Question
Discussion
Hi All,
My partner has built up somewhat of a council tax debt. A lot of this is, frankly, her own damn fault, as like most people who are long term unemployed, stuck her head in the sand and didn't pay attention to all the rules and so on and so forth.
She was unemployed and living in the Caerphilly area for around 3 years. I don't think she ever claimed the unemployment relief on the council tax though, certainly not until I got involved and told her not to be so bloody silly and claim it! I also wonder wether she had the 25% single occupant relief either.
Does anyone know if she stands any chance of having any of these things applied retrospectively? I'd wager that this would slash her £1500 debt down almost entirely to nothing! I'm still trying to find out if, when she moved out of there and in with me, if she actually got part of a year's tax credited back on her account.
She's had some right bar stewards of bailiffs after her for this, threatening all kinds of things to get her to pay, and taking about £75 a month off her (which considering that while she is working, she's only earning about £600 a month, is a fair percentage when you factor in her contributions to rent, c/tax and utilities, means she's left with next to bugger all each month - and indeed has been off work with depression when she got paid and all her income just *went* the same day. (Admittedly this was her own bloody fault also, as she'd borrowed money from me the week before and had to pay me back!).
Anyways, she now has the debt back with the council, who are going to take a smaller amount directly from her pay through the PAYE system now - which will be much better (she's still paying a TV Licence fine through that also).
Any help/advice would be appreciated!
Alex.
My partner has built up somewhat of a council tax debt. A lot of this is, frankly, her own damn fault, as like most people who are long term unemployed, stuck her head in the sand and didn't pay attention to all the rules and so on and so forth.
She was unemployed and living in the Caerphilly area for around 3 years. I don't think she ever claimed the unemployment relief on the council tax though, certainly not until I got involved and told her not to be so bloody silly and claim it! I also wonder wether she had the 25% single occupant relief either.
Does anyone know if she stands any chance of having any of these things applied retrospectively? I'd wager that this would slash her £1500 debt down almost entirely to nothing! I'm still trying to find out if, when she moved out of there and in with me, if she actually got part of a year's tax credited back on her account.
She's had some right bar stewards of bailiffs after her for this, threatening all kinds of things to get her to pay, and taking about £75 a month off her (which considering that while she is working, she's only earning about £600 a month, is a fair percentage when you factor in her contributions to rent, c/tax and utilities, means she's left with next to bugger all each month - and indeed has been off work with depression when she got paid and all her income just *went* the same day. (Admittedly this was her own bloody fault also, as she'd borrowed money from me the week before and had to pay me back!).
Anyways, she now has the debt back with the council, who are going to take a smaller amount directly from her pay through the PAYE system now - which will be much better (she's still paying a TV Licence fine through that also).
Any help/advice would be appreciated!
Alex.
i've got nothing to add other than the councils are t
ts.
The penalised my dad for single occupancy discount because apparently my sister lived there (stayed for 2 weeks during house renovations) and they wanted 5 months of the discount because he had to reapply. Even when they had the builder, my sister, my dad all with written proof of this the council simply went "we don't believe you" and tried charging him anyway.
wkers!
ts. The penalised my dad for single occupancy discount because apparently my sister lived there (stayed for 2 weeks during house renovations) and they wanted 5 months of the discount because he had to reapply. Even when they had the builder, my sister, my dad all with written proof of this the council simply went "we don't believe you" and tried charging him anyway.
w
kers!R2T2 said:
i've got nothing to add other than the councils are tts.
The penalised my dad for single occupancy discount because apparently my sister lived there (stayed for 2 weeks during house renovations) and they wanted 5 months of the discount because he had to reapply. Even when they had the builder, my sister, my dad all with written proof of this the council simply went "we don't believe you" and tried charging him anyway.
wkers!
The discount is for a single "resident" that being your permanent place of living - if she was just staying for a couple of weeks I doubt that makes you resident!ts. The penalised my dad for single occupancy discount because apparently my sister lived there (stayed for 2 weeks during house renovations) and they wanted 5 months of the discount because he had to reapply. Even when they had the builder, my sister, my dad all with written proof of this the council simply went "we don't believe you" and tried charging him anyway.
w
kers!Couple this f*ckwittery with the staff at the job centre, and she got sanctioned a couple of times, supposedly without any reasons being disclosed, or for how long (I think she was so depressed at this point, she just gave up arguing) and that had an effect on her council tax reductions also.
JustinP1 said:
I've had to retrospectively prove a house was empty.
They just needed documentary evidence to back up what I was saying - a tenancy agreement on another property.
I'd suggest you just need some written proof.
Yep, well she has a letter from the EA when she moved out to prove that she's left the property, so that should do the trick on that front.They just needed documentary evidence to back up what I was saying - a tenancy agreement on another property.
I'd suggest you just need some written proof.
Rangeroverover said:
I would let it go to court, they are more likely to write bits off and offer a sensible payment plan than the council or the bailliffs ............I think
No, what happens is the council go to the court and say "here's the list of deadbeats" and the court goes "ok, here's your liability orders for the deadbeats" and the council then ships those out to some bailiffs in order to recover that money. You can get the council to take the account of the bailiffs if you try - we have successfully done this now.Rangeroverover said:
When I disputed a council tax bill, eventually I got summoned to court, was very pleased to turn up, court told the council to go away and sort their system out or return in 3 months. 3 months later went back as we hadn't agreed completely, court threw out about 80% of the liability
Yep, sadly we're past that stage I fear, wish she had done something at the time!They can just about make all the rules up now, even their own qualification criteria for exemptions (they call it benefit, I don't).
It's a mix of income and savings, you'll need to provide comprehensive details of savings/cash and income for the periods. They don't have to let you off retrospectively, they are more likely to if she can prove she was incapable of managing her affairs, severely depressed etc.
It's a mix of income and savings, you'll need to provide comprehensive details of savings/cash and income for the periods. They don't have to let you off retrospectively, they are more likely to if she can prove she was incapable of managing her affairs, severely depressed etc.
Call it what you will, but council tax benefit changed to being the council tax support scheme.
Local elected representatives can now choose who should receive financial support with the cost of their council tax. This was at the same time funding was cut by 10%. Some councils chose to protect benefits at a cost to other services - most didn't.
So, to sum up this thread quickly, the op's girlfriend has buried their head in the sand way past the point of this being sorted easily, yet this is somehow the council's fault, and out comes everyone's favourite axe to grind. Bizarre, even by ph standards.
Of course they're going to want payment for the services they provide, as would every other organisation in the country.
How are council supposed to know she wasn't working? Should they pop round every few days to check? Every adult, with the exception of mental incapacity is expected to take responsibility for this stuff themselves.
The way to deal with councils is the same way they deal with you: officially, in writing, and keep on top of things.
Sorry if a dose of reality spoils the communal downer on councils.
If engaging with the council about this issue isn't working (after carefully reading your council's literature) I would suggest contacting your councillor to take up your case.
Ian
Local elected representatives can now choose who should receive financial support with the cost of their council tax. This was at the same time funding was cut by 10%. Some councils chose to protect benefits at a cost to other services - most didn't.
So, to sum up this thread quickly, the op's girlfriend has buried their head in the sand way past the point of this being sorted easily, yet this is somehow the council's fault, and out comes everyone's favourite axe to grind. Bizarre, even by ph standards.
Of course they're going to want payment for the services they provide, as would every other organisation in the country.
How are council supposed to know she wasn't working? Should they pop round every few days to check? Every adult, with the exception of mental incapacity is expected to take responsibility for this stuff themselves.
The way to deal with councils is the same way they deal with you: officially, in writing, and keep on top of things.
Sorry if a dose of reality spoils the communal downer on councils.
If engaging with the council about this issue isn't working (after carefully reading your council's literature) I would suggest contacting your councillor to take up your case.
Ian
Ian Geary said:
Call it what you will, but council tax benefit changed to being the council tax support scheme.
Local elected representatives can now choose who should receive financial support with the cost of their council tax. This was at the same time funding was cut by 10%. Some councils chose to protect benefits at a cost to other services - most didn't.
So, to sum up this thread quickly, the op's girlfriend has buried their head in the sand way past the point of this being sorted easily, yet this is somehow the council's fault, and out comes everyone's favourite axe to grind. Bizarre, even by ph standards.
Of course they're going to want payment for the services they provide, as would every other organisation in the country.
How are council supposed to know she wasn't working? Should they pop round every few days to check? Every adult, with the exception of mental incapacity is expected to take responsibility for this stuff themselves.
The way to deal with councils is the same way they deal with you: officially, in writing, and keep on top of things.
Sorry if a dose of reality spoils the communal downer on councils.
If engaging with the council about this issue isn't working (after carefully reading your council's literature) I would suggest contacting your councillor to take up your case.
Ian
Yes indeed, it's that sense of entitlement to your money and lack of sympathy and general rudeness that normally comes across. Local elected representatives can now choose who should receive financial support with the cost of their council tax. This was at the same time funding was cut by 10%. Some councils chose to protect benefits at a cost to other services - most didn't.
So, to sum up this thread quickly, the op's girlfriend has buried their head in the sand way past the point of this being sorted easily, yet this is somehow the council's fault, and out comes everyone's favourite axe to grind. Bizarre, even by ph standards.
Of course they're going to want payment for the services they provide, as would every other organisation in the country.
How are council supposed to know she wasn't working? Should they pop round every few days to check? Every adult, with the exception of mental incapacity is expected to take responsibility for this stuff themselves.
The way to deal with councils is the same way they deal with you: officially, in writing, and keep on top of things.
Sorry if a dose of reality spoils the communal downer on councils.
If engaging with the council about this issue isn't working (after carefully reading your council's literature) I would suggest contacting your councillor to take up your case.
Ian
Ian Geary said:
Call it what you will, but council tax benefit changed to being the council tax support scheme.
Local elected representatives can now choose who should receive financial support with the cost of their council tax. This was at the same time funding was cut by 10%. Some councils chose to protect benefits at a cost to other services - most didn't.
So, to sum up this thread quickly, the op's girlfriend has buried their head in the sand way past the point of this being sorted easily, yet this is somehow the council's fault, and out comes everyone's favourite axe to grind. Bizarre, even by ph standards.
Of course they're going to want payment for the services they provide, as would every other organisation in the country.
How are council supposed to know she wasn't working? Should they pop round every few days to check? Every adult, with the exception of mental incapacity is expected to take responsibility for this stuff themselves.
The way to deal with councils is the same way they deal with you: officially, in writing, and keep on top of things.
Sorry if a dose of reality spoils the communal downer on councils.
If engaging with the council about this issue isn't working (after carefully reading your council's literature) I would suggest contacting your councillor to take up your case.
Ian
I would have thought that while in receipt of unemployment benefits, they would automatically notify the council to adjust things accordingly - but as we all know, the IT systems in use by the government have never been that good at even the most basic of functions.Local elected representatives can now choose who should receive financial support with the cost of their council tax. This was at the same time funding was cut by 10%. Some councils chose to protect benefits at a cost to other services - most didn't.
So, to sum up this thread quickly, the op's girlfriend has buried their head in the sand way past the point of this being sorted easily, yet this is somehow the council's fault, and out comes everyone's favourite axe to grind. Bizarre, even by ph standards.
Of course they're going to want payment for the services they provide, as would every other organisation in the country.
How are council supposed to know she wasn't working? Should they pop round every few days to check? Every adult, with the exception of mental incapacity is expected to take responsibility for this stuff themselves.
The way to deal with councils is the same way they deal with you: officially, in writing, and keep on top of things.
Sorry if a dose of reality spoils the communal downer on councils.
If engaging with the council about this issue isn't working (after carefully reading your council's literature) I would suggest contacting your councillor to take up your case.
Ian
We'll have to write them a letter I think, I doubt the councillor would be much good as she's no longer resident in Caerphilly (now over in south glos) but worth a try I guess.
Oh, and now they're trying to claw back some "overpaid" housing benefit. News to us this, seeing as they cut her off when the job centre sanctioned her...
I had a similar situation with a family member recently, bailiffs at the door, head in the sand etc....
I used this site to help - mainly what I used was their budget calculator and some of their template letters.
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/
Worthwhile and it had a very positive effect - their telephone helpline isn't bad either.
I used this site to help - mainly what I used was their budget calculator and some of their template letters.
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/
Worthwhile and it had a very positive effect - their telephone helpline isn't bad either.
Meanwhile , a bit late and possibly O/T, but when visiting council benefits office and they write it down and ask you to read it - READ IT ,READ IT ,AND IF THERE'S THE SLIGHTEST BIT WRONG,STRIKE IT OUT AND GET IT AMENDED. Saves a lot of problems. e.g. son & partner split up ,and he gave my address as a C/O address. I'm a pensioner getting HB + CT benefit. Months later -I got a demand for overpayment of HB, as I had ( according to them) son living with us . I saw his statement, which according to him said to use our address for his mail. But that's not what he said-but he'd not checked it. Then I gave statement to effect he had not lived with us for a lot of years. Came back as stating he HAD NEVER lived with us -I struck it out, initialled it and told clerk to correct.
SO IF YOU EVER ARE ASKED TO SIGN ANY STATEMENT AT A COUNCIL OFFICE -READ IT CAREFULLY- THEY WRITE WHAT IS EASIEST FOR THEM .
SO IF YOU EVER ARE ASKED TO SIGN ANY STATEMENT AT A COUNCIL OFFICE -READ IT CAREFULLY- THEY WRITE WHAT IS EASIEST FOR THEM .
If your 'partner' was unemployed she should not have been paying council tax at all as she would have qualified for Council Tax Benefit. This was usually automatically applied for through the dole office
However from April 2014 PollTax v2.0 started. meaning she would have to pay a proportion of council tax (up to 30%) depending on her postcode- it's called the Postcode Lottery! She would still qualify for 25% reduction if sole occupant, although she may have become liable for Bedroom Tax.
You need to find out from the councils just what these charges relate to.
However from April 2014 PollTax v2.0 started. meaning she would have to pay a proportion of council tax (up to 30%) depending on her postcode- it's called the Postcode Lottery! She would still qualify for 25% reduction if sole occupant, although she may have become liable for Bedroom Tax.
You need to find out from the councils just what these charges relate to.
AND she might have been able to apply for hardship allowance to cover the cost of the amount caused by Bedroom tax( not advertised by most councils). My son had this problem, house sitting for his sister. He'd moved out of the ward, so I asked my local councillor to investigate, and the council payed up. Worth looking at, and if person has moved ward- person in ward can always ask local councillor to investigate. Decent ones will .
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff