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Sorry its a bit long winded folks but if I don't put the whole time line down then you hopefully you will get a feeling to how I feel. My current problem's all started on the 15th of March 2010 on the4 16th of July 2010 I moved out of my old address and the council where aware of this. But there has been a series of events since which I can only say are when I was made redundant. Then having gone without a penny to live on for 6 weeks to get signed on on to JSA things went from bad to worse. Anyway to cut a longer story to a long one. On deformation of character, Intrusive and now down right untruthful and the more I think about it they seem to lack accountability. This has left me with no confidence with my local council or those running it.
This is the dates of the exact events as they happened.
On the 1st of June I contacted the council to ask about council tax benefit and how I go about claiming it. Something I am lucky to say I have never had to claim for since leaving school 18 years ago. When I contacted the office they duly sent out the forms I needed to fill in. I explained what was happening with the house and that there could be a possibility I was going to move. I also explained that I would be going bankrupt in the same sort of time frame and that I all I was waiting for was the £450 deposit.
On the 14th of June however the realization of the complete financial mess I was in, and the fact my property was about to be taken back by the mortgage company became reality. So I decided it was time I moved before being moved while I had the chance.
Four weeks past but despite finding a few properties, every time I got to the letting agents they where either gone or out of my price range. A lucky brake came when an old friend also looking for a place to live suggested that we might share. So we worked it out on paper this looked ok. That day I received a call from a letting agent and we viewed the place I currently call home. The date set to move in was the 16th of July.
On the 6th of July I received a call from the council to ask if I was still going to make a claim. I took the chance to tell them that I was moving out the property. I explained that would it be ok to make the claim at my new address as it would have been a waste of everyone's time if I did it before I moved. I also took the chance to let them know that the property would be empty after the 16th of July. I understood that this would mean that the property was exempt for any further charge from that date. There would be a new bill sent to my new address and this would also include any amount left owing. The person I spoke to confirmed this and also said she had noted on the account. I also told her that the property was now going to stand empty. They confirmed that any council tax benefit would and will be back dated, and they also took a note of my new address.
16th of July Imoved into the new property all the possessions I took with me where my cloths, bed and a set of draws along with a few personal items. The rest of the the items where shared out between a few friends. This left the house with nothing on show and nothing of worth left behind. From the outside you would have seen you certainly could not have lived there. So anyone passing by would have also seen that the property was empty. I also had 5 eye witnesses to prove this. That weekend I began to look through the forms so I could start my claim housing and council tax benefit. Although as I could not answer all of the questions on the form and I had yet to get the supporting documents. I could not do any more until I could answer all of these questions. Because of this I did not get the housing benefit and council tax benefit forms handed in until the 23rd of August.
Now what happened next has left me with a very nasty taste, not only did I feel like I was being spied upon but I was also being treated as if I was up to something. The next few lines come from an, exert from my reply to a complaint I made to the Interim Payments Manager of the benefits office. Mainly made because of my treatment while they where dealing with my claim.
6th of September I received a letter to ask what had happened to my former property and to ask for some bank statements. I duly supplied a copy of the courts possessions order, Bank statements, and just to make sure all avenues where covered a copy of my co-tenants wage slip as her wages where now being paid into the same account this was however in my name. We did this could save some time each month. So when I handed in there required items to the council I made sure to take the opportunity to explain why I had this money being paid in to my account. Although this was plain to see, anyone questioning why JSA, and a company I have never worked for where paying me a salary each month along with the wage slip from my co-tenant. It was plain to see that the money was not mine. Just to cover everything and so things where not delayed further we had also received our guarantee insurance certificates. On the 9th of September these where handed into the housing office.
15th September I sent and email to the benefits office to see how my claim was doing. I also told them that I was now broke this also included my bankruptcy money. So that the back dated amount would help pay the coming months rent. It would also put me back into a position where I could get the council tax paid and straightened out. By this time we also had Water and Electric bills needing to be paid, as we had planned to have the money available. My co-tenant paid out the £595 rent out of her £945 ish a month wages this left her just enough to feed and put fuel in her car and feed herself along with honoring her other bills.
16th September I rang the benefits office to see if everything was now ok and I also pointed out that that I hopped that it was not going to take much longer as I would soon need the next months rent. I stated that this was due to the fact I needed it in place to pay my co-tenant back. I also repeated what I had said in the email the day before. The person I spoke to assured me that the claim looked complete and that I would receive details of my payments in the next 7 days. This was also the first time that anything had been said about council tax. I was then told and demanded that the minimum I could pay was £104.95. Bearing in mind I had just told the person the situation. After a reminding the person of what I just said they said. He said that the bill was being sent out and that this would have to be paid as soon. Nothing was mentioned to me if this would also include the outstanding amount for my old address. On questioning it they said that the old bill was going to be added to the new one. They also said as I was told originally, that my back dated council tax benefit would cover this.
18th September The first time we had received a council tax bill and not only a bill but a in the print in the summary details. The amount we had to pay and this was a first reminder.
21st September I had been out in the morning and just got the house when there was a knock at the door. All I could make out that there was a women outside with a pass or i.d card around her neck. So as we do not use the front door I quickly put my trainers back on and went to see what she wanted. By which time she had dropped a card though the door and was walking away from the front of the house. I managed to get her attention and she came back to introduce and identified herself.
To my surprise she introduced herself as the benefits visiting officer. The reason she had come to make the visit was to find out why my co-tenants wages where being paid into a bank account in my name. I did said to her at this point so I suppose you think we sleep in the same bed to. To which her reply was that was not the case and the only query was the money. This I have to say was the last straw and I made sure this was known. I basically told her that if they looked at the information I had given the reason was there and that I had already given the office this information. Her answer was "no you have not" but in a more than unfriendly way. I told her what I had done and sat next to her at the kitchen table. At which point I noticed the pile of paper she was leaning on where the documents I had handed in. She again said they did not have proof, I told her that if they had read the letter I had sent with the last and final lot of paperwork they would no why, and that the letter stated why.
So while I was saying this she was trying to rush thought writing out a statement. I could see that she had realized and by the fact I had answered here own questions and only 3 questions before she had chance to ask them. I was asked to sign the statement at which point she could not get out of the house quick enough. From the moment she walked in the door her attitude of “his never claimed so must be up to something shifty” was really boiling my blood
28th September I finally received a letter from the housing benefits office that I would be paid. To my horror this stated that it would only be back dated to 30th of August and that if I showed good cause then I would get the amount back dated to the 16th of July. So within two days I not only sent a letter to show good cause stating to them all the things they already new.
As the whole experience had made me feel like I was being treated like a second rate citizen. I reminded I also sent a letter to the head of the department. Telling them exactly how I felt about my experience. I received a reply from both stating that I would get a reply by the 28th of October.
Now bearing in mind my co-tenant had not only paid my rent which they had proof of from all the 15 pages of bank statements they had and the fact they new I was only getting JSA from March 2010 they took the full amount of time to reply.
15th October received a letter to say that my housing and council tax benefit claim had been stopped! Because they had taken so long over the claim and the fact I had started to claim JSA (another first) in April this year. My contribution based JSA had come to and end, however I had already asked for a proof of benefits to prove it to the Housing benefits office.
18th of October as I had not received the letter from the Job Center so I was again forced to borrow money. This time of family members to pay my way with regards to rent.
25th of October second council tax reminder received and again I rang and explained the situation. Again stating that the money the HB and CTB office had yet to pay me was holding things up. But as soon as the money they should be paying me came in it would be enough to account bring the account up to date. I again queried the outstanding amount from the old property to which the person on the other end of the phone said they had no knowledge of it.
28th October Received via email the good cause reply to which they said that because I had not shown "good cause" and not ever claiming so not knowing how the system works. Was no excess and this was no reason for good cause and they would not be back dating my payment to the 16th of July. +This is despite being told this was the case all along.
29th October received another housing and council tax benefit form and had to go through the whole motion again to show good cause as I had now got my letter from JSA. This was taken to a local housing office.
4th November Received and email to state that my HB and CTB had been reinstated. I emailed back to ask if this was going to be paid to me before my rent date on the 11th November but I never received a reply.
11th November Due to still not receiving a reply and the only way to pay my rent was to let my co-tenant to pay it. This with the understanding that this would be given back to her once the money went into the account.
14th of November Housing benefit paid into account.
So after nearly 2 months of waiting and a reply from my first complaint. Which looking at it again comes across as if they are "all drinking buddies at the weekend". I am also now without my £450 for my bankruptcy and £595 in debt.
1st of December Received an summons for a liability order for outstanding council tax and despite having no way of getting there and stating this in the email and offering them an amount that would leave us with £10.22 between two of us. We received no reply and I am still waiting the summons is dated for the 7th of December.
6th of December Today I have received a final demand from Rossendales Bailiffs for full and final payment for my 2010/2011 council tax for my previous address (I’m that mad if I could have got there without having to walk nearly 10 miles I would have rammed it down there throats)
6th of December made the council aware by email (as I now have no phone line nor do I have a way of getting to city center) that they are now trying to summons me twice for the 2010/2011 council tax and that they needed to look at this urgently. And yet again nothing received back and despite sending my mobile number they have not even called me.
7th of December Council takes me to court for the second time to make me liable for the second time for the second lot of council tax in the 2010/2011 council tax year.
I have had enough if anyone can help me I would be more than grateful but now feel well and truly let down. I have spent more time over the past two months chasing them than I have looking for a job! I wish there was a way of suing these bloody people but they are protected the thing that makes it even worse for me is I think I could do twice the job they could in about half the time and more than likely without all the hassle they cause in the process.
Sorry its a bit long winded folks but if I don't put the whole time line down then you hopefully you will get a feeling to how I feel. My current problem's all started on the 15th of March 2010 on the4 16th of July 2010 I moved out of my old address and the council where aware of this. But there has been a series of events since which I can only say are when I was made redundant. Then having gone without a penny to live on for 6 weeks to get signed on on to JSA things went from bad to worse. Anyway to cut a longer story to a long one. On deformation of character, Intrusive and now down right untruthful and the more I think about it they seem to lack accountability. This has left me with no confidence with my local council or those running it.
This is the dates of the exact events as they happened.
On the 1st of June I contacted the council to ask about council tax benefit and how I go about claiming it. Something I am lucky to say I have never had to claim for since leaving school 18 years ago. When I contacted the office they duly sent out the forms I needed to fill in. I explained what was happening with the house and that there could be a possibility I was going to move. I also explained that I would be going bankrupt in the same sort of time frame and that I all I was waiting for was the £450 deposit.
On the 14th of June however the realization of the complete financial mess I was in, and the fact my property was about to be taken back by the mortgage company became reality. So I decided it was time I moved before being moved while I had the chance.
Four weeks past but despite finding a few properties, every time I got to the letting agents they where either gone or out of my price range. A lucky brake came when an old friend also looking for a place to live suggested that we might share. So we worked it out on paper this looked ok. That day I received a call from a letting agent and we viewed the place I currently call home. The date set to move in was the 16th of July.
On the 6th of July I received a call from the council to ask if I was still going to make a claim. I took the chance to tell them that I was moving out the property. I explained that would it be ok to make the claim at my new address as it would have been a waste of everyone's time if I did it before I moved. I also took the chance to let them know that the property would be empty after the 16th of July. I understood that this would mean that the property was exempt for any further charge from that date. There would be a new bill sent to my new address and this would also include any amount left owing. The person I spoke to confirmed this and also said she had noted on the account. I also told her that the property was now going to stand empty. They confirmed that any council tax benefit would and will be back dated, and they also took a note of my new address.
16th of July Imoved into the new property all the possessions I took with me where my cloths, bed and a set of draws along with a few personal items. The rest of the the items where shared out between a few friends. This left the house with nothing on show and nothing of worth left behind. From the outside you would have seen you certainly could not have lived there. So anyone passing by would have also seen that the property was empty. I also had 5 eye witnesses to prove this. That weekend I began to look through the forms so I could start my claim housing and council tax benefit. Although as I could not answer all of the questions on the form and I had yet to get the supporting documents. I could not do any more until I could answer all of these questions. Because of this I did not get the housing benefit and council tax benefit forms handed in until the 23rd of August.
Now what happened next has left me with a very nasty taste, not only did I feel like I was being spied upon but I was also being treated as if I was up to something. The next few lines come from an, exert from my reply to a complaint I made to the Interim Payments Manager of the benefits office. Mainly made because of my treatment while they where dealing with my claim.
6th of September I received a letter to ask what had happened to my former property and to ask for some bank statements. I duly supplied a copy of the courts possessions order, Bank statements, and just to make sure all avenues where covered a copy of my co-tenants wage slip as her wages where now being paid into the same account this was however in my name. We did this could save some time each month. So when I handed in there required items to the council I made sure to take the opportunity to explain why I had this money being paid in to my account. Although this was plain to see, anyone questioning why JSA, and a company I have never worked for where paying me a salary each month along with the wage slip from my co-tenant. It was plain to see that the money was not mine. Just to cover everything and so things where not delayed further we had also received our guarantee insurance certificates. On the 9th of September these where handed into the housing office.
15th September I sent and email to the benefits office to see how my claim was doing. I also told them that I was now broke this also included my bankruptcy money. So that the back dated amount would help pay the coming months rent. It would also put me back into a position where I could get the council tax paid and straightened out. By this time we also had Water and Electric bills needing to be paid, as we had planned to have the money available. My co-tenant paid out the £595 rent out of her £945 ish a month wages this left her just enough to feed and put fuel in her car and feed herself along with honoring her other bills.
16th September I rang the benefits office to see if everything was now ok and I also pointed out that that I hopped that it was not going to take much longer as I would soon need the next months rent. I stated that this was due to the fact I needed it in place to pay my co-tenant back. I also repeated what I had said in the email the day before. The person I spoke to assured me that the claim looked complete and that I would receive details of my payments in the next 7 days. This was also the first time that anything had been said about council tax. I was then told and demanded that the minimum I could pay was £104.95. Bearing in mind I had just told the person the situation. After a reminding the person of what I just said they said. He said that the bill was being sent out and that this would have to be paid as soon. Nothing was mentioned to me if this would also include the outstanding amount for my old address. On questioning it they said that the old bill was going to be added to the new one. They also said as I was told originally, that my back dated council tax benefit would cover this.
18th September The first time we had received a council tax bill and not only a bill but a in the print in the summary details. The amount we had to pay and this was a first reminder.
21st September I had been out in the morning and just got the house when there was a knock at the door. All I could make out that there was a women outside with a pass or i.d card around her neck. So as we do not use the front door I quickly put my trainers back on and went to see what she wanted. By which time she had dropped a card though the door and was walking away from the front of the house. I managed to get her attention and she came back to introduce and identified herself.
To my surprise she introduced herself as the benefits visiting officer. The reason she had come to make the visit was to find out why my co-tenants wages where being paid into a bank account in my name. I did said to her at this point so I suppose you think we sleep in the same bed to. To which her reply was that was not the case and the only query was the money. This I have to say was the last straw and I made sure this was known. I basically told her that if they looked at the information I had given the reason was there and that I had already given the office this information. Her answer was "no you have not" but in a more than unfriendly way. I told her what I had done and sat next to her at the kitchen table. At which point I noticed the pile of paper she was leaning on where the documents I had handed in. She again said they did not have proof, I told her that if they had read the letter I had sent with the last and final lot of paperwork they would no why, and that the letter stated why.
So while I was saying this she was trying to rush thought writing out a statement. I could see that she had realized and by the fact I had answered here own questions and only 3 questions before she had chance to ask them. I was asked to sign the statement at which point she could not get out of the house quick enough. From the moment she walked in the door her attitude of “his never claimed so must be up to something shifty” was really boiling my blood
28th September I finally received a letter from the housing benefits office that I would be paid. To my horror this stated that it would only be back dated to 30th of August and that if I showed good cause then I would get the amount back dated to the 16th of July. So within two days I not only sent a letter to show good cause stating to them all the things they already new.
As the whole experience had made me feel like I was being treated like a second rate citizen. I reminded I also sent a letter to the head of the department. Telling them exactly how I felt about my experience. I received a reply from both stating that I would get a reply by the 28th of October.
Now bearing in mind my co-tenant had not only paid my rent which they had proof of from all the 15 pages of bank statements they had and the fact they new I was only getting JSA from March 2010 they took the full amount of time to reply.
15th October received a letter to say that my housing and council tax benefit claim had been stopped! Because they had taken so long over the claim and the fact I had started to claim JSA (another first) in April this year. My contribution based JSA had come to and end, however I had already asked for a proof of benefits to prove it to the Housing benefits office.
18th of October as I had not received the letter from the Job Center so I was again forced to borrow money. This time of family members to pay my way with regards to rent.
25th of October second council tax reminder received and again I rang and explained the situation. Again stating that the money the HB and CTB office had yet to pay me was holding things up. But as soon as the money they should be paying me came in it would be enough to account bring the account up to date. I again queried the outstanding amount from the old property to which the person on the other end of the phone said they had no knowledge of it.
28th October Received via email the good cause reply to which they said that because I had not shown "good cause" and not ever claiming so not knowing how the system works. Was no excess and this was no reason for good cause and they would not be back dating my payment to the 16th of July. +This is despite being told this was the case all along.
29th October received another housing and council tax benefit form and had to go through the whole motion again to show good cause as I had now got my letter from JSA. This was taken to a local housing office.
4th November Received and email to state that my HB and CTB had been reinstated. I emailed back to ask if this was going to be paid to me before my rent date on the 11th November but I never received a reply.
11th November Due to still not receiving a reply and the only way to pay my rent was to let my co-tenant to pay it. This with the understanding that this would be given back to her once the money went into the account.
14th of November Housing benefit paid into account.
So after nearly 2 months of waiting and a reply from my first complaint. Which looking at it again comes across as if they are "all drinking buddies at the weekend". I am also now without my £450 for my bankruptcy and £595 in debt.
1st of December Received an summons for a liability order for outstanding council tax and despite having no way of getting there and stating this in the email and offering them an amount that would leave us with £10.22 between two of us. We received no reply and I am still waiting the summons is dated for the 7th of December.
6th of December Today I have received a final demand from Rossendales Bailiffs for full and final payment for my 2010/2011 council tax for my previous address (I’m that mad if I could have got there without having to walk nearly 10 miles I would have rammed it down there throats)
6th of December made the council aware by email (as I now have no phone line nor do I have a way of getting to city center) that they are now trying to summons me twice for the 2010/2011 council tax and that they needed to look at this urgently. And yet again nothing received back and despite sending my mobile number they have not even called me.
7th of December Council takes me to court for the second time to make me liable for the second time for the second lot of council tax in the 2010/2011 council tax year.
I have had enough if anyone can help me I would be more than grateful but now feel well and truly let down. I have spent more time over the past two months chasing them than I have looking for a job! I wish there was a way of suing these bloody people but they are protected the thing that makes it even worse for me is I think I could do twice the job they could in about half the time and more than likely without all the hassle they cause in the process.
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