Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

[Bird1983]

I have had a visit from a council fraud investigator to talk about a recent application i made for housing benefit. I called him back as i was not in when he visited and told him that i did now not need to claim as i am now working and have proof that the claim is closed. He said he also wanted to talk to me about the whereabouts of my now husband for the time i have claimed the 25% single persons discount. He is coming to our home next week to talk about this. I notified the council when he moved in back in 2015, but it appears that the records have not been updated. I do not have proof that i notified them as it was by telephone, i did however get the bill then updated in my married name and my husband was added to the electoral roll.
Up until we got back together he was living with his sister and paying her rent and she is happy to confirm this. Why is he visiting our home and what do I need to do to prepare for this?i am also 8 months pregnant and suffering with ill health. If we have made a mistake ( i 100% called to notify the council of him moving in) then we are happy to pay any shortfall but the stress of this all is really not good for my health or the health of my baby.
I also didn't mention that prior to my husband moving in i was in arrears with my c.tax which are now cleared, and i have a direct debit now set so I haven't ever had a fixed amount to pay as i have always been paying the shortfall off otherwise i may have noticed this error.

[des8]

Re: Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

Hi and welcome
Firstly congratulations on your pregnancy.
You should let the council investigator know of your condition as being pregnant you should be classed as a vulnerable person, and treated accordingly.

Others who know more about council procedures will be along sooner or later, but as it is the weekend you might have to hold on for a little while.
If you have no response by tomorrow evening I'll bump this post for you.

[Bird1983]

Re: Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

Thank you. Feeling pretty lousy at the moment when I should be enjoying this time!
I have told the council investigator im pregnant. Thank you

[Kati]

Re: Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

tagging [MENTION=8136]outlawlgo[/MENTION] [MENTION=15129]Crazy council[/MENTION] [MENTION=92682]lgfa92[/MENTION] for advice.

Congratulations on the bump by the way xx

[Bird1983]

Re: Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

Thank you

[seduraed]

Re: Council tax reduction - help needed asap

Ring the council first thing monday morning. Remind do them you are recording the call. Explain about your pregnancy and the risk to the baby. Most councils will reschedule until after your confinement.
Also send the same information to the council tax department by email. Make sure that you get return receipts and make hard copies of the emails.

When you are on the phone ask for the name of the data controller. You will need to send them a subject data access request. This has a statutory fee of ten pounds. Specifically ask for transcripts or recordings of phone calls you made to them around the date you updated the council.
More knowledgeable Beagles will be along later.

[des8]

Re: Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

@Kati could you please merge this thread with Bird's duplicate thread

[Kati]

Re: Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

@Kati could you please merge this thread with Bird's duplicate thread

done xx

[ss002d6252]

Re: Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

At least initially there is no need to go down the route of issuing a formal request for any data held - that's only needed if they decline to provide information as otherwise it's a waste of time and money.

The only way to fully know what they are after is to ask them. Until they've said what the issue is then you can't do much further to actually deal with the issue.

[Bird1983]

Re: Council tax reduction help needed - urgent!

The investigator from the council is very rude. My concern here is that he initially called to ask about an application for housing benerfot which has since closed as we no longer need it, but still wants to talk about council tax from 2011. I hadn’t even met my husband then! He loved with his sister which we can verify however r I do not know how else we are expected to prove this as he owned another propert with his ex which didn’t sell until this year. Does the interview have to take place face to face?