Should I have been exempt from council tax? ESA

Anniemn

I am in receipt of ESA, I have been paying council tax since I moved to this address, my local authority is Southend borough council. I have been told that I shouldn't be paying any council tax (I didn't previously). Can anyone tell me if this is correct ? Or have the rules changed and I am now liable to pay ? If I am liable, then fair enough, but if not I'd like to know as I'm finding it difficult making ends meet. Kind regards.

thespiceman

Hello @Anniemn   Pleased to meet you welcome.

Thank you for joining and also sharing.

I do not know the answer some one from our team or a member of our community might advise.

I would suggest speak to your local CAB. They have a wealth of benefit knowledge and expertise. Some thing to consider.

We are a friendly, supportive community. Please ask if we can advise on anything. Some one will know.

Please take care

@thespiceman

poppy123456

Hi,

Claiming benefits doesn't always entitle you to 100% discount for council tax, not like it used to be years ago. All local councils have their own criteria. I claim ESA and PIP and i pay a small amount of council tax each month.

Those that are severely mentally impaired are exempt but for this you need to have a certificate from your GP and qualify for a disability benefit like DLA/PIP/AA.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2017/09/due-a-council-tax-discount-for-severe-mental-impairment-heres-how-to-claim/

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @Anniemn, and a warm welcome to the community!

justg72

Hi Annienm
My council tax this year has increased hundreds. I am on income based E.S.A. support group and I used to be in receipt of PIP until May this year. The previous 2 years I paid hardly any or none at all council tax, however this year I received a letter regarding the council tax informing me that 2018/19 Bradford council had lost the council tax funding grant which paid benefit claimants council tax.and from April 2018/19 people who are in receipt of benefits will have to pay their own council tax. I do not know if this was the case in the area where you live. I am really struggling as I have lost my PIP and the SDP in my ESA so I know what you mean about struggling.

C_Herath2009

Poppy?Pippa ?(I am in the Severly Disabled Group?)Its not as if a miricle is going to occur ?So why am i being put through this Paper mess!You can see my writing above i have gone from
super neat and tidy being on the ball to feeling (Like i have Dementia,but know it am drunk without the Happy Hour ?)I got put in top two groups (Someone was on my side that day sure was not the person that assesed me she did not have a clue what she was on about and neither did i -so why on earth are they reviewing my ESA?(A Brain Injury and Epilepsy plus multiple other boring Stuff doesn't disapear overnight-I looked up
wands (Magic ones on Amazon ..They only have fake ones otherwise i would be buying them for us all en mass -however my friends Daughter has Downs Syndrome last Christmas she had open heart Surgery (Was in ICU for 6 weeks ?They sent her the same form ?Apparently sometimes it BOX ticking that they get paid for and don't want to be doing ...I would hate to do there job (Targets ,wasting time they must feel
pretty bad some off them must have an ounce off compassion

poppy123456

@C_Herath2009 This thread is about council tax reduction, so it's completely different to the ESA re-assessment. As i advised on your other thread, unless you're placed in the severe conditions group (not everyone is) after this next assessment then they will continue to re-assess you. I know exactly how frustrating it is because my conditions will only get worse, yet i've recently been re-assessed again myself. There's thousands of people who are exactly the same as we are but we're all re-assessed.

Anniemn

Good morning to everyone, and thank you so much for your comments and suggestions. Thanks to my 76 year old mum, who's brain is a lot sharper than mine at the moment, I found out some new information.
It seems that I do have to pay council tax, but it appears that I might not be receiving as much ESA as I'm entitled to (fingers crossed). If this is the case I would be able to buy some food as well as pay some bills, at the moment, it's one or the other. 
I will be contacting the DWP first thing Monday morning.
Kind regards, Anniemn.

poppy123456

If you transferred from Incapacity benefit to ESA then yes you could be one of those that is owed some money. Of course this will totally depend on your circumstances. DWP are in the process of contacting everyone that transferred across and there's no need to contact them.