£150 Council Tax Rebate

calcotti

Middleton said:

If you are disabled and live alone, would a single person receive the £300 and £400?

It doesn’t matter what the make up of the household is.
All pension age households eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment get an extra £300 this year. This could be a single person, a pensioner couple or a couple with one pensioner and one working age person.
All household electricity bills will get a £400 Credit.
If you receive a disability benefit you will get £150.
If you receive a means tested DWP Benefit or Tax Credits you will get £650 (subject to meeting the qualifying dates).
Full details
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment

D2323

gjw59help said:

Tameside Council are not giving us the cash they are taking it off next years bill,how can they get away with doing this,we are not in arrears and we need the money and will not help with our "cost of living".

We applied for the rebate, were awarded it and asked for it to be paid to the council. 

Emailed in May for an update, nothing. Week later asked for a breakdown of our bill, no reply.

19th June a letter arrived asking for £140 in days or face court case. We did not have it to pay.

So now after still not receiving the rebate we have been fined (£85 costs) and billed for 22/23 with no rebate included.

Can we appeal these court costs?

A mentally ill man(Diagnosed), his carer and small family are being kept in perpetual debt by these costs.

They say we owe "X" amount from previous years, most of that figure are court costs.

We try to pay our council tax on time, maybe a little late at times but it's paid.

As I asked can we appeal any of this?

These rebates are pointless if the council are holding back on paying.

Thank you for any advice you can give. 

D23

poppy123456

D2323 said:

gjw59help said:

Tameside Council are not giving us the cash they are taking it off next years bill,how can they get away with doing this,we are not in arrears and we need the money and will not help with our "cost of living".

Can we appeal these court costs?

No, you can't appeal those. They are the costs of the court because you didn't pay your council tax. If there's one bill you should pay on time, it's council tax.

Are you currently claiming any council tax reduction?

D2323

poppy123456 said:

D2323 said:

gjw59help said:

Tameside Council are not giving us the cash they are taking it off next years bill,how can they get away with doing this,we are not in arrears and we need the money and will not help with our "cost of living".

Can we appeal these court costs?

No, you can't appeal those. They are the costs of the court because you didn't pay your council tax. If there's one bill you should pay on time, it's council tax.

Are you currently claiming any council tax reduction?

Yes we get a reduction, unfortunately I thought the rebate would cover the balance owed. 

When we received the notice, we were just going for a family break down the country (one which we have not had for 3 years).

I emailed the council weeks before, asking about the rebate and to ensure it was paid to them and a breakdown of balance owed.

Got no reply so thought there was no problem. 

So I suppose a mistake on my part, but I cannot see how a £3.60 cost liability order turns into £86, when you have a family struggling to pay in the first place.

Thank you for your reply. D23

D2323

Can we apply for a discretionary payment for help?

Funny thing is if we were 2 single people we would be exempt from CT.

But we live together so we have a liability. 

D2323

Can we make a section 13 a application for hardship?

Thank you. D23

poppy123456

D2323 said:

Can we apply for a discretionary payment for help?

No, you can't apply for a DHP for council tax. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments

If you're living in England the rebate should be paid into your bank account and they have until September to pay this. You can't rely on them taking it off your council tax bill because that's not what it's for.

I'm not sure that hardship will apply to the court costs.

D2323

Our history should show we pay our tax as best we can when we can.

Unfortunately most of arrears are court costs from previous late payments. 

We are trying to pay CT and arrears, one disability benefit can only stretch so far. 

This is why I ask about section 13a and Hardship circumstances 

They took the coronavirus payment against CT arrears last year. Informed us after the fact! 

Thanks for your help and time. 🙏

calcotti

D2323 said:
They took the coronavirus payment against CT arrears last year.

That's what it was intended for. The £150 this year isn't.

D2323

calcotti said:

D2323 said:
They took the coronavirus payment against CT arrears last year.

That's what it was intended for. The £150 this year isn't.

£150 this year is intended as a council tax rebate.

Last one was some kind of corona payment. 

calcotti

D2323 said:

calcotti said:

D2323 said:
They took the coronavirus payment against CT arrears last year.

That's what it was intended for. The £150 this year isn't.

£150 this year is intended as a council tax rebate.

Last one was some kind of corona payment. 

This years £150 is administered through the council tax system but was intended to help people pay their fuel bills.

The cover payments were reductions on Council Tax bills.

poppy123456

D2323 said:

calcotti said:

D2323 said:
They took the coronavirus payment against CT arrears last year.

That's what it was intended for. The £150 this year isn't.

£150 this year is intended as a council tax rebate.

That's incorrect. Full details here and what the rebate is intended for. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/council-tax-rebate-factsheet

D2323

It's not a council tax rebate? 

poppy123456

If you read the link i posted above you will see this..

Higher than expected global energy and goods prices following the pandemic have already led to an unavoidable increase in the cost of living across the world. The government understands the pressures people are facing and has put a package of support in place worth over £22 billion in 2022-23, to help with the cost of energy bills and to ensure people keep more of their money.

As part of its targeted response to rising energy bills, the government has introduced a £150 council tax rebate. This will mean that council tax costs will not rise for the majority of people, including those on the lowest incomes. This is alongside a £400 reduction in energy bills from this October.

D2323

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/council-tax-rebate-factsheet

Further down they call it a "seperate payment rather than part of your council tax bill" 

I did follow the link.

Maybe I'm just taking it all to literal and confusing myself!!! 

Thanks for the replys. D23

calcotti

poppy123456 said:

If you read the link i posted above you will see this..

.. the government has introduced a £150 council tax rebate. This will mean that council tax costs will not rise for the majority of people, .

Actually, that does suggest atet it is to help with the cost of Council Tax but that isn't how it was presented when introduced. As worded now the most logical thing would have been to apply it as a credit to CT bills instead of going through the hassle of making councils pay out the money. Bit of a shambles really.

D2323

Would you believe the payment/rebate/bribe, whatever it is arrived in our account today.

So whatever it was meant for I just paid it to council tax.

Thank you for your time and help, its appreciated. 

D23