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Council taken money illegally?

7 replies

Mamabear14 · 25/02/2017 09:48

Long winded so bear with me.
2008 I accrued housing benefit overpayment of £475 with exH who was abusive and since moved out. It was in my name only.
2016 they get hold of me about it, at the time I am on a debt management plan but it had been suspended for 3 months as child tax credits were taking back an overpayment at 50% a week. I asked them to wait and be added to it but they said no. Instead without telling anyone they attached to the earnings of my current partner, who didn't even know I existed then! He was not on my tenancy (was in council house) but they knew he lived there and paid rent etc and we have a child. I questioned the legality of it at the time as he wasn't named on the debt and the first we knew of it was when we had a letter saying they had written to his employer for attachment of earnings.
So it's all paid off in 3 months. Then we get to December and they ring and say that we didn't make all the payments as there is one of £154 missing. There isn't as I have all the wage slips etc and they have the ref number on. They said they may have lost the payment and they would look for it. Last I heard.
Today we get my partners payslip, and an attachment of earnings payment of £154 has gone out! Now they have already had the full amount, so they shouldn't be taking anything anyway, and yet again we knew nothing about it and he still isn't named on any debt etc.
Is there anything we can do besides go in there and show paperwork? They keep saying they won't talk to me as it's his attachment Of earnings but it's my debt! Or not anymore as it's been paid since last September!

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Thomasthetank456 · 25/02/2017 09:53

I worked in benefits they can only recover a debt from a partner if you were claiming hb as partners at the time the debt occurred.
So if your current partner was not named on your claim at the time of the debt they can't recover from him. Are you sure it's for a hb debt and not a council tax debt he had previously

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Mamabear14 · 25/02/2017 10:25

No it's definitely my debt housing benefit, and definitely my name. I did think they wouldn't have been able to do it but I wasn't sure. The original debt went to court years ago and they stopped taking repayments so I had assumed in 2008 that it was paid, but obviously not and it took them 8 years to tell me, even though I lived in the same house. What basically happened is my exH was supposed to top up the rent as one of 'his' bills, never did and the first I knew was a court judgement against me. He was an abusive arse so that shouldn't surprise me really.

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Mamabear14 · 25/02/2017 10:26

Me and my current partner claimed HB briefly together last year, the company he worked for went into administration and it took 6 weeks to find another job, could they use that even though it was 2016 as a reason to take it from him?

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Thomasthetank456 · 25/02/2017 11:27

If it's a top of rent that's not been paid then that's not a hb debt. Sounds like you got into debt on your rent account (assumed your a council tenant). And it's your housing dept that have taken you o court. I don't know if the rules regarding this it might be if they can prove your partner was living there they can go after both Of you although would have thought if not named on tenancy not liable.

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Mamabear14 · 25/02/2017 11:32

Ah it's not top up I just checked the paperwork, exh didn't tell them until later that he had started work. So it was hb that wasn't entitled to for a few months. So it was hb. It's confusing as I literally knew nothing of any of this at the time. I didn't find out til 2010. I've certainly learnt to keep on top of all payments my end since. Current DP certainly wasn't living there 8 years ago. We only met in 2014!

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Thomasthetank456 · 25/02/2017 17:19

No they can't get hb debt from your now partner. If they won't talk to you get him to call and ask for confirmation as to how the debt occurred for what period etc. Also ring them about your debt and ask how it has been paid. Prob good idea for you to talk to cab

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Mamabear14 · 25/02/2017 18:05

Thank you, I am going to take all the paperwork in Monday and see if they will talk to me as it was my tenancy. Seeing as they have already taken the money from his account last year and have now taken the payment they 'lost' again I will probably have to go to cab.