to feel insulted by this letter from the council and to go and "speak" to them about it?

[mateysmum]

OK Ladies, my first AIBU, but I have been stewing about this and want your wisdom please before I make an idiot of myself.
Background... I live in the UK with DS but DH lives and works abroad and has done for years. He is non resident for tax purposes and comes here every few weeks for a day or two. I am the sole owner of my home. Therefore I claim council tax allowance for a single person. I recently moved house and notified the council. On Sat I received a letter from them querying why if I am living singly am I paying council tax from a joint account. (never been queried at the old house). Then what got me going was the following questions:

1. What is your relationship to the joint bank account holder?
2. If this is a spouse are you still in a relationship and if not why do you continue to use a joint bank account? 3)Where does the joint bank account holder live?

Now I know that benefit fraud is common and that as a tax payer I should be grateful that the council are trying to stop people cheating the system, but I just found the whole tone insulting - especially ? 2. None of their business. It also asks me to reply straight away. If I wanted to cheat I could easily have paid from my personal account and no problems.

So AIBU. Should I just meekly send a reply answering all their questions or do I politely let them know that their letter could be "improved"...

TIA.

Err LittleMissAbs how is the OP being discriminated against, in the sense that is covered by the 1975 Act? People are just voicing an opinion. Sorry if that's insulted your view of saintly marrieds who would never commit fraud...

Right, which ignorant poster is going to use the Health and Safety Act to make a spurious argument?

People don't receive council tax benefit Kansas, do you think that's not a benefit?

Most council tenants don't receive their housing benefit either, is that not a benefit?

Not an un easonable letter they need to find out if your house is your DHs main residence. If it is and it would be reasonable to assume it is as its where his dw & dc live then you would not be eligible for the discount even though he is living away. The amount of time he is away from the property is irrelevant.

Yes Kansas but most council tenants do not have their housing benefit paid into their bank accounts. It does straight to their landlord and they never see it, hence it fails your test of what counts as a benefit.

Council tax benefit is different to the second adult discount, is a means-tested benefit but also doesn't get paid to the household claiming it. Council tax benefit and the second adult rebate pay for the exact same service, so council tax clearly is something for which benefits can be paid. The point is a slightly pointless linguistic distinction has been drawn because nice people like the OP don't like to think that they are claiming off the state in the same way as poor people.

Its a fucking benefit.

Kansas mine didn't keep his possessions at our house. He lived abroad. He worked abroad. He kept some socks at our house. That was it.

But even though I didn't agree he should pay council tax (he used none of the council's services for 2 years) even I can see why some people think we should pay.

I can't see why anyone would think the OP should.

And as for some people saying she and her husband have chosen to live apart for 10 years to dodge a few quid of council tax (and in the next breath accused her of being wealthy - no idea how you'd know, perhaps they do it out of financial necessity).... Get a grip.

soverylucky

Yeah - I get that - just seems unfair that women and men whose partners are out in some god awful war zone on crap money have to pay the full whack then you should too

If someone's OH is posted to Afghanistan, they do get a rebate.

It's if they're serving abroad somewhere like Germany or Canada they/(we) continue to pay full whack.

Although it's the MOD that gives the rebate, not local authorities

Have another Kansas.

Blondie - a good idea. HMRC don't issue a certificate but DH does have paperwork for his home abroad so maybe that's what I need and he has a residency permit in his passport. You have prompted me to start thinking about "proof" that DH lives abroad. If push comes to shove I'll get his employer to write a letter.

Lockedout434

His children are still relying on the fireman to come and save them if god forbid there is a fire. The police keep the baddies from the door.

So by your logic, I shouldn't get the single occupant discount, and my ex should contribute because his children live with me?

This is a bit of a redundant question in my area as single occupant discount is being scrapped anyway this April.

I think they have sent a reasonable letter. They have to check you are legitimate.
You have 2 options either:
Answer all their questions or,
Pay the full amount.

God I must be missing something big here. The op is being told by some people on here that she must pay up for someone to live in her house. Except that he doesn't and never has and lives in a different tossing country. My Aunty Margaret comes over from Ireland every so often to stay with my mother. Should my mother pay for her too?

I think HMRC do write a letter confirming status don't they? My dad was NR a few years back while he worked abroad (and paid taxes in that country) ... And before anyone starts whining both his kids (me and my sister) are taxpayers in our own right these days!

A copy of that letter from HMRC, and your DH's residence permit and maybe a current utilities bill for his foreign address (together with an explanatory note as per my earlier post) would probably be enough for the council staff to close their investigation off for you.

to Kansas for her patient and clear explanations!

Blondie I will ask DH when I speak to him. He is in some crappy ex Soviet republic at the mo and not back at his normal residence for the next 3 weeks, so getting access to paperwork is going to be tricky.

He comes every 2 weeks for a day or two, he isn't her ex .
So that's makes so 50 days a year ish 2.5 months in uk
Lots of lads I know work away all week and come home for the weekend
They pay full wack,

Just pay it.

Good luck, OP, i hope you get this sorted out :)

She gets a piddly little deduction. George Osborne just gave himself a £250,000 a year tax cut.

Some of you are getting angry at the wrong people.

OK Locked out I will say this once again. This is not his home. He does not live here. He does not just "work away all week" in the UK. He is paying local taxes where he does live. I think he spent less than 25 days here last year. This is a tax based on residency he is not resident in this country.

Bored now. Off to get a life.

If he is employed overseas as a local resident, with his pension etc etc all based in the country he is living then he doesn't live in the UK. It is more tricky if he is on an expat or semi expat package. Ie if the pension or company is UK based, if the company pay for flights to the UK or housing in his country of residence (unless they do so for local employees)

You can be on an ex pat package and still paying local taxes, it is not a sign of residency.

lockedout ::head tilt:: do you mean to sound so goady?

Or is wilfully missing the point your specialist subject today, hmm?

Candy he is an expat but meets all the HMRC requirements for non residency including under the recently revised rules which relate to ties to the UK. Is there something else we should be aware of?