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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To find the council tax benefit form intrusive

32 replies

lucyellensmum · 02/04/2008 12:18

I know they have to be thorough to guard against benefit fraud, but it wouldn't surprise me if people just don't bother to claim when faced with one of these forms. They want to know the details of ALL of our bank accounts, including our 2 year old daughters FFS. They basically want every official piece of information about us that exists.

ACtually i know i am being unreasonable, because i am basically begging but we have managed on a ridiculously low income for two years and never claimed a single benefit, i think it is time we had what we are entitled to. Its not like my DP doesnt work himself to death trying to establish his business.

I just find the amount of information they are requesting a violation of my privacy, it is bad enough anyway that i have to suffer the humiliation of thaking this bloody form to the council offices and have the woman look down her nose at me for being yet another benefits scrounger - but for them to basically want my life story - it just makes me really uncomfortable.

I know IABU but i still can;t help feeling this way.

OP posts:
pistachio · 02/04/2008 12:27

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LaComtesse · 02/04/2008 12:30

I felt the same way when I got the form to apply for the reduction in poll tax for lowly-paid people and they wanted to know the ins and outs of a cats backside as my Nan would have said (I am that old to have had this liability to poll tax!). I threw it away and paid the full whack through gritted teeth rather than fill it in.

Now, I'd have filled it in. It sounds as through you are entitled to help, so do claim it if you can .

Original poster
lucyellensmum · 02/04/2008 12:34

my problem pistachio is that we have lots of accounts, im not sure why - all of them are either empty or overdrawn except one which has about 1K in it, but that is materials money for a job that DP is doing, other than that, we have nothing. Its humiliating in the extreme

OP posts:
Chequers · 02/04/2008 12:36

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sarah293 · 02/04/2008 12:39

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Original poster
lucyellensmum · 02/04/2008 12:44

i guess it depends on the council, this one wants to know all bank accounts, even empty ones and ones held by my daughter. My daughter has about £150 in national savings, they are not about to get their hands on that let me tell you!!!

I found the whole form filling stressfull and upsetting, i wouldnt mind but im an intelligent woman with a PhD! The tax credit form was a peice cake, they coudlnt have been more helpful on the helpline, so was confident all was correct when it was sent off - mind you, they did lose my claim .

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sarah293 · 02/04/2008 12:46

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nervousal · 02/04/2008 12:51

why don't you close your empty bank accounts?

readytoswiggin · 02/04/2008 12:51

Y ou have my complete sympathy, I've just had to fill out YET another one for my useless local council. There is a threshold for childrens savings, for mine it is about 3k iirc. They seem to want everything, down to my bra size, but I have to grit my teeth for the dc's. Blardy means testing.

Riven, isn't the Child benefit ref on your bank statement?

piximon · 02/04/2008 13:12

I recently completed one of these on the advice of someone from the local council when we were relocating but having trouble finding rental accommodation so I went to the council for advice, their advice was to rent a more expensive property and make a claim.

DH lives and works (stuck in 6mth contract) in London. Since January I've lived in Devon with the DCs (4 and one due last week). Filled out form and told the truth, DH and I happily married living apart for work, DH salary paying for rent/bills etc on two properties, own nothing. DH on a good salary but when spread between us leaves us virtually nothing esp with his petrol costs to visit us.

Man who processed the form said in 5 years of working in the dept he'd never heard of circumstances like ours and he didn't know what the protocol was, most people who claimed with circumstances like ours apparently lie about being together.

As it turns out I filled the forms in for nothing as they decided to take his full wage into account but anyway.

Chequers · 02/04/2008 14:25

Message withdrawn

Original poster
lucyellensmum · 02/04/2008 15:20

quite alot really chequers, Firstly, i was mostly reminding myself that i shouldnt really be finding this difficult. More importantly, if a supposedly intelligent person is struggling with the form, then some people might struggle to the point that they don't bother.

I bet the council lose a lot of money to benefit frauds. I wonder how much they gain through people not being made aware of their entitlements or scared off by the form.

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Original poster
lucyellensmum · 02/04/2008 15:27

I'm not being arrogant, although it does appear like it - i just have to remind myself of the fact sometimes

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MrsTittleMouse · 02/04/2008 15:32

I agree with you lucyellensmum - DH and I sometimes struggle with these kind of forms and we also wonder how people who aren't so literate and clued into the whole form-filling process manage.

Although I bet that the benefit cheats find it easy, having almost been groomed from birth. I know of a couple of people for whom working is considered a "mug's game".

Glad that you're claiming the money though. Will you phone back the bitch from the council and tell her that you are entitled to it and can she please come around with the cheque today because they owe you the money and you're not waiting until tomorrow to get it?

Chequers · 02/04/2008 15:42

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tiredemma · 02/04/2008 15:45

I had to fill in a Housing benefit form for a mentally ill client recently, I struggled to understand it. God knows how people are expected to fill it in, its so confusing.

Miaou · 02/04/2008 15:47

LEM, dh and I often make this comment when filling in these forms. They seemed designed to trip you up - I'm always worried about getting dates wrong and stuff in case someone says the information doesn't tally ... argh it's a nightmare!

A word of advice - close all the empty accounts, and make sure that the ones you have open give you monthly statements. We had accounts for the dds which only sent quarterly payments and we had no end of trouble - they held back our housing benefit claim arguing that we were hiding something - so we closed the account, took the money out (£15!!! That's all!!!) and hey presto, they shut up about it

Original poster
lucyellensmum · 02/04/2008 18:50

i honestly cant understand why it is stressing me out so much - anyway, managed to get together all the relevant information. Was just about to leave, when i read that the offices are closed on Wednesday afternoon for training - clearly they need to brush up on their customer care

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HappyMummyOfOne · 02/04/2008 22:06

They ask for details of all accounts including childrens ones to ensure that savings are not over the threashold allowed. Some people move money to their childs account in order to claim and dont realise that childrens savings are looked into and do count (believe the CTF that is locked until age 18 is exempt).

Original poster
lucyellensmum · 03/04/2008 09:25

by "some people" i can only assume you mean, devious benefit fraudsters . I believe in paying my way, if i wasn't seriously up shit creek then i would be paying the sodding thing, like i have struggled to do for the past three years. I do appreciate that they have to gaurd against this sort of thing, but it is the attitude that all benefit claimants are out for a free ride that makes the whole thing humiliating and distressing for me. The thing is, if for some reason, someone had given my daughter a large sum of money, (they haven't) then it seems a little unfair that i would be expected to use that money to pay the council tax . It all stinks of big brother to me. Its like, i'm claiming benefit so i therefore must be dishonest .

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Chequers · 03/04/2008 09:44

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MrsTittleMouse · 03/04/2008 10:27

LEM, sadly there are devious benefit frausters. I personally know of several people who believe in "working the system" and think that working is a mug's game. So the form is designed for them. Not that it makes it easier for you, of course. But I'm sure that as someone who has done the decent thing, you're not too keen on people effectively stealing from the rest of us either.

Original poster
lucyellensmum · 03/04/2008 17:32

don't even get me started on that Mrstittlemouse - i also know of people who play the system and i think it is disgusting. One such person i know has always "grabbed whatever she could" and has done quite well on the back of it - then has the audacity to look down her nose at us because we are struggling. I was a single parent on benefit many years ago and swore i would never claim another benefit, but we just cannot manage.

I went to the council offices today and the woman there was really lovely and made sure everything was ok, without being patronising. I can't get over the fact that it IS such a big deal to me, i feel like its a major achievement just filling in a form.

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Saveme · 03/04/2008 20:16

" I was a single parent on benefit many years ago and swore i would never claim another benefit, but we just cannot manage."

Plenty of people on here claim benefits, get over yourself.

LBA · 03/04/2008 20:28

I dont think she was knocking anyone claiming benefit saveme.