I don't know if anyone can give me advice. And I really don't want a bashing about claiming benefits. I work full time and am a single mother.
I have been claiming for about 7 years now, over time my claim has reduced and reduced consistently as I try to earn higher and now I am only entitled to a fairly small amount but I still have an active Claim.
I would stop the claim because of all the hassle this claim has and continues to cause me but IMO the council have got me trapped in an overpayment cycle that changes like the wind due to their 'computer systems'. I owe them more now than ever, despite submitting my wage slips monthly on the dot etc. My wages do not fluctuate but I do this now because I am so fed up with 'mistakes' and then being audited like a fraud. They have miscalculated me SO MANY TIMES it is unreal. They once stopped my claim on the hunch I had a secret money in an old account which took me weeks of writing to them and the banks. I appreciate they are doing their job but I feel like a criminal when I haven't done anything.
What has made this worse is that every couple of years, they seem to run computer audits which pick up mistakes (they have made) This then usually causes me to be told I am owing £490 paid back over X months or for them to suddenly credit my bank account with £177 that they owe me and I am too scared to use in case it's not really mine!
I've complained vigorously to them before, after their huge mistake cost me a lot of money. They did not put me down for the 25% single persons council tax discount 7 years ago, when I filled in the forms. It came to light I had been given benefit on 100% rather than the 75%, so I had to pay back a massive amount all backdated for years in council tax. They also once put down that I earn £10,000 a month in error which caused more miscalculations and drama.
Not once have they called me to discuss it nicely, they often don't reply to my letters or emails and if they do, it's very cold and rude and matter of factly and I am made to feel like a massive scrounger or a criminal. They don't offer me any reasonable explanation for mistakes just sent out letters with YOU NOW OWE on them.
I feel like I would like to ask someone more independent to review my case and ensure that I do not owe more scary hidden unknown amounts and that this office has fully trained staff who know how to use the system correctly. I've written to them asking this and had no response.
I no longer trust them and honestly just feel angry for people who maybe are vulnerable and are also probably going through this worse than me.
I'm now claiming housing benefit but almost all of it is going on the repayment and paying almost double council tax per month to repay money I had no idea I owed because they made a mistake spanning a few years.
Shall I just stop the claim and repay and go without it? I'm so much worse off than ever before