I may owe thousands in council tax arrears and I feel sick

[Littlespiderseverywhere]

So. I recently switched to UC from tax credits, and I declared my savings to them- about £7700. I knew that the limit for savings on tax credits was £16000, and on UC it's tapered from £6000.

I was also on housing benefit, and council tax benefit. I had made my initial claim for these about 15 years ago when I first moved into a house with baby DS1, and was very poor with no savings at all. Since then the only change of circumstances I had had to report to the council was moving house once.

The council have just emailed me and told me that DWP have informed them that my savings are over £6000, which is their cut off for council tax benefit. I had no bloody idea of this. I must have been told- or asked to declare any savings- 15 years ago when I first applied, but at the time I had nothing, and have no recollection of this.

My savings have been close to or over £6000 for 5-6 years!! I have always lived very frugally through fear of ending up without money again- for me, having an emergency nest egg has been top priority.

I'm so anxious and upset (hence posting at this time of night!). I'm autistic too, and I can feel the worry pushing me towards the edge of not being able to cope.

The council want to see all my bank statements for years back, and I intend to fully comply ASAP. But- as far as I can calculate- I think I will owe them about £6-7000.

Do you think I will be able to offer them a lump sum from my savings- say £3000- and set up a payment plan for the rest? I'm self employed and am not quite even hitting the minimum income floor for the hours I'm working (20 hours p/w- I have a fit note which doesn't really seem to be needed yet because I'm still on transitional protection).

I feel sick with anxiety that I could lose all the savings I've carefully scrimped and saved to build up. What if the car breaks down tomorrow?? I realise that I have only been functioning well all these years because I have been able to live within parameters of my own creation regarding hours worked and having enough money for mine and the kids' modest needs, and I'm terrified of the effect on the DC if I'm unable to remain stable and functioning for them.

You don't know my situation amd it's none of your business. I pay all my bills with my wages. I have a right to a top by thr government. I don't squander it and neither do I defraud the local council and not pay my council tax and then post about it on Mumsnet and play thr victim.

My bills are paid. All I'd in order in my household. Focus on giving the OP some correct advice rather than deflect her behaviour onto me.

Lots of people claim benefits for legit reasons and don't defraud the local council by pugging money away and keeping, whet should belong to the local council, for themselves.

Button in, enabler.

Are you....having a fight with yourself there? 😆

As long as you're having fun, dear.

And 2.4K is an even smaller drop in the ocean of the tax and NI he has paid (and continues to pay)

Whereas you.....clearly are 😆

I’ve reported that post, @Littlespiderseverywhere

Totally ableist and generally mean.

Why don't you just learn to save then? Envy isn't a good look. Plenty of bank do round ups to your savings account whenever you do a shop.

Get a safe put savings in there. If the government think you have anything they will try and take it
surely if you only just switched and the threshold changed for you recently you can’t be affected for the years prior to the switch

I suppose it shows how little some people understand about autism, still 🙄.

Well, I was on hold to various organisations for about an hour and a half until Citizen's Advice finally booted me off the last call. I can't do any more, it's doing nothing for my general state of mind. The guy from National Debtline actually said "It's really in your favour if you show you're working with a debt organisation...." "OH HA BLOODY HA WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M TRYING TO DO?!" (which I didn't quite say, but I had to end the call hurriedly before I did 😬).

Maybe Citizen's Advice will get back to me after I texted them, but if it carries on like this I might have to go it alone for the sake of my own mental health. That was like the bad old days of the 90s when everything had to be done by phone 🤦‍♀️.

You’ve only got savings because you didn’t pay the bills you should have done - use the savings to pay the bill

Difference between council tax and UC, innit 🤷‍♀️

I think there are some insanely angry bots targeting the thread. So rabid that it has to be AI 😂

I agree, the OP came on here for guidance, support and help. I see none of those in some replies.

i used to work in for a local authority on the front line. Lots of customers on low incomes, sometimes a mix of benefits and wages. Some would get behind with certain payments, often confused about different elements, or perhaps hadn’t noticed a line in a document. If we had been so nasty about their failures to keep up with the paperwork, would it have helped anyone? We encouraged them to get the right support to make a realistic and manageable payment plan.

Entitlements have got even more complex over the years, IMO the OP deserves a bit of leeway whilst she sorts out the debt. She isn’t denying liability, but she needs clarity.

Why are you calling citizens advice? The council will check your statements and tell you what you owe. You have savings (which you accrued when not paying that bill) so use your savings to pay it. Then you’ll be below the threshold and will get council tax relief again. That will allow you to save again. You dont need citizens advice. What a waste of time.

To be fair, most people have been great and many have been very helpful, especially given the gaping shortfalls in the organisations I'd like to turn to for help!

@Littlespiderseverywhere your issue is not, at least in CA terms, debt but rather an alleged overpayment of Council Tax. Call your local office and (usually) it's option four for an adviser.

Depending on how the local office work you may need to be triaged and then given an appointment with an adviser.

Yes, it's option 4 I was sitting on for about an hour before they finally booted me off hold 😥

Sorry about that keep trying and if their website has a contact page try that.

You need to contact your own local Citizens Advice not the national CA line. Look up their specific website for drop ins and contact details. Ours has a local phone line open 9.30-2.30 and a face to face drop in three times a week.

It's my local one I was trying. They've suspended all drop ins for the foreseeable future. Maybe I'll be able to book a face to face appointment....if they ever pick up the phone 😖

If you are the only adult in the household (other people are child or children) you will be eligible for single person council tax discount. You need to agree this with the Council.

Secondly, you can request to pay your council tax every month (12 times per year)
This spreads the cost more equally over the year.

Suggest getting advice from Citizens Advice Bureau about non payment of council tax, because not paying this bill could have financial implications.

You may be able to set up an affordable repayment plan with the Council.

Suggest looking at your Council website about Council tax

Good luck

Sounds like our local one , totally overwhelmed and people being given appointments for 6 weeks time !

I agree. They should have told you sooner. You gave them accurate information and if they'd worked out eligibility correctly in the first place you'd be much better off.

Not saying that means you won't have to pay. When they make a mistake, we pay. If we make a mistake, we pay.

Well I've just managed to talk to the national Citizen's Advice debtline, whoop whoop! He just reiterated what I already know, but it's good to know I'm on the right track. Wait til they give me a sum, and make them an offer. Which they will probably accept, but it's not a given 😬

Still worth pursuing the local CA to get the low down on how our particular council operates.

I have nothing useful to add OP, but thanks to your thread I had a look at the cut off for my council tax support and it is £6k here too. I had no idea. Not like I have anyway near that much anyway although I have in the past.

I hope you get something sorted.