Can someone please explain this to me - apparent "over payment" of council tax benefit..........

[FAQinglovely]

I got my HB/CTB letter through today. Got the HB as expected and the CTB as expected.

But I'm a little confused.

in among all the letters stapled together was one stating the following

"Dear Mrs FAQ"

Following the review of your application and information received I have stopped you Council Tax Benefit for XXX (old address) from 30th January 2009.

As a result of your revised award there has been an overpayment (termed an Excess Benefit). The Excess Benefit amounts to £107.26.

The reason for this overpayment is move which has been calculated as follows:

WEEKLY AWARDS
FROM TO PREVIOUS NEW
30.01.09 01.04.09 £12.31 nil

This was notified on the 30.01.09 by Claimant and has been determined on 05.02.2009. The Excess Benefit has been added to your council Tax Account and a revised Council Tax Notice will be issued showing your new payments.

Any repayment of overpaid or excess benefits will be treated without prejudice to any further action which may be taken against you.

Please read your rights and duties on the back of this letter. Remember that any changes in circumstances must be reported to the housing benefit section immidiately"

The next letter posted onto it is my new CTB award - for the full amount that I'm entitled to (all of it) for this address

So what is this "Excess Benefit"?? How can the have overpaid me for dates that haven't happened yet? I DID inform them of change of circumstances (about 1 1/2hrs after getting the tenancy agreement for this place in my hands). So WTF is it all about????

I would phone them up and check.

When I moved house even though I told the council tax office and paid CT by DD several months later I got a red letter from them asking for c£100 - it took my local councillor writing to them to sort it out.

Think it is all automated so you need to make sure an actuall person looks at your accounts to make sure that it is right.

It will be automatically generated.

Keep the letters but don't worry about it yet. CTB/HB changes seem to result in a mountain of letter depending on which order the official presses the buttons.

they must have very clever computers at the council then - as my form was filled in by hand and was looked at by a real life person (felt like eternity sitting there waiting for her to check all the details).

I just don't understand how they can have overpaid my benefits for a period that hasn't happened yet and how if they've over paid me in the next breath they're telling me I'm still going to get the full benefit for my new address

thanks - was going to hang onto the letters anyhow as they're all stapled together and of course it includes details of my HB award as well - so going to be filed away.

just confused me that's all (which admittedly isn't too hard to do )

It is just the way the computers work. Wait until they try to "reclaim" the overpayment before ringing them imo. These letters just arise because the computer issues a letter for each "step" of the process (ie cancelling CTB as you are no longer entitled to it at old address, recomputing CT libaility for old address, setting up CT liability for new address, setting up CTB for new address).

could it be that they paid your council tax benefit in full to your old landlord till the new tax year? In which case technically they would have overpaid as they paid in advance for that period on your behalf and are now paying on your behalf for this 2nd house? I suspect they will claim it back from the landlord if they have paid it in full to them.

did that make any sense?

ermm - I didn't have a "landlord" - it was the marital home

duh didnt mean landlord meant council so basically they have already paid themselves for the full tax year and will just reclaim it back from themselves! Thik im going round in circles...i know what i mean! LMAO

and I thought the council tax benefit was just paid straight to your council tax account (which I was reliable for there, and also reliable for here?)

aha - that makes more sense (and ties in with what I've said) - fancy waasting a bloody letter to tell me they'll claim it back off themselves

BonkmesenselERZ, I think you are right. I've been trying to think of a way of explaining it. Council tax runs from April to April and has been calculated based on the council tax award at your previous house. When you move it needs to be recalculated and thus the overpayment has been found. I would get advice (CAB) to check that it has been calculated properly but don't assume it is a mistake.

oh well - just got home to find a letter with my council tax details - I don't owe them anything.