Hi guys!

I really hope someone can help me as I'm stuck in a massive pickle thanks to my local council!

The first problem came in september 2009 when I had to leave work due to ill health (fibromyalgia, ME, anxiety and depression, arthritis, asthma) so I decided to go back to uni as a mature student so at least I was being productive. I was advised, by uni and my GP, to contact my local council about benefits and/or financial assistance to which they answered 'students are not able to claim benefits'. So, none the wiser, I took that as fact. Now I know differently but for months I believed them and got myself further and further into debt including amassing council tax arrears.

To this day they are yet to reduce my bill, which they have admitted then denied then admitted again etc that students are eligible for. They tell me my bill wont be reduced but then when I tried to get help from the PDSA for my cat the council told them I was exempt so I couldn't get my cat treated there. How can I be exempt if they keep harrassing me for money!? Money that I haven't got but would have if they had advised me correctly about benefits. I'm really confused!

When i ask them about my reduction they deny having received the evidence that I am a student and on the last occasion I was told that I would receive a court summons as that 'may finally motivate you to sort yourself out'. HOW DARE THEY SAY THAT! Especially to someone with ME!

I also have been in contact with them about the property next door. It's dangerous and is in such a state I cannot get house insurance as it is effecting the structure of my property. Bricks, roof tiles and window panes have fallen off and when the roof collapsed it broke a window in my property. I also have cracks appearing daily but all the empty house inspector woman said was 'it looks ok inside', the fact that you cant see through the windows and there was a leak last november that tore through the house from top to bottom it cannot be in a good state inside and like i care about the carpets anyway! I had to take 2 days off uni to sort the leak out including getting the police to break in and clearing up the mess they left outside my house.

The stress of it all has lead to a full blown relapse of my ME and now I'm housebound, unable to work or continue uni. Nice one council, i thought you'd do anything to stop people claiming benefits and get back into work (irrespective of ability in many cases) but in my case you've managed to put a stop to that for quite some time in my case.

Should i complain? I'm concerned that because i'm in arrears I'll get no where fast but considering I'm in this mess thanks to their advice I think something should be done. They're public servants after all and are supposed to help us not cause me a 2 year headache!

Do you have any letters from them to back all this upor the names of those involved, otherwise you are into the "he said, she said" scenario. It could well be that whoever you deal with is not a Council employee at all, many Councils hive their admin off to a company like Capita and it could be a call centre you have dealt with. To move forward you will need some help and this could come from various sources all of which should be able to help.

For help with any Benefits etc you should see if your Council employ a Welfare Rights Adviser, if not try your local CAB. Next person to help is your local Councillor(s) who in my view can be contacted 7 days a week up to approx 9pm, any refusal or reluctance and you go to the Leader of the Council or his/her opposite number.

PT

Thanks for your reply ploddertom.

The only in writing evidence I have is the letter confirming I'm a student dated 2009, which doesn't exist according to them. I have bills and notices from them but I always had to call to sort things out. I was told by a debt helpline (could have been CCCS) that a) my council has more complaints about it than any other (no surprise there) and b) that all calls to a council office are recorded, is that true? If it is they're screwed! If not it might be difficult.

When I called to ask about benefits I was put through to a welfare officer who advised me that I was unable to claim as I was a student, so it came from the horses mouth so to speak. CAB and the jobcentre actually told me off for trying to work or claim work related benefits and have booked me in with a disability advisor so things are getting sorted but what still remains is that after going to the council for help about things I have no knowledge of I was mislead and that has lead to a destroyed credit rating and a relapse.

I'm seeing CAB after I see the DA at the job centre, should I sort the benefits out with the jobcentre and then see CAB purely to address my issues with the council? I need the property next door sorted but obviously I need money too, typically since I've not been able to get home insurance my pipes burst in the kitchen over winter and my electric blew, my dryer and fridge were destroyed but I can't replace them. I had no fridge for 9 months until my parents bought me one for my birthday. I need to replace the broken window too (huge, double glazed stained glass), but that was caused by next door so I shouldn't be liable.

I called the council again since writing this and all I got was that they have not been able to contact the owner for 18 months, and I must understand she's disabled, so they cannot help further. No amount of arguing got me any further even when I explained I'm disabled too, and so what? I'm disabled and skint but I make sure my house is respectable, to me this over-mollycoddling of disabled people is disrespectful. I want equality not to be fawned over because I have difficulties, but, in the case of my errant neighbour she seems to use it to her advantage.

if you were a full time student (and living on your own), your home would be exempt from council tax, i.e. no charge

do you have a copy of your exemption certificate? if so, take it into your council office or alternatively get someone else to take it in, make sure you get a receipt for it

with some councils, you may have to also fill in an exemption form - they may have these on their website - if you do need to complete a form, submit it as soon as possible

Thanks id6052

I do have the original letter, I've so far sent 5 copies with the standard form and they keep denying they have it. Uni sent it direct once too, but they claim that didn't arrive. I will have to go in face to face but as I live rurally and am the only driver in the house unless I'm well enough it's difficult.

I live with my partner who works full time, and yes my course is full time so according to their own info I'm entitled to a 50% reduction, although I've been told anything from 0-50% depending on who I spoke to at the council. I therefore should have been entitled to PDSA help but instead they told them I was exempt and I spent my next council payment on his treatment with another vet. As they are still charging me 100% why they said I was exempt was beyond me! Have I got a case if the PDSA have it in writing, from the council themselves, that my house is exempt? That would be a kick in the teeth to the lot of them! bye bye arrears lol!

PS: I'm going to request a copy of my file notes which I know they must provide in order to comply with the DPA, then I should be able to work out who it was I spoke to and when. In the meantime I'll call tomorrow and ask to speak to the last person I spoke to in the collections department and make sure I get her details after she was openly rude to me.

Does anyone think it worth mentioning to the council that i suffer disruption at 2am every friday and saturday night when a group of their staff leave the pub across the road after a lock in? These are the same staff I barred when I managed the other pub in the village after I discovered serious drug use and they fought with each other and caused damage. I often had to pick one of them up out of a gutter in the morning or intervene when there was 'lewd behaviour' (full on intercourse) in the beer garden. For my efforts to keep a country pub peaceful I was warned that 'I work for the council and can cause you hell'. That particular person was in charge of sending forms to the correct departments, maybe that's where my 5 went??

ah right, as you have a partner who is working full time, you are only entitled to a 25% discount on the basis that there is only one adult resident for council tax purposes

it is highly unlikely that you would be entitled to council tax benefit or PDSA assistance, if your partner was working full time and you were a full time student

do you have children? do you receive student loan or maintenance grant?

I did receive student finance but that has now stopped as I'm not well enough to continue the course. I don't have any kids. The PDSA explained that I had to be paying a discounted rate but not exempt, either way the council were wrong.

At the moment my income is 0 as i wait on ESA and DLA, I've got to wait weeks to see the disability advisor to help though. I really want to just get the forms filled in but everywhere i look everyone says never fill them in yourself as they're a minefield. My partner only earns £200 a week so with a mortgage of £700 a month things are pretty crap. Should I just bite the bullet and do it myself or would I end up, like so many, appealing a bad decision?

to qualify for PDSA, you need to be entitled to and in receipt of Council Tax Benefit - your income excluded you from benefit entitlement

you would however have been entitled to a 25% discount for only one adult being resident for CT purposes - the 25% discount does not entitle you to PDSA assistance - as you are not receiving Council Tax Benefit

i would definitely advise that you get experienced help with your esa and dla - as there are so many worrying stories about people doing it on their own

if your current household income is only £200, have you applied for CTB?

Thank you for clarifying!

I'm sick of being told whatever the airhead of the day seems to think will annoy me most! I'm not after anything I'm not entitled to but I rang the PDSA to check then the monster on the reception desk stunned the waiting room into silence by being very rude, then I rang the head office back and cried (blush)

i would suggest using one of the many online benefits calculators to check if you might be entitled to CTB or WTC

I'm so confused when it comes to benefits that's why I rang the council. No one in my family has ever claimed so I had no idea what was out there never mind what i was entitled to, seriously I didn't even know the job centre dealt with claims, I'd never been in one, I'll admit my complete naivety in regard to these matters. I'll take your advice and wait it out and look into CTB. Thanks so much

I'll pop over to direct.gov and see if things make more sense this time. Unfortunately despite being reasonably intelligent ME likes to mess with my brain so sometimes I miss things that are right in front of me, hence the holding out for help. I think my brain is ok today, although I thought it was may day bank holiday this morning things have improved over the day!

i wish it was may day bank holiday today, if you are having difficulty dealing with these things, might it be possible to get your other half to deal with things or help you?