council thinks I live with my estranged children

[zakariah]

Hi

 

I am a pensioner on pension credit residing in my own free hold house.

 

My children have moved and are estranged from me.

 

I have mail coming to my address care of for them.

 

I do not talk to my children we do not get on.

 

I ignore the fact that they send various mail to my residence.

 

I live with one of my children who I have a good relationship with.

 

He is on JSA and together we do not pay any council tax.

 

However the council feels that my estranged children also make up my household.

 

they wrote to me requesting details of who resides with me.

 

I wrote back informing them of the situation.

 

They have now backdated my claim to 2004 and are demanding nearly £10,000 in over payments.

They concluded that my estranged children who are in full time work are residing with me.

I told them they are free to visit property and check for them selves as we have a lot of clutter

you can obviously see spare rooms full of stuff but no beds.

Some of the stuff has layers of dust as it has sat in place for ages.

 

The council does not want to inspect and demands payment.

I am going to appeal the decision.

 

They demanded I find a way to contact my estranged children and demand they provide me proof of residency at another address

and further more submit that proof to me so I can forward it to my local council.

 

This ask is very awkward as I do not talk to them and they do not talk to me.

 

How can the council make the assumption they live with me with out me confirming the same.

 

advice on subject would be appreciated

Edited January 7, 2014 by ims21

[Consumer dude]

Let them prove it..

[ploddertom]

Moved to the Benefits & HMRC Forum as think you may get a better response there.

[caro]

I'm inclined to agree with consumer dude. Ask them whale they think that. I necessary you could send a sar requesting all the information that they hold about you.

 

Have you had any kind if interview about this?

[zakariah]

yes they wrote to me to attend a voluntary interview which would not be under caution

to clear up issues regarding information they had which they believed

 

I had not declared the full make up of my house hold.

 

I declined the interview and told them to send me any questions they wanted to ask in writing and I would cooperate with them.

 

They wrote asking who lives with me ?

 

I informed them that I live with my son and apart from him no one else resides with me.

 

They then sent this bill saying fraud had been committed and over payment has been made

and the over payment dates back to 2004 to present day and they want £10,000 over payment back ???

 

I am in the process of writing back to them to inform them I want to appeal that decision then if appeal not fruitful then tribunal then judicial review I guess.

 

I hope someone in the council see's sense and notes without 100% proof they cannot make assumptions that people reside with me

wholly on the grounds they still get mail at my address.

(people with no fixed abode still have a care of address??)

[45002]

Hi I am a pensioner on pension credit residing in my own free hold house. My children have moved and are estranged from me. I have mail coming to my address care of for them. I do not talk to my children we do not get on. I ignore the fact that they send various mail to my residence. I live with one of my children who I have a good relationship with. He is on JSA and together we do not pay any council tax. However the council feels that my estranged children also make up my household. they wrote to me requesting details of who resides with me. I wrote back informing them of the situation. They have now backdated my claim to 2004 and are demanding nearly £10,000 in over payments. They concluded that my estranged children who are in full time work are residing with me. I told them they are free to visit property and check for them selves as we have a lot of clutter you can obviously see spare rooms full of stuff but no beds. Some of the stuff has layers of dust as it has sat in place for ages. The council does not want to inspect and demands payment. I am going to appeal the decision. They demanded I find a way to contact my estranged children and demand they provide me proof of residency at another address and further more submit that proof to me so I can forward it to my local council. This ask is very awkward as I do not talk to them an they do not talk to me. How can the council make the assumption they live with me with out me confirming the same.

 

advice on subject would be appreciated

 

yes they wrote to me to attend a voluntary interview which would not be under caution to clear up issues regarding information they had which they believed I had not declared the full make up of my house hold. I declined the interview and told them to send me any questions they wanted to ask in writing and I would cooperate with them.

 

They wrote asking who lives with me ? I informed them that I live with my son and apart from him no one else resides with me. They then sent this bill saying fraud had been committed and over payment has been made and the over payment dates back to 2004 to present day and they want £10,000 over payment back ???

 

I am in the process of writing back to them to inform them I want to appeal that decision then if appeal not fruitful then tribunal then judicial review I guess.

 

I hope some on in the council see's sense and notes without 100% proof they cannot make assumptions that people reside with me wholly on the grounds they still get mail at my address. (people with no fixed abode still have a care of address??)

Can I ask which benefit they are claiming has been over paid !

[estellyn]

Firstly start sending back any mail 'not at this address'.

 

 

Secondly, are the children on the electoral roll?

 

 

Thirdly, do they have bank accounts/credit registered at your address? - it may be that this is what has come up in a credit reference agency cross matching exercise.

 

 

Lastly, are your children of no fixed abode?

[id6052]

are your children of no fixed abode, or do they have a main residence elsewhere?

 

do you know if they have given your address to their employers or made any credit applications from your address?

[zakariah]

thank you for taking the time and effort to contribute in helping me.

 

to answer your questions

 

They are claiming council tax benefit has been over paid since 2004 to present day.

 

I will start sending back mail from now on.

 

The children are not on the electoral register.

 

yes they do have bank accounts but no credit registered at my address.

I am not sure if they have a abode or not I do not talk to them.

I do know one of my children owns a property and it is on a mortgage and has tenants living in the property.

 

They are only concerned about two of my children and I think one of them has given this address to their employer as his wage slips come through every month.

 

Is this enough for the council to assume they live with me ?

 

They do couch surf with friends girl friends etc

I do seem them once a month when they happen to be collecting mail.

 

I ignored the fact mail was arriving as I hoped to rekindle the estranged relationship back to normality

but it is early days yet and they are stubborn.

[id6052]

with social security benefits, where somebody is treated as living is not based upon 100% proof

 

it is a question of weighing up all the evidence as to where a person lives, so if your children are using your address for banking and employment and they are not liable for council tax or on the electoral roll elsewhere, these factors can weigh against you

 

the fact that they are both continuing to use your address despite being estranged and having moved out at some prior to 2004 may look suspicious

 

do you know what address your child has stated he/she lives at on tenancy agreement of the property that is being rented out? just in case the tenants are claiming HB and will have provided a copy to the council

 

do either of your children drive? if so, are their driving licences or vehicles registered at your address?

[id6052]

my advice would be to try to gather evidence to demonstrate they are living elsewhere, for example, proof of them paying bills elsewhere