Hi Ida. What I've got is 4 letters from Scott and Co all dated the same date for council tax for a four year period. They are addressed to my ex partner and me (in that order). They all say the same - that a Summary Warrant has been granted against us in the Sheriff Court and we have 7 days to pay. I wouldn't be able to get a copy of the tenancy agreement because I wasn't party to it. My ex partner was the person who sorted out that flat with the landlord and he signed the agreement, I don't know if it was through a letting agent or direct, I was so young and naieve back then, 10 years ago. It was all between the two of them and I have no contact details for the landlord, the only thing I know about the landlord is his first name and the fact that he was a nasty piece of work and I was so glad to be out of his place when we left. I've had a look at my tax credit info and I can prove my address was different for 6 months out of the last year with that and with the little one's birth certificate which shows our address. Those are the earliest records I have. Found P60's but they all have the employers address on them, not home address. I'll contact HMRC on Monday to see if they would hold my address for the earlier dates. Can I not get the summary warrant set aside on the grounds that this is the first I've heard of it and have been given no opportunity to contend their assertion of liability? Is there not some process that they have to follow - i.e send a council tax bill, send a reminder, advise it's going to court, provide the court date? Because they haven't done any of that. I've been at this address for almost 9 years now and they clearly know that I live here, given that I pay council tax and this is where they sent the letters to telling me that the warrant has been granted. I pay my current council tax via DD so am worried that they might arrest my account.

I rang the bank this morning as that was my first thought too, but they say they only hold current addresses on system. I'll ring my old GP Practice on Monday because for some of the periods in question I had babies so they should have health visitor records showing me resident at other addresses - hopefully! I thought about energy suppliers but these accounts were in the name of my ex partner - who I have no contact with. My employer throughout the period went into administration last year so I can't get the records from them either as they no longer exist - oh but HMRC might have records for end of year taxes, would they? I wonder if they would have held my address or not. Oh, oh!! Tax Credits and child benefit!! I claimed them for the latter years as I gave birth to my eldest child during one of the periods. They'll have my addresses - in fact I did a SAR off tax credit not so long ago so I shall look out the paperwork and see if they have addresses on them. But not for the first year and a half that I wasn't living there I have no records at all - that's a sticking point unless HMRC do keep addresses for end of year P60's - I don't know if they would hold my address or just the employers but I'll ring them monday and ask.

Thanks - I'm really panicing about this, it's come at the worst time possible but I suppose that these things always do! I'll pm Ida.

The council won't deal with it when it's gone to Sheriff officers (our form of bailiffs). It's a summary warrant granted by the court so it's at enforcement stage.I don't know what to do, can I apply for a set aside in Scotland? I'm furious that I've never been contacted about this before despite it being clear they know perfectly well where I live. There are 4 years they are after, I was only at that property for one year out of the four. I can't prove my address before I moved in for the year/year and a half they are claiming I was there, because I lived at a bedsit which has now been converted into a nightclub and god knows where the old owner is - I don't keep in touch with landlords from 10 years ago or keep paperwork dating back that far. I can prove the address after, for the final year they are claiming because I moved to the property that I still reside at now.

I'm in shock. I've got 4 letters from the Sheriff Officers today for council tax dating back years ago, saying that warrants have been granted against me and a former partner (letters addressed to both of us, we split 6 years ago) in the sheriff court. They are all for one address. For three of the years claimed we were not even living there, plus the council tax was included in what we paid our landlord (as far as I am aware - I wasn't party to the tenancy agreement) - we NEVER got a council tax bill the entire time we lived there an never since for that property. They have got hold of my current address so clearly know where I live yet have never chased me for this or sent a letter telling me they were taking it to court - if they had I would have fought it! It's thousands and I have to pay it in 7 days apparently! What the hell can I do about this? I am beyond fuming!

Thank you for being so thorough, Mikey

Income/Capital can be very complex and will depend on the benefit you are claiming. In general: Income other than earnings becomes capital after the end of the period it is payable for and Earnings become capital after all liabilities such as income tax have been deducted and the end of the period they are payable for.

The good news is that there is something that you can do. HMRC is responsible for enforcing NMW for those who are entitled to it but whom are not receiving it. Contact HMRC's pay and work helpline on 0800 917 2368 (8am to 8pm mon-fri or 8am to 1pm sat) and advise them that you are not being paid NMW and would like to make a complaint. They may advise you to try and resolve the issue first and foremost with your employer - no worries - just explain that you have been advised by other co-workers that an individual who attempted to do so last year was dismissed and you are worried about the security of your job if you try and raise the issue with your employers. If you prefer, you can do it online here rather than by phone. All complaints are kept confidential so your name need not be lifted but if you are worried, just tell them from the outset that you do not wish to be named as the complainant to your employers. HMRC will delegate the case to their compliance officers to investigate the issue.

You're correct posting it here, I'll be back in a minute with a response to you

Flaws are great! You may not think so at the moment but they are often what disproves the DWP's case. They will be expected to produce all of the evidence for the appeal so if they have lost the CCO report and cannot reproduce it, my line of argument would be that if the information contained in that report is prudent to the outcome that any decision made in the absence of it may result in an unjust outcome. You don't need a solicitor for the appeal - in fact I only recommend a solicitor if there is a criminal case. For an appeal, use a Welfare Rights Representative - they are free. Unfortunately due to funding cuts there are not as many of them as there used to be but in regard of how to find one first ask if your local council has a Welfare Rights Representation Unit. If they have, make an appointment and ask for help. Do not be afraid that they are council employed - this has no bearing on HB/CTB, they will still fight your cause for you as that is what they are there for. If not, ask at your local CAB. If CAB do not have one locally, they should be able to refer you to someone who can help you. I can help as can others here but we can only do so much for you online so it is always better to have someone who can physically sift through the DWP's submission and either write a submission for you, represent you at the appeal or both. Aside from that, work on the flaws. Make what we call a 'Contradiction countdown' - basically list everything they have got wrong and next to it what the correct information is along with any information which would help you disprove their theory. Look also for inconsistencies in their information. For example, they say one thing then in other information they totally contradict it. Do not think about 2006 because unless the overpayment covers that period, anything to do with that time is irrelevant and won't be considered by the tribunal. On the other hand, if the overpayment does cover 2006 then do consider it.

Goodness, how awful. Have you formally submitted your appeal yet? If not, please do so right away because there are very strict time limits on this. If you don't know how to appeal, let me know and I will post a link to the relevant form and guidance notes for you. If you have submitted your appeal, do you have the DWP's submission yet? (this is a bundle of paperwork that they send you with details of how they arrived at their decision). If you don't have the submission yet, have they given any indication of why they believe you to be living together as husband and wife?

Though girocheques are being phased out, you can get your payments by girocheque at the moment. This will be by post, not over the counter at the jobcentre. Over the counter (personal issue) payments are only (supposed to be) given for crisis loans, persons without addresses or where you have no account and you live at an address which is unsafe for mail. I say 'supposed to be' rather than 'are' because sometimes different offices will deviate from the general guidance for this. For long enough I was telling people to ask for personal issue payments only to discover that it was not something they were entitled to unless certain criteria was satisfied. Until you can get an account, contact the office that pays your benefit and ask for payment by girocheque.

Excellent! Well done.

I'm inclined to believe that it is the DWP who sent out the letter because I know that they have used that company before to conduct customer satisfaction surveys on their behalf., the latest one being only last year. I agree with CitizenB - get a complaint into the Information Commissioner. Anyone dealing with a government department, particularly in circumstances where they have little choice, in my opinion should not have to take steps to 'opt out' of having their information shared with third parties when the reason for doing so is not a condition of their claim. They should be invited to 'opt in' which would offer greater protection of their details.

Sorry, your earlier post didn't specify whether it was RIA or a deposit. RIA claims thankfully have not been removed with the reformation as yet so you can definately submit a claim. They will consider whether their assistance with rent in advance is the only way to prevent serious damage or serious risk to your health or safety. As you have been staying on and off with friends and family they may deem that these are other options available to you to prevent serious damage or serious risk to your health or safety, and may refuse a CL on that basis, so make sure that you explain why staying with others is no longer possible when you apply to counteract this from the off. Also, if you have any debts or arrears to pay, tell them about this because they may be able to give you one of the lower repayment rates if you have other commitments that would place you in hardship if the loan was paid at 12%. It would mean paying the loan (which is interest free) off over a longer period of time but may be more managable for you in terms of budgeting; it's not easy to manage on the shoestring that is benefit. If they do refuse a CL you can apply for a budgeting loan for RIA but only if you have been receiving an income based benefit for 26 weeks or more and you would not be able to get £700.00 on a budgeting loan as a single person because of the limits applicable. Another thing I'd like to mention is to check if you are getting everything that you are entitled to. For example, the condition that you are claiming ESA for - if this condition gives rise to care or mobility needs, you may be entitled to some Disability Living Allowance (DLA). DLA does not affect any other benefit you are entitled to, so you would still get your ESA if you got DLA also. I'd like to see if there is another way of helping you though without you having to claim for a loan as it's clear that you don't want to do that. What reason did the council give for not having any obligation to help you? Have your circumstances changed since then?

A Crisis Loan can only be taken back at a certain percentage from your benefit at 12%, 10% or 5% dependent on your financial commitments. They can only recover one crisis loan at a time. The amount you are seeking seems very high for what would ordinarily be given for a Crisis Loan. What is the Crisis Loan for?

They are supposed to notify you in writing of any changes to your benefit within 14 days or as soon as reaonably practical thereafter. However the difficulty I see with this one is that they were under the impression that your address had changed. As such, it would be an issue of data protection to send the information to an address that they had been advised you no longer resided at. That deals with the original suspension. Since then you have written to them from your address with evidence that you are living there so I see no reason why they cannot notify you of the suspension in writing unless it falls in line with what the PP mentioned which may well be the case if it was a notification from DWP that sent the wheels in motion. The information on notification is contained in section 90 of the Housing benefit regs 2006.

Natwest was the first bank to introduce correspondance (including statements) to customers in braille back in the mid seventies. Since then all of the major banks have followed suit. Llyods, Barclays, RBS, Santander to name a few. Who does he bank with?

Oops! I think both Nystagmite and I got your thread mixed up with another on here. The remainder of the advice stands.

@ Nystagmite - Assessments are not given as a matter of course for DLA/AA claims. I think you are thinking of PIP (for those who don't know PIP - the Personal Independent Payment - is set to replace DLA adult claims but not child claims and not AA). When PIP comes in, assessments will be given as a matter of course for adult DLA claims. They will do assessments even where there is a GP report if they believe that they need to, but a home visit can only be requested if they invite her to an assessment by ATOS and her illness prevents her from being able to attend an ATOS assessment centre - though that will usually need to be confirmed by the GP. Without wishing to offend you, if she won't open up to a stranger, is it likely that she would open up to an ATOS assessor anyway, if she won't even see her GP? Is she capable of managing her own affairs? Again, no offence intended but I ask because I'm not clear whether refusing to go to the GP is just her way or whether she is incapable of acting in her own best interests. If she is not then perhaps what she needs is an appointee for the purpose of claiming benefit - that could be you. This is not like legal guardianship. An appointee for benefits is basically someone who manages the benefit in the interest of the claimant where the claimant is incapable of acting in their own best interest and the person is appointed to act by the DWP for the claimant. It can be anyone but in most cases it is a family member. An appointee would complete and sign any claim forms and receive the benefit on the claimant's behalf and it would only be the appointee that DWP would correspond with. If you think she needs this, get the Pension Service out to not only assess her benefit but to assess her need for an appointee. If you think she does need someone to be a legal guardian which is more than an appointee, again this can be you or it can be someone else or a professional body. If you feel she needs this or even if she just needs more help then you can ask Social Work to do an assessment of her needs. A report from Social Work may have more bearing on a claim because it demonstrates that there are needs there and I think that is where your sticking point is - because she won't see anyone it is difficult to prove that she has the needs for entitlement to AA.

If you complete a form with just the name, address and a signature they will send it back to be completed. They cannot accept an incomplete claim form, and if they do not receive the information they need to assess the claim within one month of sending it back, they will decline it as a defective claim. The tribunals service would likely strike out an appeal against a defective claim as there is really nothing to appeal against - a decision not to award benefit because the claimant has declined to provide sufficient information for entitlement to be considered is a correct decision. They do not have their own Dr's. They use a company called ATOS to perform assessments. An ATOS assessor can be a Dr but doesn't have to be (that changed a few years ago). ATOS only do home visits if the person is unable (due to their condition) to get to one of their assessment centres. They will not do a home visit without sufficient information to show that she needs a home visit- and this is usually information provided by a GP. They won't arrange a home visit on the basis that the claimant does not want to go to the GP. You could contact the Pension Service for a visiting officer to come out and do a benefit check. They will complete the forms but again they are very limited in what they can do. They are in no position to provide a medical report as they are not trained to do this. They do complete their own report but this will only set out facts of the benefit check what they did for the claimant during the visit (what forms they completed for example), they cannot report on medical conditions. This is the only thing I can suggest really.

You can ask the upper tier tribunal for permission to appeal the first tier tribunal's decision if there is an error of law. Before you do this, you need to write to the tribunal to request a statement of reasons. You must do this within one month of the tribunal. You may find it helpful to seek free representation for this. Some CAB's offer representation and some local councils have Welfare Representation units. Also as Nystagmite suggested contact RNIB - they may be able to offer help or refer you to a rep. If your solicitor has not acted in your best interests you can complain. Initially you should complain to the firm that he works for.

You are going to the CAB tomorrow is that right? If so, continue with that. They may be able to assist you in making your claims to benefit which would relieve the pressure on you somewhat. Some CABs have a stock of claim forms on site and some CABs will help you to complete them. Some can act in a representative capacity and deal with any issues on your behalf - but they won't do this without your permission. Bring any information about your income/capital and ask them for a 'benefit check'. Being local to you, they will know more about your LHA rate (this is a calculation used to decide how much housing benefit is payable to a private tenant and it depends on the area you live in as it is based on market rents). A full benefit calculation by the CAB will give you a guide to how much you could expect to receive in total weekly benefit (all the benefit combined). You can also do your own calculation here if you feel like fiddling around with it tonight. CAB's checks are more robust though than the onsite ones. I would encourage you to make an appointment with your GP as soon as possible to discuss your health for two reasons - to ensure you are getting the best help and to obtain a MED3 if you are unfit for work. You will need a MED3 to claim ESA and will need to keep providing them until after you are assessed by ATOS.

Goodness sake what a carry on. If it isn't there, phone again and insist on an 'escalation' to a higher manager. I hope all goes ok tomorrow.

My goodness Caroline, what an awful time you have endured. My name's Erika, I'm one of the site team and my main area on the forum is benefit entitlement so I'm going to advise you about that side of it. The main benefit for people who are out of work is Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). To claim JSA you must be actively seeking and available for employment. It would involve 'signing on' once a fortnight at your local jobcentre where you would explain what you had done each fortnight to seek work. If you apply for JSA, they will ask you for the reason your employment was terminated and they will also ask your employer. If they discover that you had your employment terminated as a result of gross misconduct they may apply what is known as a sanction to your claim. A sanction is where they stop payment of the benefit for a specified period and can last up to a maximum of 26 weeks. During a sanction, you still have to attend the jobcentre and sign on but receive no monetary benefit - though hardship can be claimed. However I do not think that JSA is the correct benefit for you. I say this because from what you have told us, you appear to be suffering dreadfully from depression and I wonder if that makes you unfit for work at the moment. Although you have been working is that because you were able to or because you had to? Have you been pushing yourself too hard? Has the recent termination resulted in an exacerbation of your depression? These are things to consider when you are thinking of whether you are fit for work at the moment. If you are unfit for work, there is another benefit that you can claim. It's called Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and is for people who due to illness or incapacity are not fit for work. There are no sanctions on ESA for losing your job and no requirement to attend the jobcentre once a fortnight to sign on - though you may be asked to attend for other reasons from time to time. All you need to do to make the initial claim is go to your GP for a MED3 ( a 'fit note' - they used to be called 'sick notes') certifying that you are unfit for work then ring 0800 055 6688 between 8-6 monday to friday. This is the ESA claim line. A call operator will go through the application with you and take it from there. You will then send in your MED3. From here you enter what is known as the 'assessment phase'. This is meant to last for 13 weeks but it can last longer. It is the same amount as JSA is at a rate of £71.00 per week (assuming you are over 25 years old). However you will toward the end of the assessment phase be summoned to an assessment with a company called ATOS who will assess whether they agree if you are still unfit for work if they agree that you are, your weekly money will increase to either £99.15 if they think you are fit for some work related activity or £105.05 if they think that you are unfit for any kind of work related activity. You can come off ESA once you and your GP feel that you are fit to work again. If you were to get your job back at a later stage you would no longer be able to claim ESA but you could possibly claim statutory sick pay until you feel well enough again (or until SSP exhausts in which case you would go back on ESA). You can also get ESA if you do not qualify for SSP. Now, are you receiving tax credits at all? If so you need to inform them that you are no longer working and of the decrease in your household income. If you are not, you do not need to claim unless you have children (though if at any stage you return to work you should look to see if you are eligible for working tax credit). The telephone number for tax credit is 0345 300 3900 and they are open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to 4pm on a Saturday. Do you rent? If so, claim housing benefit for assistance toward your rent from your local council. If you have a mortgage you may be able to get help toward the interest of it after 13 weeks of claiming JSA or ESA. This is called Support for Mortgage Interest. If you pay council tax, claim council tax benefit from your local council. If you have no savings, no income and no way to meet your immediate living expenses whilst you wait for a benefit claim to go into payment, you can claim a Crisis Loan as an alignment to benefit. They can help by paying you a little money (it is not very much 60% of weekly benefit if you are a homeowner or 30% if you are not) toward food and if you have gas/electricity metres that take coins, cards or tokens they can help toward this too. It is interest free and is repaid by deducting a weekly amount from your benefit when the claim goes into payment - they will tell you the amount offered and the repayment rate before you agree to it. To apply for a Crisis Loan call 0800 032 7958 between 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. They are less busy early in the morning and it can be really difficult to get through - if you can't get through and are desperate for food, google 'food parcels' and the area you live in to find your local food parcel provider. I hope this information helps you. It is a bit of information overload for now but you can always come back and read it at your leisure to check things. I'm normally around in the evenings but might not be around much next week however there are plenty other people who can help in the benefit subforum.