How far back can you challenge a Housing Benefits decision - complicated circumstances

[europa16]

I really am smacking my head against a brick wall with the council, they pretty much screwed up our claim for housing and council tax benefits from day one. Unfortunately for us, we are the guinea pigs for their training in self employed claims and I think it has bitten us in the backside

The problem is this (sorry, it's a bit long);

My husband was, until recently, self employed as a sub-contractor in the construction industry. Because of the nature of the work, the wages used to fluctuate depending on the contract. Last April, this left us with a large overpayment so the benefits department decided to use the figures for the previous 3 months to calculate the next 3 months benefits entitlement (for April to July '09 they used the figures for Jan to April '09 / for July to November '09 they used April to July '09 figures).

The problem is, in November '09 I submitted a pro-forma for July - November and DH's wages were atrocious - he barely made any money after expenses. They used these figures from the end of November, but by then DH had signed on for ESA.

By the end of January when they'd finally figured out what the calculations, they decided there'd been a big overpayment again because they were using July to November's figures and so cancelled them out and replaced them with the ESA. So, the wages for July to November were never used for July to November or any other period.

Since he came off ESA and went back to work as S/E they've been doing the figures in arrears (and getting them wrong). This mess is still ongoing, and having put a complaint in regarding how they've assessed the claim we're slowly getting there.

But it has taken me to get a subject access request from the council to finally figure out what happened.

So, can we challenge the decision not to use the July to November '09 figure for July to November '09 on the basis that I've only just figured it out due to all the paperwork (even the council have said the claim is complicated and the paperwork can be confusing), or have we left it too late to do anything about it? It's money that I feel we should have been entitled to legitimately and were denied, leaving us in debt just to pay the rent.

Thanks

[Zamzara]

The time limit for appealing is usually a month.

 

Fortunately, for housing and council tax benefit there is a loophole where you can appeal within 14 days of receiving a statement of reasons, and there is no time limit for requesting a statement.

 

So request a statement of reasons for the decision; the council must provide one, then you can appeal within 14 days.

[ErikaPNP]

I'm afraid that isn't entirely accurate; it is a very common mistake though, and one I made myself early on in my days of helping with benefit claims. The time limit for appealing is extended by fourteen days when someone requests a statement of reasons.

 

The time limit for appealing is one month from the date of the decision. If a statement of reasons is requested, this is extended to one month + 14 days. If however the statement of reasons is requested within the appeal period (within one month) but the council do not provide it within the one month and 14 days, the time for appealing is within 14 days of the issue of the Statement of reasons.

 

The tribunals service can accept an appeal up until 13 months after the date of the decision, however whether they accept a late appeal depends upon the reasons for the appeal being late as well as whether they feel it is in the interests of justice for the appeal to proceed. The SoR must be requested within one month from the date of the decision for it to have any rights of appeal attached to it.

 

After 13 months, no appeal can be accepted.

 

You can, however ask the council to do a "supersession" (also known as an "anytime revision). However the decision on whether or not to do so is entirely discretionary. You can also request compensation for maladministration to place you back into the position you would have been in had they correctly calculated the figures. Failing this, you can take them to court for the same - if it can be proven on the balance of probabilities that they were negligent in their duty to you. The information in the SAR would come in handy for this

[europa16]

Thanks for your replies. It's useful information to know.

I think I will write to them asking for an any time revision and see what they say, and take it from there. This has already shredded my nerves and taken months. I've still got to deal with the reply to my complaint about the way the claim has been handled. I don't think sorry cuts it this time, I'm still wading through paperwork and finding mistakes, it's ridiculous!!

[Zamzara]

That is true for most benefits, but for housing and council tax benefit there is currently no time limit for requesting a statement of reasons. This is a (presumably) unintended loophole, but is widely known about. This applies even outside the normal 13 months.

 

I will find the exact regulations.

[Zamzara]

Here you go:

 

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forum-archive/index0dd2.html

[europa16]

Well, I did write to the council asking for an "anytime revision" for that period last year, and I actually got a reply today from them. They've done the calculations and agree that the figures were incorrect. So they've been changed in our favour. It also seems that some other figures were incorrect so they've been changed in our favour (I think!) also.

Just waiting for the underpayment now

 

Thanks for the advice given, it definitely helped a lot 8-)8-)