Council Tax, single person discount query.

[brokenhome]

Council Tax, single person discount query.

 

I am a single parent with three kids (now 20->27) and the two eldest (boys) left home some time ago.

 

Earlier this year I realised that my daughter was spending more nights at her boyfriends house than mine. So I started to keep a record of what nights she spent at my house.

 

On 9 March I wrote to Bolton Council saying she only spent 1 or 2 nights a week at my house & asked how they defined "living at".

 

Quote from their reply:

My records indicate your daughter resides at your address. If circumstances have changed and she has moved out, please provide the following information:-

confirm the date she moved out

provide her full residential address

Is she registered for council tax at her forwarding address?

I will consider awarding a single person discount on receipt of the above information

 

I replied:

... not lived at my address since October 2014. Since then she has spent one night a week at my house, occasionally two. Remainder of the week she spends at her boyfriends house (he lives with his mother) and at her mothers (i.e. my ex's) house in Chorley. I don't have an exact date she left (more accurately drifted) out; I don't know he boyfriends mothers address (Walkden, I think); I haven't a clue if she is registered for Council Tax at either address.

 

29 April they replied:

Before I may consider awarding single person discount to your account, I need to know where she lives for the majority of the time, where her personal belongings are kept and the address she considers as her main home. As you have indicated that you are in touch with her and that she stays with you once or twice per week, we may still regard your home as her main residence in which case discount will not apply.

I have sent a discount application form in the post in case you still wish to apply. Please complete the form in full including the date she moved out and provide her full forwarding address(es) plus the information as requested above. The form should be signed and dated and returned in the prepaid envelope provided.

I will consider your application for discount on receipt.

 

As you can see, I have already told them where she lives "most of the time"; the approx date she moved out and as much as I know about her new addresses.

 

Also:

 

1) Young girls "share" clothing, so where her "belongings" are, I havent a clue. How am I supposed to know what is her's? Ditto what percentage of them are here, there or where?

 

2) Surely I have no right to ask anyone about who is registered for Council Tax at their address.

 

3) I have always given my daughter her privacy - TOTAL privacy! Surely there cannot possibly be any law stating that a father should search through his daughters clothing - that would be totally SICK!

 

4) Without (illegally) fitting her with a tracking device, I can't see how I could tell them exactly what night's she spends where.

 

It seems to me that they are simply delaying awarding this discount, otherwise why ask questions already answered and why not post me this form when I first wrote to them?

 

What should I do please?

Thanks for reading.

[id6052]

If your daughter stops once or twice a week, why not get her to draft a supporting letter confirming the date she moved out and her new address

 

Hopefully that should help get your discount sorted

[brokenhome]

My daughter doesn't have a clue where she was two days ago, plus, she doesn't want me to put her boyfriends mothers address down as she's not willing to "ask" her about it. Please don't ask me to explain, she "just doesn't".

[CrappoMan]

If you have provided written confirmation that she doesn't live with you, that should be enough. If it later emerges that you are lying, they have written evidence of that lie, and can use that evidence to prosecute you.

 

A complaint may be in order for requesting information that you may not know, and threatening that they will only consider awarding the discount you are entitled to if you provide that possibly unknown information.

 

Where your daughter lives "for the majority of the time" is no concern of yours. You are not her keeper and do not have to keep tabs on where she is. How would you know if she is registered for council tax at another address. That is none of your business.

 

I would not have admitted that she stays at your house for one or two nights a week, as that gives them an 'in' to ask for more information.