Audio Stories Reports

Council Tax Farce


Reported by Karen

Published on Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

Bureaucracy Cost of living Welfare Benefits Women's Perspectives
Audio Stories Reports

Council Tax Farce


Written by Karen

Published on Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

Bureaucracy

Cost of living

Welfare Benefits

Women's Perspectives

 

Hi, it’s Karen here. April the 3rd, 2023. Um, yeah. I just want to tell you a little bit about this erm farce I had with the council tax, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

To cut a long story short, my brother-in-law , who lives in Ireland , was going through a real bad time with his mental health and I was quite worried about his well-being. But I was also worried about his safety. So, I said to him, you know, come on over here and I’ve got a spare room and I can keep, you know, my eye on him.

So, I went to Citizens Advice Bureau as well, just to check because I’m on benefits, I don’t pay council tax just to check, you know, that it wouldn’t incur any extra cost on the council tax. And I was assured that, no, you know, with him being on universal credit as well, that it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever.

So, that was that and he came over and he registered. He got all his universal credit transferred over here and he got on the electoral register. So, everything was above board. Last month, I got a bill from Stockport Council for 540 odd quid for council tax. So, I rang them, obviously thought it was a mistake and they said it’s because I didn’t tell them that my brother-in-law  had moved in September 2021. So, I explained the situation and told I didn’t think I needed to, apologised. They said, Well, you know, you’ll have to pay this bill anyway. So, she offered me a payment plan, which I had no choice but to accept. I asked her if, if she could, you know, waive the cost. Obviously, I couldn’t afford it. Costs of living has gone up my gas and electric has gone up from £95 a month to £211. We’re all struggling, and 540 odd quid is a lot of money. So, she said no, going forward, my council tax is zero. So basically, what she said was if I’d have told them September 21 that my brother-in-law  lived with us, my council tax would still have been zero, but because I didn’t tell them, they charged me 543 quid. So basically, I’m being penalised for not telling them. It makes absolutely no sense. So basically, if I’d have told them the council tax would have still been zero because I haven’t told them, they’ve sent me a bill for £543, I can’t get me head around it. Really don’t understand that.

And it’s just another, you know, the people on the lowest incomes seem to be penalised the most and that’s what I’ve been – I’ve been punished for not telling them.

So yeah, thanks for listening.

Written by Karen


I'm Karen from Manchester it's great to meet you all. I'm a recovering alcoholic,
I experienced a short time of homelessness many years ago, I'm a survivor of domestic abuse and I'm happy to say I've come through it all.
I volunteered at a local Alcohol and Substance Abuse centre where I qualified as a Peer Mentor.
I now care for my elderly dad who is housebound and I feel blessed to be able and well enough to do this.
I hope as part of this Community Reporting team our stories can contribute to making a difference to homelessness and health inequalities and shine a light on any other injustices we come across.
 

Read all of Karen's articles

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Bureaucracy Cost of living Welfare Benefits Women's Perspectives