Can anyone shed light on erroneous entry on Atlas Form leading to claim that LL pays Council Tax.
Universal Credit

Maureen_539
Maureen_539
5,073 Thanks
8,633 Posts
2 years ago
1

Convoluted prob colleagues caused by admin error at DWP, HMRC & Council Tax, a mix-up thats only just come to light 8 months after it was perpetrated back in Nov 2020. I support a mentally vulnerable tnt who in 2018 became unable to manage his life, or his affairs. He is a long- term tnt who now suffers from a number of physical & MH conditions. I'm his named Advocate.

I moved him from one of my HMO's [prior to sale] to a smaller single-let property, more suited to his needs & limited budget. He is in receipt of UC & Council Tax discount. Because of 9 medical health conditions he was, after DWP assessments declared 'unfit for work'. He can't claim other Benefits despite my efforts because now he isn't capable of processing new information & on most days of a week, doesn't have mental capacity nor physical energy. He could easily end up destitute because of the total failure of the system to help these invisible young men who because of illness, can't help themselves.
My tnt transferred from one address to the next address last Jan 2020, no problems with his UC continuance. I duly notified the Council of the change of address. In March 2020 I began getting demands for CT for the tnts new address. So I re-informed the CT dept using the on-line facility which obviously had failed. Then more demands for CT arrived, my messages, letters & phone calls had NO impact I was still chased for the CT by letter & text which continues.
Last Nov 2020 I contacted HMRC about a £3.5K penalty levied for non return of Self-Assessment laid against my tnt. The penalties were for recent years when my tnt had been hospitalised for long periods, then been in receipt of Sickness Benefit, then suffered a complete mental health breakdown. Prior to those years he'd been an IT professional in an executive position,,,& always PAYE. No way was he liable to complete a Self- Assessment for HMRC. Jan 2020 I lodged on his behalf an appeal to try to get the erroneous penalties cancelled because they were unfounded & seemingly invented. That appeal is still live & unresolved because of the inability of HMRC to acknowledge its initial admin error which from a £300 fine for non- submission of a self assessment form [for a self employed person], has had more penalties added annually to reach the £3.5K. I do realise a debt has to be proved before Court action....the stress this penalty & regular demands on the tnt is causing, is cruel indeed. That's another story & secondary to my request today.

This request is about another fine mess of a mix-up in admin processes. On June 10th I finally discovered that I as LL was being chased for CT because the tnt no longer resided at said address, had moved out of that area last November, so wasn't entitled to CT relief, nor single persons discount. WHAT!
This info had come to them [ct officer claimed] via the ATLAS data collation system which was inviolate, a system used by DWP & HMRC. On 10th June I was informed I must get HMRC to inform CT office of the admin error . This was alarming because my tnts UC had not ceased but had transferred from his previous address. It was the CT discounts that had been cancelled & the CT were trying to transfer the blame elsewhere.

Today I managed to speak with HMRC who denied their involvement in raising an ATLAS form & sending it to the council tax dept. Plus their records show my tnt being at one address for several years, then changing to another address in Jan 2020. Their records did NOT show the tnt moving out of the area so why would they notify the CT dept that had happened back in Nov 2020, as claimed by the CT officer. I smelt a rat. Especially when the CT dept had sent a CT invoice to my tnt in MAY 2021. Worryingly they were trying to claw back CT from the LL AND from the tnt.

Today HMRC pulled my complaint about the erroneously applied sanctions & confirmed my tnt had always been PAYE, so not liable to complete self assessment forms. Apparently that mistake will now be rectified. The operative also promised to write to my tnt to confirm the current address held on file. I can send that to the CT officr,,for all the good it will do! The operative was mystified as to how the admin error had occurred because the CT dept could easily check the tnts current address held by HMRC.

I wondered if other LL's had run into the ATLAS data sharing system & had tnts disadvantaged by false info recorded on the data base that caused far reaching financial implications. I also wondered if Bill Irving had a view on how to register a complaint when several agencies seem to be involved & used the same incorrect data?
What a waste of tax payers money. A data system is only reliable if the correct info is recorded

I did ask the HMRC operative what to do if the CT dept refused the evidence supplied. The answer was...thats a question for the CT office,not for ourselves. The complaint procedure can be triggered one month after a decision is made to cancel the CT discount. That should have happened in Dec 2020, yet my tnt wasn't informed of this decision....I only discovered it 10th June from the CT office They claimed their action was a result of receiving an ATLAS notification from HMRC. Today that was denied

How many tnts lose their homes, end up destitute because of systematic failures of the very organisations that are supposed to be reliable & trustworthy. I hate injustice & feel that this very ill man has been ill- served & disadvantaged beyond belief.
He could have been evicted by Bailiffs, totally helpless & ended up in an alleyway with few belongings. Many LL's go above & beyond to be a voice or an advocate for those tnts who can't speak for themselves. This tnt is often comatose for 14-18 hours a day due to a brain injury. He failed PIPS as so many deserving souls do.

The government could reduce homelessness by ensuring those with MH conditions, don't end up on a park bench because the System has failed them.
Thanks for listening to this wealth of frustration & veiled anger at injustice.

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