Margaret W: I think you have misunderstood my posts. My Dad has been awarded AA & the Council Tax disregard. I am going to complain about the wording in the letter from the council. (see my post above Grannie G's.)
Attendance Allowance should I appeal?
- Thread starter Chrissyan
- Start date
When my husband first applied for AA he was turned down, though we had a county coucellor friend who filled out the form for him, she said don't just accept it, keep trying, and eventually a Dr. was sent out to see us, and he could see straight away that he should get it, sent in a report filled out formsetc etc and Rupert got it straight away. this was the lower amount. Now of course he's getting the full amount.
I hope your application was finally successful sue 38. I can't believe your Dad got the obnoxious letter & not the disregard.
Nothing else from the council as yet, no refund or anything. The bill is paid by DD so I will wait to see if a payment goes out on it's due date tomorrow.
I did do my letter to my MP on Sunday, reviewed & edited by my other half, who went to a posh public school. He told me it was fine apart from a few missing commas & then spent ages re-writing it. I am not expecting a lot, but feel better for sending it first class yesterday. I gave this site a mention maybe she will look in, but I won't hold my breath.
Showed the letter to the friend & to my partners mum they were both appalled.
I will find the time to write to the Daily Mail too.
Nothing else from the council as yet, no refund or anything. The bill is paid by DD so I will wait to see if a payment goes out on it's due date tomorrow.
I did do my letter to my MP on Sunday, reviewed & edited by my other half, who went to a posh public school.
He told me it was fine apart from a few missing commas & then spent ages re-writing it. I am not expecting a lot, but feel better for sending it first class yesterday. I gave this site a mention maybe she will look in, but I won't hold my breath.Showed the letter to the friend & to my partners mum they were both appalled.
I will find the time to write to the Daily Mail too.
It does seem horribly insensitive.
On the face of it, I guess they are legally obliged to inform whoever pays the Council Tax of a change in the Council Tax bills, and why it has changed. The difficulty is that in many of these cases, the person who is being exempted is also on the records as the person responsible for paying the tax.
However, what there should be, is a mechanism to put on the application that the person in whose name you are applying should not be informed ... obviously, reasons would need to be given.
This sort of thing is quite common. For example, when applying for Attendance Allowance for someone else, there is a specific section where you can say that you are applying for someone without their knowledge and saying why.
More so, if you apply for someone who is terminally ill, then they will be told they have been granted AA, but won;t be told why.
We have the same situation: my father has dementia, but is also the householder named as responsible for council tax. But as we are a household of three, a disregard would gain us nothing anyway.
On the face of it, I guess they are legally obliged to inform whoever pays the Council Tax of a change in the Council Tax bills, and why it has changed. The difficulty is that in many of these cases, the person who is being exempted is also on the records as the person responsible for paying the tax.
However, what there should be, is a mechanism to put on the application that the person in whose name you are applying should not be informed ... obviously, reasons would need to be given.
This sort of thing is quite common. For example, when applying for Attendance Allowance for someone else, there is a specific section where you can say that you are applying for someone without their knowledge and saying why.
More so, if you apply for someone who is terminally ill, then they will be told they have been granted AA, but won;t be told why.
We have the same situation: my father has dementia, but is also the householder named as responsible for council tax. But as we are a household of three, a disregard would gain us nothing anyway.
we were lucky and got higher rate first time
I now realise how lucky we were to get the higher rate for mum having read this thread. A friend of mine, a care worker in a home for people with AZ helped me fill in the form as it was a nightmare- can see why people sometimes don't apply, mum then signed it along with a load of other paperwork that needed dealing with on the day. Mum never actually asked to read it so we just put it in the envelope and posted it- I do hope that people who are turned down for this appeal as since mum has had it we have been able to increase her quality of life.
Julie xx
I now realise how lucky we were to get the higher rate for mum having read this thread. A friend of mine, a care worker in a home for people with AZ helped me fill in the form as it was a nightmare- can see why people sometimes don't apply, mum then signed it along with a load of other paperwork that needed dealing with on the day. Mum never actually asked to read it so we just put it in the envelope and posted it- I do hope that people who are turned down for this appeal as since mum has had it we have been able to increase her quality of life.
Julie xx
attendance allowance
you should definitely appeal. My sister got the higher rate even when living alone. social services helped her fill in the form and obviously did it well. That was 4 years ago and now sadly she is in a home. Don't give up.
Hamish
you should definitely appeal. My sister got the higher rate even when living alone. social services helped her fill in the form and obviously did it well. That was 4 years ago and now sadly she is in a home. Don't give up.
Hamish
If that post is for me I did Hamish, & it was successfulon 10/05/08. (It's a few pages back now) Just busy now writing letters of complaint about that unpleasant letter re the Council Tax disregard. Most people probably don't complain about things like that because they are so exhausted from looking after their loved ones & in the grand scale of things they have so many other battles to fight.
Sorry Chrissyan, got a bit confused as so many people have posted here to support you and add their own queries.
Yes, council letters are insensitive and inappropriate. After my dad died (no council tax cos he had terminal cancer), my mum got a bill telling her that she should now pay full council tax (correct), but very blunt. Two months later she got a letter from the council expressing their sorrow at her death!
That prompted a very bitter letter to the Chief Executive from myself, with a copy to my MP and local councillor. I hope you ae more successful with your MP and local councillor than I was - no reply from either. I even sent a copy to each a fornight later via recorded delivery, and still no reply. That is 4 years ago.
YOu have to fight your own corner. With help from people on this site I hope.
Love
Margaret
Basically, nobody cares.
Yes, council letters are insensitive and inappropriate. After my dad died (no council tax cos he had terminal cancer), my mum got a bill telling her that she should now pay full council tax (correct), but very blunt. Two months later she got a letter from the council expressing their sorrow at her death!
That prompted a very bitter letter to the Chief Executive from myself, with a copy to my MP and local councillor. I hope you ae more successful with your MP and local councillor than I was - no reply from either. I even sent a copy to each a fornight later via recorded delivery, and still no reply. That is 4 years ago.
YOu have to fight your own corner. With help from people on this site I hope.
Love
Margaret
Basically, nobody cares.
Margaret W: So many posts, so many people, no problem.
I find it absolutely shocking that you got no reply at all, I think you are right no body cares.
On a lighter note (let's face it we need some of them on here) our MP actually lived just around the corner, on the same road, as my Dad until fairly recently & is acquainted with him. You know that bit where people with dementia lose their inhibitions somewhat? Well a couple of years ago my Dad walked past her house with his dog & our MP was in the garden, he told her that he had seen her through her bedroom window in her underwear a few days previously.
My Dad used to be such a shy man, not sure if that will go against us or not.
I find it absolutely shocking that you got no reply at all, I think you are right no body cares.
On a lighter note (let's face it we need some of them on here
) our MP actually lived just around the corner, on the same road, as my Dad until fairly recently & is acquainted with him. You know that bit where people with dementia lose their inhibitions somewhat? Well a couple of years ago my Dad walked past her house with his dog & our MP was in the garden, he told her that he had seen her through her bedroom window in her underwear a few days previously.My Dad used to be such a shy man, not sure if that will go against us or not.
Letter from the House of Commons
I received a reply today from my MP regarding my complaint about that dreadful Council Tax disregard letter.
Result!
(I hope.) Perhaps if a few more people send copies of this unpleasant missive to their MP's, it might actually be re-worded.
Today's letter was preceded by a phone call from a counsellor who told me that the Dept of Finance & Procurement assured him that they had procedures in place to prevent these letters going out to the claimants and ours was a one off mistake. Lying barstewards. I told him the posters on this forum say different.
I notice the grammar is not that great in the letter & it is interesting to see that she referred to my father's condition as Alzheimer's when I told her he had vascular dementia.
I received a reply today from my MP regarding my complaint about that dreadful Council Tax disregard letter.
Result!
Today's letter was preceded by a phone call from a counsellor who told me that the Dept of Finance & Procurement assured him that they had procedures in place to prevent these letters going out to the claimants and ours was a one off mistake. Lying barstewards.
I told him the posters on this forum say different.I notice the grammar is not that great in the letter & it is interesting to see that she referred to my father's condition as Alzheimer's when I told her he had vascular dementia.
AA Aplication
Hi
When I first applied for my Nan it got turned down for the same reason. I gave it a couple of months and tried again, this time giving more specific details, going into everything she has to support her including the raised loo seat! I then just envisaged a really bad day and went from there and got her GP to fill in his section - actually, getting a Professional to fill in that bit really does substantiate the claim. Anyway no probs, she got it!
Dare i say it and i do say it to people, you really do need to exaggerate a little and think of a really bad day.
Good luck
Hi
When I first applied for my Nan it got turned down for the same reason. I gave it a couple of months and tried again, this time giving more specific details, going into everything she has to support her including the raised loo seat! I then just envisaged a really bad day and went from there and got her GP to fill in his section - actually, getting a Professional to fill in that bit really does substantiate the claim. Anyway no probs, she got it!
Dare i say it and i do say it to people, you really do need to exaggerate a little and think of a really bad day.
Good luck
Maybe I should have started a new thread about the insulting Council Tax disregard letter, must be the heading of this thread. I can't get people off the orginal topic of Attendance Allowance. Not normally a problem on forums.
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Disregard letter
What is this ??
Please for us speak in plain english
And not the council/goverment gobbdly gook I do not mean you
Barb & Ron XX
What is this ??
Please for us speak in plain english
And not the council/goverment gobbdly gook
I do not mean youBarb & Ron XX
Sorry lesmis... I don't understand your post.
I was hoping for some feedback from my scanned letter from the House of Commons I posted on here yesterday and if anyone thought anything would actually be done. Also if anyone else would write to their MP too regarding the council disregard letter. I might start a new thread for it when I get in from work.
I was hoping for some feedback from my scanned letter from the House of Commons I posted on here yesterday and if anyone thought anything would actually be done. Also if anyone else would write to their MP too regarding the council disregard letter. I might start a new thread for it when I get in from work.
Hi Chrissyann,
The first thing that struck me about the letter from the MP was the poor grammar/missing words. You obviously took more care over your letter than your MP. But hey, even a poor letter is better than nothing, and you have certainly caused a few waves. Result!
It has reminded me that we haven't heard from my Dad's council, so will chase up on Monday. Thanks for the reminder.
The first thing that struck me about the letter from the MP was the poor grammar/missing words. You obviously took more care over your letter than your MP. But hey, even a poor letter is better than nothing, and you have certainly caused a few waves. Result!
Oh dear. The battle to educate the ignorant goes on ...
It has reminded me that we haven't heard from my Dad's council, so will chase up on Monday. Thanks for the reminder.
Keep on a the b's Sue, your dad is entitled & lets hope it doesn't generate another unpleasant missive from them.
I checked my Dad's bank account & no money has been taken by them from the DD for the beginning of July. No sign of a rebate though. I daren't ring them to ask where it is since they have had a councillor contacting them regarding us.
It has been an exciting week, not everyday you get a phone call at work from a local councillor, followed by a letter from the House of Commons four days later, even if it does have poor grammar.
I started a new thread regarding this letter in the tea room in the end, as I thought it got a bit buried on this one. I couldn't believe no one was interested at all. I fully intend to keep at it, not many people get the chance as they are just too bogged down by the caring side of this illness. I have the time at the moment, until my dad gets worse, so will be on my one woman crusade.
I checked my Dad's bank account & no money has been taken by them from the DD for the beginning of July. No sign of a rebate though. I daren't ring them to ask where it is since they have had a councillor contacting them regarding us.
It has been an exciting week, not everyday you get a phone call at work from a local councillor, followed by a letter from the House of Commons four days later, even if it does have poor grammar.
I started a new thread regarding this letter in the tea room in the end, as I thought it got a bit buried on this one. I couldn't believe no one was interested at all. I fully intend to keep at it, not many people get the chance as they are just too bogged down by the caring side of this illness. I have the time at the moment, until my dad gets worse, so will be on my one woman crusade.
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Off work today & finally got around to phoning the council regarding the council tax rebate as it is nearly two months since his disregard letter which applied from 14th March 2008.
It had been credited to his account. Fat lot of good it was sitting there, what good is a credit when he will never pay it again? I would like to think it is because he has dementia they didn't like just send a cheque out willy nilly but am not so sure that was the reason. The cheque is in the post as they say. No problem there, my Dad doesn't hide money(yet) & still knows what a cheque is. He will ask me why he has got it & ask me to bank it.
It had been credited to his account. Fat lot of good it was sitting there, what good is a credit when he will never pay it again? I would like to think it is because he has dementia they didn't like just send a cheque out willy nilly but am not so sure that was the reason.
The cheque is in the post as they say. No problem there, my Dad doesn't hide money(yet) & still knows what a cheque is. He will ask me why he has got it & ask me to bank it.
Good one. I must remember that one next time I am paying my Council Tax, I shall tell the council I won't be sending them a cheque, but have credited it to their account!
I know of someone in the bad old days of the poll tax who had overpaid and couldn't get a refund from the council. Eventually he issued a Court summons, which they ignored, so he got judgment, which they ignored, so he sent the bailiffs into the Council offices, and they finally noticed!
We have still not heard from my Dad's council
It's time to chase them up Sue. I cannot see how your Dad will not qualify or why it is taking so long ours was very quick.
ours was very quick.
It's time to chase them up Sue. I cannot see how your Dad will not qualify or why it is taking so long
Had not had a chance to chase up Council Tax office, but this week they rang me, not my Dad
, to apologise for the fact that we had not heard from them, the reason being that they were waiting for a reply from the consultant about Dad's condition. They had written at the beginning of June, again at the beginning of July and nothing... Straight on to consultant, he is on holiday, secretary off sick, so spoke to chocolate teapot social worker who will send an email. Am not holding my breath... Fortunately for us money is the least of my parents' worries, but what about those who are struggling? It's just not good enough.
But thumbs up to the Council Tax office, who seem to be on the ball.
Will give the consultant a week before I send him one of my special letters.
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