You have got to be kidding. FFS

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Arget
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You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by Arget »

Widow stripped of her $50,000 life savings for putting away too much of her pension
An 86-year-old widow has had her $50,000 life savings taken away by her local council because she was tucking away too much of her weekly pension.

An 86-year-old widow has been left “penniless” after her local council took away her $50,000 life savings — because she had been tucking away too much of her pension.

UK woman Mary Morley had saved a little of her £149.54 ($264.70) state pension every week since retiring at 65 in 1998 because she did not want to burden her family, The Express reported.

But the former chambermaid had been receiving a means-tested housing benefit that was prohibited for pensioners with more than £16,000 ($28,320) in savings. According to her son David, his mother’s savings crossed this threshold some time in 2010 without her even knowing.

Last year, after being fed information from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Huntingdonshire District Council began dragging her through the courts to claw back £23,000 ($40,710) in overpaid benefits.

With the loss of the benefit for that year as well, the total hit to Ms Morley was £28,000 ($49,560), virtually her entire nest egg of £32,000 ($56,640). She is now also being dragged through the courts over unpaid council tax — but she has no money to pay because the council has confiscated her savings.

“My mum has scrimped and saved all her life,” Mr Morley told The Express. “Had my mother burned £50 a month for 20 years, rather than saving it, she would, quite literally, have been far better off.

“At the age of 86, she has been left penniless and indebted. She was plunged into depression overnight and has lost the independence that she has guarded so fiercely until now. The process by which this is done is unbelievably callous. People in their 80s and 90s, probably alone and with health problems, are targeted.

“It’s happening to these people because, in spite of their tiny pension, they have managed to save a little week after week. But by doing so, they have crossed the savings limit for claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, most likely without even realising.”

A freedom of information request filed by Mr Morley revealed the Huntingdonshire District Council had tracked down 27 people over the past five years whose savings were allegedly too high.


A council spokeswoman told The Express Mrs Morley’s case was brought to its attention “by a DWP investigation which highlighted financial irregularities and, therefore, overpaid benefits”.

“Whilst we understand and sympathise with the stressful and delicate nature of Mrs Morley’s situation, we must continue our statutory duty to recover funds overpaid in order to correctly allocate public funds to people who meet the strict eligibility requirements,” she said.

“The distribution of benefit money is governed by a stringent set of regulations which ensures that funding can be received by those who most require support. The regulations are set out by the Government, and all local authorities must operate by these rules in order to appropriately utilise public funds within our support system.”

What a load of shit.
davegorman
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by davegorman »

So she’s been receiving means tested benefits (approx £212 PM, on top of her pension) she wasn’t entitled to from 2010, and wasn’t paying council tax (they don’t say why), and now she’s got to pay it back?

So the money she “saved” wasn’t actually hers in the first place?

Ignorance of the rules is no defence.
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by Phnom Poon »

davegorman wrote: Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:35 pm Ignorance of the rules is no defence.
these kinds of story serve to highlight how shit the rules are

.

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John Bingham
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by John Bingham »

davegorman wrote: Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:35 pm So she’s been receiving means tested benefits (approx £212 PM, on top of her pension) she wasn’t entitled to from 2010, and wasn’t paying council tax (they don’t say why), and now she’s got to pay it back?

So the money she “saved” wasn’t actually hers in the first place?

Ignorance of the rules is no defence.
She was entitled to that pension until they noticed she had saved so much of it, and there isn't enough information but I imagine she only recently stopped paying council tax after having those savings taken away.
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davegorman
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by davegorman »

John Bingham wrote: Thu Jul 18, 2019 6:47 pm
davegorman wrote: Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:35 pm So she’s been receiving means tested benefits (approx £212 PM, on top of her pension) she wasn’t entitled to from 2010, and wasn’t paying council tax (they don’t say why), and now she’s got to pay it back?

So the money she “saved” wasn’t actually hers in the first place?

Ignorance of the rules is no defence.
She was entitled to that pension until they noticed she had saved so much of it, and there isn't enough information but I imagine she only recently stopped paying council tax after having those savings taken away.
Nothing to do with pension.
“But the former chambermaid had been receiving a means-tested housing benefit”
Which is what they are taking back not her pension.
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Clutch Cargo
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by Clutch Cargo »

At the opposite end of the scale...back in OZ

'It's ridiculous - I'm wealthy': Multi-millionaire businessman Dick Smith demands the Australian Tax Office take back the $500,000 it gave him

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... edits.html
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by Nixon »

davegorman wrote: Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:35 pm So she’s been receiving means tested benefits (approx £212 PM, on top of her pension) she wasn’t entitled to from 2010, and wasn’t paying council tax (they don’t say why), and now she’s got to pay it back?

So the money she “saved” wasn’t actually hers in the first place?
Have to agree. She collected benefits and saved it, and now she has to pay the money she shouldn’t have received back to the government. She saved everything she wasn’t entitled too so it’s not really a problem..

Kind of like a bank error receiving $50000 that aren’t yours, saving it and then pay it back when the bank realize it was en error..
davegorman
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by davegorman »

I once received housing benefit but back then it was paid directly to my landlord. I left that house after getting a job.
12 months later get a letter saying I owe £££££. (Landlord had moved on)

My fault I didn’t cancel the order as it was my responsibility. Fair cop.

Feel sorry for her but there’s no age limit to taking responsibility for your life.
Also. If she had that amount of cash a financial advisor should have been appointed by her or her family.
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by Ravensnest »

to leave her penniless and in debt is a shitty thing to do to an 86yo. Yes, she F'd up but put a lean on her property or stop her monthly payments. The high amount of stress this has added to her life certainly isn't going to help her health.
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Re: You have got to be kidding. FFS

Post by cptrelentless »

Ravensnest wrote: Thu Jul 18, 2019 9:49 pm to leave her penniless and in debt is a shitty thing to do to an 86yo. Yes, she F'd up but put a lean on her property or stop her monthly payments. The high amount of stress this has added to her life certainly isn't going to help her health.
She rents, it's not her property, hence the housing benefit. The state was paying her rent. And there's no such thing as a lien in the UK, if all you have is a house and you get a CCJ then they sell your house and give you any change left. However her being made homeless would entitle her to social housing.
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