Use of a council tax credit to pay a HB overpayment

Happy Wednesday folks…

I currently have a couple of cases where a client has a credit on their Council Tax account (due to the application of discounts) and wants a refund. However, the LA have decided that they will use the credit instead to offset against a HB overpayment, even when there is already an arrangement in place to pay it off. To appropriate someone’s council tax payments to pay off another debt to the LA seems wrong in principle to me but I wondered if anyone could point me to the legislation that prevents council tax payments being used in this way?

Thanks.

The Council tax administration regs - 31.4 state that where an account is in credit the ONLY options available are 1) refund to the customer or 2) post to a different account where the charge payer is also liable ( so if the move house, the balance can be moved to the account at the new address)
Anything else requires the customers permission.  ( so they can ask, do you mind iff we use this credit to reduce this debt on a different department, but theres no automatic right to do that and if the customer refuses and wants the money back, then they should refund it pronto!)
Ctax credits are not a prescribed method of recovery for HB underpayments

II’d quote the Ctax regs at them and ask them which Ctax and HB regs they are using tpo permit them to use e a ctax credit to recover a HB overpayment without the customers express permission.
.  The LA should refund the credit on the Ctax account if the customer requests it.

Thanks Prisca, that’s really useful and just what I was looking for.
Instinctively I knew it was wrong but just needed to find the regs that said so.

I can echo Prisca’s suggestion to ask about the regs.

Every time I have done that the attempt has been immediately dropped.

Anyone would think it was just something they try in the hope no-one is looking!