It was in November 2013 that Higher Broughton's Mark Preston was put on a three month sanction by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for missing an appointment and all welfare payments were frozen.
Mark disputed the sanction and tried to take the DWP to the County Court Money Claim Centre - but the Court refused to process the claim six times, stating 'incomplete information' on the remission-fee form, he says. That was the first of a whole catalogue of issues and cock-ups that led to Mark being hounded by Salford Council and Salix Homes, which eventually led to possession orders and eviction from his home.
In May 2014, Salford City Council sent Mark a Change of Circumstances form stating it had suspended all Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Council Tax Reductions, as his Job Seekers Allowance, reinstated in March, had now ended and proof of income was required. In June, Salford Council acknowledged receipt of the information (see photo) showing that he was still unemployed...but later in the month wrote to Mark again, this time stating "I do not appear to have received this information and your claim has now been ended".
In August, Salix Homes, under Salford City Council control at the time, went to the Civil Justice Court to get repossession of Mark's property based upon his failure to return the Change of Circumstances details.
"The court was made aware at the hearing that the Council had contradicted itself with the change of circumstances information but still decided, surprisingly, to rule in favour of the housing agency and granted the eviction order" says Mark.
Then, in September, Salford Council took him to the Magistrates Court to re-claim Council Tax it stated it was owed, even though, he says, the Council had the Change of Circumstances proof that he was still unemployed... "The grounds were that I was employed, when the fact was I wasn't employed, I was just under a sanction from DWP" says Mark "In fact, I was legally entitled at that point to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction because the sanction from November had expired after three months."
In October, Mark's property was seized by bailiffs and he was evicted from his Salix property. During all this time, he was surviving from his last payment of £300 from the previous February and living on what he calls a `student diet' of super noodles and reduced price food from supermarkets.
What makes Mark's story incredible is that Salford Council supposedly prides itself on helping its most vulnerable citizens, while the latest issue of Salix Homes magazine, Limelight, boasts how its Money Advice Officers helped an Islington man "who was at risk of eviction" with claiming `housing benefits' and `discretionary housing payments'. What happened with Mark? Neither Salix Homes nor Salford Council would comment on the case.
Mark is still unemployed and is now back on Job Seekers Allowance but is trying to reclaim payments that he insists he was entitled to... "I've contacted the Council but have had no apology or compensation or anything" he says "It's not just the compensation I'm after; it's the fact that they brought a false claim to a court, and the court - even when provided proof they weren't being truthful - ruled in their favour. I think they need investigating.
"I want to set the record straight but I think there is a wider story here" he adds "I think that, because of austerity and budget problems, instead of taking a pay cut or being accountable themselves, they are having a go at local people and using any opportunity to get a local person to take the can for it."
Meanwhile, a 38 Degrees petition to Stop Benefit Sanctions is currently up to almost 30,000 signatures (see here). It states...
"Absolute poverty, as in having no money at all, is all-encompassing, meaning it is almost impossible to think about anything else and it impacts on every area of life. Relationships with family and friends fracture, self-esteem is demolished, emotions range from stark terror to utter despair. Poverty removes the freedom to act rationally and assess situations in the long term and so creates its own vicious trap...to be poor, and unable to find a job, is now to face the full force of state inflicted economic terrorism."
See also previous Salford Star articles...
* Council bullies resident for Council Tax he doesn't owe - click here
* Over 10% of Salford claimants sanctioned - click here
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