council claim we are lving together when we are not

djhalfbrow · 2 July 2005 at 8:02PM

Hi All

Looking for some help and advice, My girlfriend has 2 children and lives in a council house and is claiming benefits, A beneifirs officer turned up this week asking questions about me and are now trying to decide if we live together or not,

I myself own my own house and have 2 children, I pay my own bills and council tax, I stay over my girlfriends house 3 times a week and she comes over my every other weekend, I do not assist in paying any bills other than when we all go out together. I keep some wash things and a few items of clothing there for when i am visiting, but other than this nothing here is mine.

We are obviuosly concerend that if they claim we are living together that this will affect her benefits. I myself cannot see how we can be classed as living together as I own my own house and pay my own bills and visa vera.

Any advise would be of great on where we stand and if there is any chance they can class us as living together.

Phonix · 2 July 2005 at 8:17PM

Yep that is utterly ridiculous of the council.

I see they continue to waste tax payers money by that petty mentality. What a waste of time and council resources.

Ted_Hutchinson · 2 July 2005 at 8:21PM

How the Decision Maker will decide if you are living together as husband and wife (LTAHAW) is set out at HB GUIDANCE and further guidance in “Annex A”

The points for you to show are the existence of another address at which you keep your clothes food and use for post etc and the separatness of your financial arrangements.

daveboy · 2 July 2005 at 8:27PM

I'd read your post as deliberately attempting to get round the system.

My understanding is that if you spend more than 50% of the week there, they can do something.

3 nights out of 7 to me tells me you know it and are angry that you've been picked up on it.

I think it's correct of the council as many people defraud the system this way.

Phonix · 2 July 2005 at 8:59PM

I think it's correct of the council

I obviously disagree.

Just because he chooses to visit someone a couple of times a week doesn't change the fact that he's 'living' in his own house.

If I decide to sleep on a park bench three nights a week, I'll still 'live' in my house.

They're stupid rules.

Scenario - they decide that he has been living with her, they remove some of her benefits? Where's their justification in that exactly?

So she now needs less benefits because there is 'supposedly' someone living with her.... and the fact she was claim benefits whilst someone was 'supposedly' living with her means she is now in debt?

Does she get benefits for washing the dishes?

daveboy · 2 July 2005 at 9:06PM

They are there to protect the tax-payer and can only seen to be stupid by those people who want to find a way around them.

I'll have to look up the meaning of 'visa vera'.

Too many people like it their own way and I'm pleased to see something is being done. They have a right to at least investigate the matter.

daveboy · 2 July 2005 at 9:08PM

If they remove some benefits that's tough as you should always inform them about a change in circumstances.

The trick is not to end up on your own with two kids, being funded by the DSS (or DWP or whatever it is now) to live and eat, but that's another matter.

bealzibub · 2 July 2005 at 9:16PM

daveboy wrote:

The trick is not to end up on your own with two kids, being funded by the DSS (or DWP or whatever it is now) to live and eat, but that's another matter.

Yeah right. Of course. Good choice of words....'the trick is'......

Some of us have lost our partners because of illness and death. It wasn't a lifestyle choice.

Squidgy · 2 July 2005 at 9:42PM

Come on dave. Get off your horse.

Don't you think if they wanted to live together they would? It would surely be cheaper than having to pay two lots of bills, even with her benefits. Although saying that they would obviously require a much bigger house to live together as they would have four children between them, surely you wouldn't want them to do this and get into debt?

jellyhead · 2 July 2005 at 10:51PM

daveboy wrote:

The trick is not to end up on your own with two kids, being funded by the DSS (or DWP or whatever it is now) to live and eat, but that's another matter.

there's a trick for avoiding that? please do tell ...

silverbirch_3 · 3 July 2005 at 12:21AM

when i first starting seeing my husband i had the fraud investigators on my doorstep saying they were investigating (annoymous)claims that i had a live in partner. I denied this as it wasn't true to which they replied they knew it was true as they had seen his car parked outside every night. My partner owned the flat underneath me so obviously his car was going to be outside. When i told them this the woman investigator stated that as he lived so close that was the same as living together so i should come off benefit!! WHAT!! He had his own mortgage, bills etc and i had mine and we had only been dating 2 weeks at this point. So according to them any man I dated a couple of times instantly became responsible for supporting me and my 2 babies. unbelievable.

Just always tell them the truth and make sure you don't let them walk all over you.

council claim we are lving together when we are not

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