Oh, !!!!!! Please help!

mumoftwins

My ex husband has just told me that he has rung the CSA to tell them that he has been made redundant.

I rang the CSA and they told me that although he will receiving a good redundancy package they do not take this into account!

So I will need to claim Income Support - but I just want to know when to apply for this as part of his redundancy would be a 3 month notice period (he was a Director). A friend of mine tells that IS takes about 10 weeks to come through, I can't wait 10 weeks as I need to pay the rent, utilities etc and can't do that on CTC and CB.

What should I do?

MinBlack

I would contact the jobcentre and the housing benefit department immediately and find out from them what you need to do. Even if they say that you can't claim for x weeks I would request claim forms and also a complete list of all evidence that you need to provide. Most claims are delayed due to incomplete claim forms and not providing supporting evidence which then has to be written out for. If they have everything then the first person it gets to should be able to get it into payment for you.

Once the claim forms are completed and you are ready to claim I would visit the office in person and see if anyone is able to check the details are correct and the evidence is all there.

Welfare Rights can also provide detailed guidance based on your exact circumstances.

Good luck.

mumoftwins

Thanks Min - I am so worried about this!

MinBlack

Don't stress too much it does not help at all! Though I can imagine after everything that you have been through that is easier said than done.

Speak to your council and the jobcentre and find out if you can submit a form ahead of time, they may allow this if you provide letters from the CSA and from his company re: redundancy. I'm sure my council allowed you to submit a claim for housing benefit prior to the claim starting.

Like I said make sure you have all evidence, proof of all income, all your bank statements (ones printed from the internet are normally allowed), several proofs of identity, national insurance number, child benefit letters etc. The more the better.

The council that I used to work for and some others I have heard of do a sort of guarantee that if you provide a correctly completed claim form and all the evidence needed straight away they guarantee to have your claim set up in 7 days. Find out if this is the case.

When claiming Income Support in theory they submit an HB claim for you at the same time, provided you have requested this on the form of course. My advice is don't rely on this to happen as there are sometimes delays or they don't provide all the evidence that HB need. Do you own first if they get both claim forms in time it won't do you any harm but an hours dreary form filling can save you more stress in the long run.

Remember that benefits are normally paid in arrears, this is one area that may affect you. If this is going to leave you with a gap take advice on Crisis Loans to cover the interim now. Preperation is key.

Remember that the council and jobcentre offices are there to help you whether they give that impression or not. If you are unsure ask again and get any advice in writing.

If I can help in anyway or offer advice please drop me a PM, I would be happy to help.

Elle00

It's such a worrying time but if you keep a level head and follow Min's advice you'll get sorted. You can always get a crisis loan to cover your basics while you're waiting for your claims to be sorted. IS didn't take ten weeks when I initially replied btw, it was about two weeks.

How old are your kids? There might be some other helpful suggestions people know of to help you manage.

SuziQ

My IS came through in just over 2 weeks,child tax credits were also very quick to change my circumstances ,the only 'slow' thing was council tax benefit,as I had to supply details of all the other awards before they would calculate if I was entitled-so I notified CTC and IS mid april,payments from those early May,ctb took until mid June!

mumoftwins

Hi all,

Thank you so much for speedy replies.

The twins are 11 soon to be 12 in September.

I have left a message for my ex asking him for copies of everything to do with his redundancy in particular his notice period (I think it is 3 months) and have asked him to bring it with him on Saturday when he comes for the twins. Whether he will or not I don't know - I doubt he will want me to see how he has got in payoff - I know it is likely to be a minimum of £35,000.

MinBlack

If he wont provide a letter showing how much he has been paid off then ask him to just get an letter from his employer saying he will be redundant from X date, no payoff details need to be there. That combined with a letter from the CSA saying that any payoff won't be taken into account is all you need.

Oh, remember the benefits require original documents only, these are returned to you, so it is probably best to ask him to request original letters that you can keep. Again it saves you the stress if they ask for these down the line.

Re: Council Tax and HB, if you have provided sufficient proof of CSA ending etc then they can process your claim before your IS etc is sorted, they simply process based on a Nil income (which is what you've got prior to IS) and then adjust when your IS is awarded. Stick to your guns if they say otherwise.

mumoftwins

Oh God, this is all so confusing! I had my appt with my CMHT Dr and said that I was starting to feel better - I'm not so sure now

MinBlack

Hey you, don't get yourself in a tizz over this, between you and all the people who are here for you it will be fine. I know you have been through a very tough time that would get on top of anyone, this must feel like the straw on your back. This will be very straightforward, just a bit of prep is all thats needed to ensure it goes very smoothly and does not add to your stress.

I'm sending you a PM with my details. We can go through the details together and sort you out a list and an action plan to keep you in control. Benefits are a daunting prospect when you have never been through the mill with them before but when you know what you are doing its not that tough.

Chin up lady!

xx

mumoftwins

MinBlack wrote: »

Hey you, don't get yourself in a tizz over this, between you and all the people who are here for you it will be fine. I know you have been through a very tough time that would get on top of anyone, this must feel like the straw on your back. This will be very straightforward, just a bit of prep is all thats needed to ensure it goes very smoothly and does not add to your stress.

I'm sending you a PM with my details. We can go through the details together and sort you out a list and an action plan to keep you in control. Benefits are a daunting prospect when you have never been through the mill with them before but when you know what you are doing its not that tough.

Chin up lady!

xx

Hi Min,

Thank for taking the time to help me - you are so kind as are most people on MSE - I am so glad I found this forum :A