Single Mum Incapacity Benefit

emmaem

Hi all,

I wonder if anyone can give me some advice?

My best friend is on Incapacity Benefit and has been for 6 or 7 years. She had a health issue about 8 years ago and as a result has a traceostomy which means she cannot work, although she would love to. The only way she would be able to is if she has two operations, but she is overweight and doctors will not operate unless she loses another 4 stone. She has lost 3 stone already and has always been overweight so she is doing well.

I am sure she doesn't get the benefits she is entitled to and about a year and a half ago they said she was getting too much benefit and maintenance payments and would have to pay a proportion of her rent and council tax. They backdated the council tax meaning she owed them over £500!

Her current income is as follows:

£101 per week incapacity
£32 a week tax credits
£30 a week maintanence (which is now not paid she will be informing them next week)
£18.05 Child Benefit (which I understand can not be used to asses her)

Total: 181.05

From this she has to pay £36 a week rent and £11 council tax (£47)

then any other utilities i.e. water rates, tv licence, telephone bills, electricity etc.

As well as food and clothing and social fund

She is treated with contempt when she phones the local authority and they don't seem to care or understand that she would rather not be in the position she is currently in.

As a result she fell behind with the council tax repayments (of which they wanted £25 a month) she asked would they deduct it from her benefits and they said they could not ( I am sure this is not the case). Now she has a bailiff threatening her and he is coming next friday to remove her goods (of which she has practically nothing anyway). I am sure the council got it wrong when they backdated initially but to get them to concede in under a week is going to be impossible.

Can anyone help or advice please? I am so worried about her.

Thanks

stazi

The Council are correct in saying that Council Tax cannot be deducted from her IB.

lil_me

Those figures do sound about right for a single mother of one child, about £100 week after rent and council tax (she of course had the maintainance as a bonus previously). A call to Welfare Rights (you will find your local one on the council website) would be able to confirm this. They may advise contacting CAB for advice in negotiating CT repayment but usually they want repayment before the end of the tax year.

GlasweJen

does your friend need help with cooking, bathing, toileting etc? Or does she have difficulty walking short distances or need supervision when she's out? Does she need care at night? If yes then she may be entitled to Disabled Living Allowance, if not then the above looks correct.

my_two_cents

The council has a legal obligation to your friend as she is deemed vulnerable by reason of being a single parent and because of her ill-health. You are also repaying a social loan fund so they need to reduce the amount they are demanding from you.

You can also call the Magistrate court to request for a means test hearing because the housing benefit overpayment brigade would soon be along too, to make their own demands.

Most importantly, book an appointment with your MP asap and keep on paying the council what you can afford.

If you can prove that you notified the council of the fact that you were in receipt of maintenance, and they failed to act on it on time, then this is deemed to be an administrative error and official error and the money is not recoverable from you. And lastly, if you have any dispute with the charges, the council does not have the right to pass the debt onto the bailiff.

If you have not signed a "walking possession order", don't let the bailiff into your property, If you have, keep on paying the council a reasonable amount, once again, £25 a month is too much if you are paying another social fund debt.