Stopped Tax Credits

fardoe31

today i got the shock of my life.I am currently on unpaid extended materity leave and was due to go back to work june 06.I just had tax credits to live on and nothing else(except hubby who gets paid monthly and is on a low income).When suddenly no tax credits, i phoned them up and they said i had qualifed for this years tax credit and no more money.Twice i phoned up and even my husband.They said i wont get no more money until april.i said how i am surposed to feed 3 children on?fresh air?no answer.i went to the job centre, I cant claim nothing,so now i have to go back to work at the end of month but in the meantime i will have to live on child benefit and hope i get housing benefit.Does anyone know what i can do in the meantime?

Fran

Can you urgently get to your Citizens Advice Bureau? They will be able to tell you if this is correct and negotiate on your behalf, also if there's any benefits that you could be claiming.

carlih1

fardoe31 wrote:

today i got the shock of my life.I am currently on unpaid extended materity leave and was due to go back to work june 06.I just had tax credits to live on and nothing else(except hubby who gets paid monthly and is on a low income).When suddenly no tax credits, i phoned them up and they said i had qualifed for this years tax credit and no more money.Twice i phoned up and even my husband.They said i wont get no more money until april.i said how i am surposed to feed 3 children on?fresh air?no answer.i went to the job centre, I cant claim nothing,so now i have to go back to work at the end of month but in the meantime i will have to live on child benefit and hope i get housing benefit.Does anyone know what i can do in the meantime?

Hi

I don't know how much your hubby earns but this happened to me when i was living on my own with two children to support, on income support as my partner had left me with a small baby to care for.

I lived on £40.00 per week which was the income support i had until i learned that the tax credits cannot stop payment to put you in financial hardship.

For example the government give guidelines on how much every needs to live on. This is the national minimum you understand but a lot more than i was on, i went down to my local inland revenue tax office and told them about this, they started to make me payments called 'hardship payments to bring my income up to the national minimum, this may help you for a while, but keep on top of them because they pay you by giro and they come through the post sporadically, ask if you can pick them up weekly from you tax office, a pain i know but better than waiting at home.

BTW my tax credits restarted and they admitted fault saying that i didn't have to pay back the money they said they had overpaid me, but left me with £3000.00 debts to which they still havent got an answer to whether they are willing to provide compensation for.

Good luck and don't take no for an answer.

Carli

fardoe31

I got in touch with the tax office and they said they have over paid me by £1500 and they can't give me nothing.So i have to go back to work at the end of january.I have been to the social security and I cant claim nothing at all, even the job centre says i cant claim nothing.My husband gets paid monthly(£800) so i will have to live on my child benefit until then.Housing benefit i have applied for, i might not get the full amount, because my husband is working,aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!My husband has tried telling the housing association of our postion over the arrears but they dont seem to understanding?
Does anyone know if CAB WILL open after the new year?
with thanks
julie

Savvy_Sue

Are you actually in arrears now? Or just expecting to go into arrears because HB won't cover the full amount? Either way, I'd recommend paying SOMETHING each week rather than nothing at all, especially if you've been told you might not get the full amount of HB. You might also be entitled to claim Council Tax Benefit, through the council.

You say the Housing Association doesn't seem to understand about your arrears, but I'm not sure what you mean by this. They might 'understand' that you are in financial difficulties, but that doesn't stop them continuing to ask you for the rent. What are they actually saying to you? Are they taking court action? Have you asked them for support in finding out what else you might be entitled to claim? Or for their help in chasing the Housing Benefit claim? They should also be able to help you work out how much HB you might get, so that you can pay - or try to pay - the difference between that and the full rent. Huge arrears can build up when people are relying on getting the full amount of HB only then they don't, and it's not in the HA's interests for that to happen either.

There are other threads about Tax Credits problems and how to check whether they have actually overpaid you and appeal etc.

But CAB will re-open in the new year, although they might be very busy and when they re-open will vary from one place to another. If you have a local Welfare Rights advice centre or Law Centre they might be worth contacting, also Shelterare very good with housing problems.

newmum1

hi im currently in the same position as you on extended mat leave til may, i had lots of probs trying to claim but what i now claim is income support even though my partner is in full time employment on a good wage, tax credits, child ben i was at first told i was not ent to anything but appealed it and it was backdated try applying again, its worth a go, good luck let us know how you get on, also you should be able to get housing benefit and council tax benefit if applicable.

donnalove

if your hubbie is in full time employment and on a good wage how come you get income support?

fardoe31

I tried to claim income support and because my husband is working full time i can't claim that.I had a word with the housing association and I have paid £25 last week and £10 a week until I go back to work in a month.I will have to chase up about my claim for housing benefit.How do i go about appealing on the decision to stop my tax credits?Because i phoned the tax office and they say decision is final and i cant appeal.Good job i have child benefit!!