Benefit entitlement

joanneg_2

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help us.

I'm trying to find out what benefits a person in a situation would be entitled to (this person is my partners ex-wife). We feel she is feeding us a pack of lies but we have no way to find out the truth so any help would be great.

She is 38 and left her partner last august and now rents (through housing benefit I think). She has one child with my partner (15) and one child with her most recent ex partner (9).

My partner pays via the CSA and obviuosly she has requested a review. Her reasons are that the Jobcentre have told her she needs to find work to continue receiving her benefits but are cutting her benefits back so much she cannot afford her rent without more maintenance from us.

She is receiving maintenance from her 9 yr old's dad through a private arrangement and her 'employer' is also her current partner who has told us he is now paying her rent as well as her wages.

As advice on whether this is correct, what benefits she should be getting or not and should she be declaring the maintenance payments she is receiving from both dad's would be greatly appreciated as we don't have a clue about benefits.

Also she has told us her benefits stop this friday and she will be behind on her rent(we know that her partner is paying her rent so thats a lie) can we report her to the benefit fraud people if she is not receiving benefits anymore?

Thank you to anyone who can help ..... sorry if I've completely confused you all.

Caz3121

is your partner on CSA1 or CSA2, if 2 then her outgoings have nothing to do with it as it would be a straingt 15% of his net income.
If CSA1 I think much more complex.

My partners ex went through all this - he paid her £800 per month, she got full housing benefit and didn't want to work (getting CB and tax credits on top) but still claimed poverty all the time (moved partner and his kids in but he was on low income so wanted more as there were more mouths to feed)

If she is working she should be getting the full maintenance from both fathers and (if she works 16 hours) get tax credits and working tax credits (she would declare maintenance payments but it does not affect it)- if she is not living with her current partner.

My partner now pays £500 maintenance, ex gets £10k tax credits/CB and her wages on top (not sure about any housing benefit but know they do not count maintenance now so it is possible - boyfriend long gone) still constantly asks for more and gets the children to phone to say they are hungry as mum cannot afford food with what he gives her and he should be paying for everything for them - (but she does buy them and her cigarettes and booze)

Back to your partner...he is not responsible for her rent, he is responsible for the child maintenance (what she spends it on is down to her) he should just pay what the assessment says (unless he wants to and is in a possition to pay extras)

oldmotherreilly

Is she claiming as a single parent? If she is, as far as I understand it, the Jobcentre would not be telling her that she would need to look for work as her youngest child is below the age of 12. They would therefore not cut her benefits for that reason. I believe the only way that they might stop her benefits is if she does not attend the work focused interviews at the Jobcentre. Have a look here for more info
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/jcp/Customers/parents_/Lone_Parents/Changes_to_Income_Support_for_lone_parents/index.html

real1314

joanneg wrote: »

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help us.

I'm trying to find out what benefits a person in a situation would be entitled to (this person is my partners ex-wife). We feel she is feeding us a pack of lies but we have no way to find out the truth so any help would be great.

She is 38 and left her partner last august and now rents (through housing benefit I think). She has one child with my partner (15) and one child with her most recent ex partner (9).

My partner pays via the CSA and obviuosly she has requested a review. Her reasons are that the Jobcentre have told her she needs to find work to continue receiving her benefits but are cutting her benefits back so much she cannot afford her rent without more maintenance from us.

She is receiving maintenance from her 9 yr old's dad through a private arrangement and her 'employer' is also her current partner who has told us he is now paying her rent as well as her wages.

As advice on whether this is correct, what benefits she should be getting or not and should she be declaring the maintenance payments she is receiving from both dad's would be greatly appreciated as we don't have a clue about benefits.

Also she has told us her benefits stop this friday and she will be behind on her rent(we know that her partner is paying her rent so thats a lie) can we report her to the benefit fraud people if she is not receiving benefits anymore?

Thank you to anyone who can help ..... sorry if I've completely confused you all.

You've confused me!
What benefits is she getting?
And is she actually working, as you say her "partner" is her employer?
You say she rents, through housing benefit you think, but you also say the "partner" pays the rent - can't be both.

joanneg_2

Hi,

real 1314 ......the partner doesn't live with her so he is paying her a salary of about £90 per week as her employer and also will being paying her rent as her benefits stop this friday as her partner bascially bailing her out.

Is earning £90 per week enough to stop all benefits?

I would like to know what benefits she is receiving at the moment and how they can just be stopped with only 4 weeks notice but how can we find out? She is not going to tell us.

The CSA are reviewing her as well but she is a notorious liar and we know she plays the system.

This isn't an excuse to get out of paying child support. We just want to make sure all the correct info is given and to find out what the truth is about her benefits and income.

real1314

joanneg wrote: »

Hi,

real 1314 ......the partner doesn't live with her so he is paying her a salary of about £90 per week as her employer and also will being paying her rent as her benefits stop this friday as her partner bascially bailing her out.

Is earning £90 per week enough to stop all benefits?

I would like to know what benefits she is receiving at the moment and how they can just be stopped with only 4 weeks notice but how can we find out? She is not going to tell us.

The CSA are reviewing her as well but she is a notorious liar and we know she plays the system.

This isn't an excuse to get out of paying child support. We just want to make sure all the correct info is given and to find out what the truth is about her benefits and income.

£90 is likely to be enough to stop Income Support but should also be enough to qualify for Working tax credit and Child Tax Credit.

She'd have £30 Child benefit each week, plus the £90 wages, and should probably get about £90 a week Child Tax Credit and £70 Working Tax Credit.

Then, based on £90 wages, £30 Child Ben, £90 CTC and £70 WTC, and assuming rent of £100 a week, she'd get about £60 HB towards her rent.

So, total income of £280 a week, £40 rent left to pay. Unless I've missed something.

Plus all the maintenance is ignored, so add that on top.

joanneg_2

Hi,

Thanks for that .... a real eye opener ...

Assuming that is all correct her left over income is more than our protected income level and we have two children under the age of 4 and more financial obligations.

Have been informed by the CSA that as she receives WTC she is assessed as having nil income and she had received the complete breakdown of my partners assessment with all our income and allowances but we're allowed nothing to see none of hers as she is deemed to not have anything to assess.

So its good to have some idea of her financial position and know that she is not hard up as she claims.

joanneg_2

Oh .... her rent is £162 per week (£650 per month) so would she still only receive the £60 pw HB ..... she had told her 15 yr old (my step daughter) they might become homeless if her dad doesn't pay more for her!!