Please help redundant and dont know what to do

japanesegirl

Hi everyone I havent been here since our house was repossessed in Feb 08. After losing everything my husband is now being made redundant which means our income is NIL. I have been onto all the relevant sites to try and find out what we will be entitle to but its very confusing.

We are renting privately at 850 per month, apparently our local council will give us 595 towards rent. WHAT DO WE LIVE ON????? we have two children 11 aND 14 AND i CANNOT WORK OUT what WE CAN CLAIM. I understand that my husband will be able to claim job seekers at 64.30 per week. per week (big big deal having worked all his life) what else are we likely to be able to get, how do we eat and pay for fuel etc etc. Please someone HELP. I rang the Council and all they said was if we didnt pay council tax then they would send bailiffs, its so unfair. I have been unemployed since 2008 and claimed for 6 months so now have no income whatsoever.

So are income is ZERO, we have 2 children and rent so what do we get. PLEASE someone we are desperate. We have both worked all our life.

PLEASE HELP
thank you

lpaluszk

Are you trying to get out of debt or are you trying to live on benefits? Job market is really tough at the moment, but government is not responsible for you or your partner not having a job. I do agree that no matter what benefits you will get it won't be enough. This is done on purpose because if it was enough to live a life on many people wouldn't work at all and they would sit on their back and claim benefits.

Not trying to be offensive but trying to understand what situation you are in at the moment. As for the advice try visiting local CAB, I'm sure they'll do what they can to help. As for benefits google up "Entitled to" and there's a website which will give you an idea what are you entitled to. (Not sure if I can post link here).

Hope that helps

catmiaow

I don't understand why the council would not pay your rent in full when your both not working? Are they refusing to do this due to a redundancy pay out or something?

You should still be entitled to child benefit, a long with council tax benefit and you should both be able to claim jobseekers once your husband is made redundant. I guess it depends how much his redundancy pay out is.

It doesn't sound right to me that they expect you to pay council tax if your employed as you should get this for free as long as your savings are within the correct limit.

Good luck!

catmiaow

lpaluszk wrote: »

Are you trying to get out of debt or are you trying to live on benefits? Job market is really tough at the moment, but government is not responsible for you or your partner not having a job. I do agree that no matter what benefits you will get it won't be enough. This is done on purpose because if it was enough to live a life on many people wouldn't work at all and they would sit on their back and claim benefits.

Not trying to be offensive but trying to understand what situation you are in at the moment. As for the advice try visiting local CAB, I'm sure they'll do what they can to help. As for benefits google up "Entitled to" and there's a website which will give you an idea what are you entitled to. (Not sure if I can post link here).

Hope that helps

https://www.entitledto.com

RAS

japanesegirl wrote: »

We are renting privately at 850 per month, apparently our local council will give us 595 towards rent. WHAT DO WE LIVE ON?????

Unfortunately, you need to rent a house that costs the same as the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) or you have to pay the difference. My guess is that the LHA in your area is £595.

japanesegirl wrote: »

I rang the Council and all they said was if we didnt pay council tax then they would send bailiffs, its so unfair. I have been unemployed since 2008 and claimed for 6 months so now have no income whatsoever.

You need to apply for Council Tax benefit as soon as your OH signs on. You will get it. However, do make sure the CT is up to date before he loses his job.

japanesegirl wrote: »

So are income is ZERO, we have 2 children and rent so what do we get. PLEASE someone we are desperate. We have both worked all our life.

You need to apply for all the other benfits. I know it is a pain but that is your startign point. Please check the link you were given above.

Buddingblonde

Either go to your local Welfare Rights (it will be in the council) or your local CAB - they will have the forms and work out everything that you should be applying for.
Do you already have Child Tax Credit for the kids?

yellowduck_2

check out if there are any Welfare Rights\Advice Centres\law centres where you live, just "google" them plus the name of your town\city, or try CAB, all these places will help you claim what you and your family are entitled to. If you have never had to claim benefits before it can all seem very confusing, time consuming and scary, but you have paid in via National Insurance. Good luck and I hope things get better for you and your family.

miss_spooky

Hi ya,

As Ras stated with the housing benefit they will only pay the equivilant to what the same LHA house would be or what you would be entitled to. i.e if you had a 4 bed house for your family taking in a spare room, the council will only pay rent for a 3 bed as that is what you would be entitled to. Or if you had a 3 bed in the posh part of town that was 1kpm but the average / LHA was £750 then all you would get is the £750.

Benefits are only backdated for 3 mths with a good reason, so you need to get the paperwork in asap.

You should also be in receipt of Child Tax Credits so don't forget to ring them and notify them of the cahnge as this should increase.

As your both out of work I believe you would be entitled to income support but not sure what the couples allowance is. One of you apply but you are both covered.

Did your husband get a payout, as this will ahve an impact on what benefits you can / will receive. There's usually a threshold before benefits kick in.

Trollfever

The Local Housing Allowance for your area can be found here:

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/Default.aspx

japanesegirl

Hi my husband will not get any redundancy at all. No we dont get any child tax credits, though I dont understand why, does anyone know how much child tax credit is for 2 children 11 and 14. Will I be able to claim job seekers although have now been out of work a year?

thanks

[Deleted User]

japanesegirl, what you are entitled to depends on your individual circumstances. Please visit www.entitledto.com I understand you are anxious and it is difficult to concentrate, but take a deep breathe and have a look. You don't have to do it all at once, but take it a bit at a time. Then, on Monday make an appointment at the Citizens Advice Bureau to see someone who can go through your personal situation. Write a list of all your questions and they will answer these based on YOUR situation.