does the OR take child benefit into account?

in_a_pickle_5

Hi there,
I was declared bankrupt recently and narrowly avoided an IPA. my disposable income was £107, they wanted 50%. i asked for this to reviewed and luckily it was agreed that an IPA wouldnt be appropriate at this time.
I am also a single parent working 16 hrs a week on minimum wage!

To cut a long story short, as from 2nd november child benefit is now disregarded when assessing housing benefit and council tax benefit. this will make me better off, which in theory is good, but i was wondering if the OR also disregards this? and is this classed as a change in circumstances that i should tell them about?

Will this be a case of in one hand and out the other??

thanks x

blind-as-a-bat_2

no as from june/july this year it is now counted, however if housing benefit are disregarding, the exact opposite, i think this may help fight it.

I certainly would refuse any IPA wich counted child benefit and let a court decide now, in light of the change in the way HB view it

tigerfeet2006

If you have to do another SoA then pop it up on here and let someone check it over for you before you send it back.

in_a_pickle_5

thank you both for replying!
my child benefit was included in my original SOA, so it would seem unfair if they didnt disregard too.
so is this something i would definately have to tell them about??? (im guessing yes!! ) i know nobody really wants to pay an IPA, but when you dont have that much spare income, 50% seems such alot.
anyway, time to stop wafflling on! im worrying about something that hasnt even happened yet!!
will definately try the helplines suggested though
thanks again

marmalady

It doesnt seem fair that you can have up to £99 surplas but if you go over that they dont deduct the £99 from the amount before taking 50%. So if you had £110 you would loose £55 rather than just the eleven pounds over the surplas amount

nervousmother

That is something i said all along, however the reasoning for it is it is too much trouble to take a small amount anything less than £50 I believe they dont think its worth bothering with, so I think your surplus is actually £50 allowed however they dont bother taking it if they end up taking less than £50.. hope that makes sense..

dollparts

Am I missing something here?

Let me get this straight, please be patient-nothing seems straight-forward nowadays: CB is counted as your income right?

Housing benefit is also counted as income? Yes?

Sorry to keep going over old ground, I just get more and more confused as the days pass...

blind-as-a-bat_2

dollparts wrote: »

Am I missing something here?

Let me get this straight, please be patient-nothing seems straight-forward nowadays: CB is counted as your income right?

Housing benefit is also counted as income? Yes?

Sorry to keep going over old ground, I just get more and more confused as the days pass...

Housing benefit is not income, but to offsett your cost of rent, if you get ALL your rent paid, then your rent is in effect zero.

But as the IS dont ask...................................., they only ask for disclosure of income, and how much your rent is...................................

Its up to you how to find your way through that particular minefield:rolleyes:

RichesToRags

I would've thought HB cancels itself out as it pays part (or all) of your rent, so it's never gonna be counted in your surplus as its earmarked for an outgoing before you even receive it (if that makes sense). And it seems only SOME ORs are counting child benefit as they didn't count mine

debtinfo

RichesToRags wrote: »

I would've thought HB cancels itself out as it pays part (or all) of your rent, so it's never gonna be counted in your surplus as its earmarked for an outgoing before you even receive it (if that makes sense). And it seems only SOME ORs are counting child benefit as they didn't count mine

Enjoy it while it lasts, they are audited every year and so if they haven't picked up on the change they will do at some point

dollparts

blind-as-a-bat wrote: »

Housing benefit is not income, but to offsett your cost of rent, if you get ALL your rent paid, then your rent is in effect zero.

But as the IS dont ask...................................., they only ask for disclosure of income, and how much your rent is...................................

Its up to you how to find your way through that particular minefield:rolleyes:

So I should just list HB as benefits received then?