Housing Benefit Question

HappyMJ

bunnygirl007 wrote: »

Thanks again everyone for your advice. So it looks like I'll have to wait until my money is gone. I don't see how paying your debts though can be seen as deliberate deprivation - I have to pay them, they won't go away (unfortunately). As my rent is £350 a month and soon to go up again and then my council tax is £120+ it would have been a great help if I could of received something.

Don't worry living as you are you'll be below the £16,000 in a few months anyway then you can claim. You can go back to paying normal amounts on your debt in that time you don't have to stick to the low repayments that you have agreed. As I said pay 10% of each and you'll be fine it is not considered deprivation unless you pay back all 100% of the debt.

Edit:You can also pay all arrears as well without being accused of deprivation. The deprivation rules are for really big debts like a car loan when you still have the asset that depreciates over a longer period but saying that you can sell a car and use the proceeds to pay that debt off as you no longer have the asset.

AnxiousMum

You have said that you have raised your child on your own without any help from the father. Instead of looking to get benefits when you have money in the bank, have you thought about going after the other person financially responsible for helping to raise your child and getting child support? I'm sure that this would likely help you with your monthly expenses as well, as quite likely some of your debts are due to having a child and other expenses to meet. If you have that additional income through child support, that'll help tide you over.

bunnygirl007

Thanks Anxious Mum - I've been down that route many times over the years, my son is now 18 and at college full time.

Without going into too much detail I have over the years taken his father to court, had various AOE orders and even during a period when he was dismissed signed off his arrears just to keep the court order open. The court wanted to close it until he found work again but I refused as I quite rightly did not trust him to tell the courst when he found work, so for 2 years I was writing off his payments provided he gave proof to the court as to his unemployment. He returned to work for a short while and I did get £60 per month however about 2 years ago payments stopped altogether and after many letters from the court it finally came to light he had made himself bankrupt - I received a letter from the court asking me to waive the debt, i didn't bother replying and i've heard nothing since. All in all he owes me about £3500 but I don't see any way of getting it and the court are totally disinterested.

Vixie_Pixie

bunnygirl007 wrote: »

Thanks again everyone for your advice. So it looks like I'll have to wait until my money is gone. I don't see how paying your debts though can be seen as deliberate deprivation - I have to pay them, they won't go away (unfortunately). As my rent is £350 a month and soon to go up again and then my council tax is £120+ it would have been a great help if I could of received something.

if you wait until your savings dip below the 16,000 and then claim, the DM will ask questions about how you spent your capital.. however, depending on your LAs procedures paying off debt at reasonable amounts may be allowed and they won't class it as deprivation... have a word with an assessment officer at your authority and they will be able to tell you if they would class paying off debts as deprivation

uganda

It is certainly possible that a negative decision could be made if you cleared off debts and brought your capital down below the threshold, but it would be very difficult for the local authority to uphold this decision if you then appealed.

They must prove that it was your intention to deprive yourself of your capital in order to qualify for benefit, and that is not easy to do.

I presume you're under 60. If you are over 60, a repayment of debt is never considered deprivation. If you are not, then you simply have to show that it was reasonable to pay off what you owe. This is particularly relevant now, as you have just received a lump sum and are therefore suddenly in a position to pay off some of these debts and avoid excessive interest payments on them. You simply need to have arguments ready to show that this was reasonable. I mean, when else would you make large debt repayments if not when you had just received an 18 grand payout??

I would certainly seek advice from the CAB about your debt - they should be able to help you direct your money at your debt in a strategic way. You should get them to put their advice in writing and be ready to show it to the local authority to show that your intentions were simply to reduce your debt, not be eligible for benefit. Also keep any paperwork relating to any debts you pay off and also any demands for payment prior to this (to show repayment was not a matter of personal choice).