So confused as to entitlement-please help!

batlo8

OK, firstly let me give you the background story...

Early December I moved in with my partner and his 2 children (5&8), at the time he was working full time. However, a little over a fortnight after we moved in he was made redundant (not been there long so no payout)

We did all the assesments, both online and over the phone for housing benefit, council tax, CTC, WFTC etc. These came back to show that we would be entitled to £350 toward our rent (which is £420pm), almost all our council tax and over £100 pw in CTC & WFTC.

We went ahead to apply for all the above whilst my partner looked for work. We struggled massively trying to survive and even had to borrow money from our parents to help with food/essentials costs.

We were extremely shocked when we got the results of our entitlement through, £120 towards rent, no help with council tax and £48 a week CTC & WFTC. Also they will not allow my partner JSA as they say I earn too much.

My wage is £16695 basic and approx £20,000 with bonuses.

Obviously we assumed we would not have to survive very long on such a tight budget, however, unfortunately we seem to have had one bad thing happen after the other, his eldest daughter was taken very poorly so my partners job hunting ceased for this time, he then found a roofing job with a 3 month contract but after the first day was told they couldn't afford to pay and shortly afterwards he suffered a brain hemmorage and has been told he needs 12 weeks off work.

Our situation is now spiralling out of control, we owe money here there and everywhere and just dont know how just off my wage and the minimal help we receive we are going to keep our heads above water.

I just cannot understand why the figures we were qouted were so high and in reality we get so little? Can anybody tell me if this seems right and where I can get any further help/advice?

I have never been in a position where I really need help and I have worked consistently for the last 10 years since leaving school. It's just so frustrating when I work full time, but I am so poor I have to walk an hour to work every day, and an hour back because I can no longer afford transport, whilst the couple accross the road who also have 2 young kids dont work but have 2 cars in the drive, have just had their garden landscaped and she comes home laden with shopping bags every day.

I never believed it before, but now I can see that you are genuinely better off not working! That is not a path I am prepared to go down, as I have worked hard to get where I am in my career, however I can see why people are sorely tempted to!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

shazza71_2

hi Batlo8,
Sorry i cant help, but you seem to be lucky with what you are recieving.
My hubby lost his job last year, but until then he was earning around £22000 a year, we got no help with rent,CT and got £36 a week tax credits. so it seems what you are getting sounds about right.
sharon

karenx

Yes with that income I would guess you would only get a small amount of help with the rent. And no WTC, and small amount of CTC.
Your partner can claim JSA for first 6 months then partners income is taken into account so he will not qualify after that.

McKneff

Do you have a lot of debt. If not, i cant see how you cant manage on £20k a year.

Why not post an SOA up here and we will try to help with your budget.

kingfisherblue

I'm sorry that you are having a tough time, but you shouldn't make comparisons with other people, whose circumstances you do not know. The neighbours that you refer to might have a good reason for not working, they might have family to pay for stuff for them, they could be living off an inheritance - you don't know, so you shouldn't assume.

I'm a single mum on benefits. My husband left me for another woman five years ago, after sixteen years of marriage and three kids. Our middle child is severely disabled, so I am his carer. Our house, a three bedroomed semi, is in a relatively decent area and I drive a two year old car. The reality is that I am still in the house because it has been adapted for our son's disabilities - although I do get some help with the mortgage, I pay the remainder out of my benefits. I also pay the endowments, insurance, etc. The car is a mobility car, which I will never own. However, Motability is a godsend to people like me, as I wouldn't be able to afford a car otherwise, but it makes life so much easier for me and my children. Getting on the bus with a wheelchair is a nightmare, especially as the buses around here are not those which go low towards the pavements, and some have steps with a rail splitting the doorway of the bus in two.

I hope your partner gets work soon.

DaisyFlower

Unless you have a lot of debt it should easily be enough to live on

£20k salary
£2496 tax credits
£1820 approx child benefit
£1440 housing benefit (assuming the £120 is per month)

Your benefits alone are almost £6k plus your salary so approx £26k a year.

It may be you need to look at your outgoings if your OH truly can find no form of work.

AnxiousMum

DF - it's not that her OH can not find any form of work, he has suffered a brain hemmorage and at the moment, cannot work.

OP - you have your OH's two children living with you - are you also getting child support from the absent parent to help provide for the children's financial needs?

Indie_Kid

If he still unable to work, he would need to claim SSP.

calleyw

sh1305 wrote: »

If he still unable to work, he would need to claim SSP.

It says he was made redundant a short while ago.

So as long as he made enough NI payments in the tax years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 he should be able to claim ESA contribution based.

That should ease the situation. Also if the OP partner has had a brain hemorrhage and is he disabled any way does he have care or mobility needs for the last 3 months that are going to last 6 months or more than maybe able to claim DLA.

Yours

Calley

bestpud

I can only repeat what has been said - your income isn't that low and you need to seriously keep a tab on your outgoings if you can't manage.

FWIW, I pay around half my rent and all my council tax and I earn around £7k a year!

Have a look at the debt free wannabe board, as well as the oldstyle board.

You could also complete the free budget planner and see where you can cut back etc.

mummydebs85

Hi, like the others I can only say that you actually seem to get quite alot of income compared to alot of people, and compared to me. My husband is on a lower wage than you, we have 2 (nearly 3) children and have to pay child maintenance for his other 2 children, aswell as all the usual bills. On this income we have also worked really really hard to get out of his debt he was in from previous relationship.
Try reading some of Martins advice on how you can live more efficiently.