when does my son stop being a child?confused

cherub1965

he is still a student,doing exams at min and going to university in sept.and he gets 50 quid a week which just covers his expenses for college,books,life etc.he doesnt take any money from me.esa is not means tested,the one he is on anyway,2 different types i believe?i still get child benefit for him.

Oldernotwiser

I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be getting child benefit as your son is claiming ESA as an adult and neither should he be claiming it if he's a full time student. Hopefully someone else will be able to confirm that.

He should definitely be paying for his living expenses out of it though and not using it all for personal expenses.

cherub1965

just rang and you are correct older but wiser.but its their mistake.my son gave all my info,NI number,child benefit number etc.both at same address.told them he was a student etc etc and they say he shouldnt have got it.they said we should have got a contract to check and sign,we didnt.he wanted to apply for dla and was told it didnt exist anymore and was replaced by esa so it was their mistake.what a complicated system it is,such a minefield.the only thing am not sure about is they say if you are are a special needs student you can claim and my son was given permission from the head to study at home and just make it to lessons when he felt able.just made an apt with cab to get it sorted.as far as i am concerned its their mistake,they were given all correct info about both of us,what i was claiming etc and he was awarded esa.so many depts and diffrent benefits none of them know what the other is doing.i have been on phone an hour to different depts and none of them can tell me anything,income support say ring esa,esa say ring income support!!income support say ring child benefit.still no further advanced.tempted to just leave it,they havent got a clue,stressing me out!!

cherub1965

sunnyone,we were told he couldnt get dla as was replaced by esa?even though hes a student.he applied over the phone and was awarded esa,have just been told he shouldnt be getting it and if he was getting it i shdnt be getting child benefit or ctc for him.they were given all correct info about my benefits and the fact that he was at college btu not attending much,with permission of course,due to illness,ME in fact.they took my NI number and his,same adress etc and he got esa.i was surprised but didnt query it as we had given info.now am stressed.it was def their mistake,thye have told me not to worry but cant help but can you?i would never make fraudulent claim.makes me laught hough,if i hadnt rang to query my money dropping they wouldnt have known about it.suppose its best sorted now than in the future.son only got esa couple of months ago although he did get chunk of back pay.can they make me pay back overpayment if it was their mistake?no wonder people find it easy to commit fraud of benefits if we are both at same address and gave both names and all relevant info,not tried to hide anything!and he still got money.lol

cherub1965

thanks older but wiser.if he drops his claim for esa will i get my money for him re instated? i lost child benefit,ctc and my severe dis premium for him to get 50 quid a week! we were told it wasnt means tested by dwp.obviously misunderstanding.he is still a student til 30th june then uni in sept,what do you suggest i do?

sunnyone

cherub1965 wrote: »

sunnyone,we were told he couldnt get dla as was replaced by esa?even though hes a student.he applied over the phone and was awarded esa,have just been told he shouldnt be getting it and if he was getting it i shdnt be getting child benefit or ctc for him.they were given all correct info about my benefits and the fact that he was at college btu not attending much,with permission of course,due to illness,ME in fact.they took my NI number and his,same adress etc and he got esa.i was surprised but didnt query it as we had given info.now am stressed.it was def their mistake,thye have told me not to worry but cant help but can you?i would never make fraudulent claim.makes me laught hough,if i hadnt rang to query my money dropping they wouldnt have known about it.suppose its best sorted now than in the future.son only got esa couple of months ago although he did get chunk of back pay.can they make me pay back overpayment if it was their mistake?no wonder people find it easy to commit fraud of benefits if we are both at same address and gave both names and all relevant info,not tried to hide anything!and he still got money.lol

If he has care or mobility needs he can put in a DLA claim, it hasnt been replaced and if he got a award it could give you your SDP back but he would need and award of middle/high rate care for that to happen.

cherub1965

thanks sunnyone.sorted it now.he has ended his esa claim so i can get my child benefit back and then ctc and my severe dis prem.unbelievably as he is a full time student he is classed as a child til 20th birthday.obviuosly when he goes to uni in sept it will stop but i would have lost over £120 quid for him to get 50.child benefit are going to decide if i have to repay the overpayment.he is responsible for esa overpayment and will have to repay it at some point.if he is a student i dont see how he can.it was there mistake awarding him esa.we didnt hide anything,gave all relevant info and they awarded it.i dint get it myself??if it was their mistake they should accept liability.whats the chances of him getting dla with ME though?its based on mobility and he is mobile,just hasnt got the energy to walk far.would him going to uni impact on eligibility for dla claim?ie, if hes capable of going to uni he doesnt need dla?:mad:

sunnyone

cherub1965 wrote: »

thanks sunnyone.sorted it now.he has ended his esa claim so i can get my child benefit back and then ctc and my severe dis prem.unbelievably as he is a full time student he is classed as a child til 20th birthday.obviuosly when he goes to uni in sept it will stop but i would have lost over £120 quid for him to get 50.child benefit are going to decide if i have to repay the overpayment.he is responsible for esa overpayment and will have to repay it at some point.if he is a student i dont see how he can.it was there mistake awarding him esa.we didnt hide anything,gave all relevant info and they awarded it.i dint get it myself??if it was their mistake they should accept liability.whats the chances of him getting dla with ME though?its based on mobility and he is mobile,just hasnt got the energy to walk far.would him going to uni impact on eligibility for dla claim?ie, if hes capable of going to uni he doesnt need dla?:mad:

I dont know if he will get DLA, I dont know if he has extra care/mobility needs, if he does have extra needs then he should apply.

Uni dosnt come into DLA.

ash4becks

sunnyone wrote: »

I dont know if he will get DLA, I dont know if he has extra care/mobility needs, if he does have extra needs then he should apply.

Uni dosnt come into DLA.

what ever you do dont fill in his Dla form yourself always get cab to do it for him, theres no reason he shouldnt get it from what you have said ie walking problems, great tip for you type in dwp m.e on google theres thr offical crietra the dwp desion makers go of , iam guessing low moblity and low care at a min. i got dla while at uni for mental health and other reasons, but tell him to contact his uni now about student disabitly allowence, i got a free laptop and equment free internet printer etc, and a note taker but he needs a assesment of his needs done and this takes a while at times so needs done asap x

and btw make sure your geting sever disability allonce on income support as you get higher rate dla made a big difference to me

Bamber19

pompeyrich wrote: »

So why do my wages affect my son's university grant, or whatever they call it thes days?

I wrote to my MP about this when I was taking out a student loan and getting 0 bursary based on my parents earnings whilst a friend was getting a full bursary based on his parents earnings.

We would both leave uni with the same job prospects and earning potential yet I would have 10k+ to pay back whilst he'd have nothing.

If it was parents that were expected to pay back then fine but the reality is that it is the graduate, out working who pays it back so the initial payment based on parental earnings is illogical.

The response from my MP was a forwarded letter from someone at SAAS with a copied in paragraph from someone at the SLC and the message was basically "That's the way it is!"