I was given wrong information at the job centre. can anyone help me please

wollybully123

I have been on long term incapacity benefit and low rate D.L.A care allowance for the past 2 years. I am very proud to say i have found myself a part time job and will try my hardest to work as long as i can. I am now 56yrs old and this is a big step for me following my illness.
The lady at the job centre told me i would qualify for 4 weeks run on of my housing benefit. I have been informed that i dont and my claim for W.T.C was checked and fast tracked by the job centre and i was told i would hear in a week. This is now nearly 4 weeks later. I phoned tax credit only to be told they had no record of it and to phone back next week.
I am waiting to hear if i qualify for housing benefit now but have got to wait to see if i get W.T.C so i can let them know.
This has been a very trying time for me going back to work and with all the added worries of sorting out my benefits it has made me ill.
Is W.T.C classed as income when you apply for housing benefit.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

NASA_2

Were you on IS as well as IB?

wollybully123

Yes but only for 2 months. I only got £2.05 a week but i didnt know i could claim that until a friend told me

RazWaz

I was told I wouldn't get the 4 week run on, yet when I went to the local one stop shop, they let me put in a claim and it was awarded, so I'd claim for it anyway. As for tax credits, I put in a claim 4 months ago and I'm still waiting to hear >.<

DX2

Did the JCP inform you of this?

Return to Work Credit after a period of ill-health

Return to Work Credit is a payment of £40 a week. You can get it if you go back to work after a period of ill-heath, as long as you have been claiming certain benefits.
It is payable for a maximum of twelve months.
Return to Work Credit is non-taxable and is not counted as income if you're claiming Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit. It is possible for Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit to be paid at the same time as Return to Work Credit.
Return to Work Credit has been introduced as part of the Pathways to Work Scheme and is delivered by Jobcentre Plus. For more information about Return to Work Credit and the Pathways to Work scheme, you can ask at your local Jobcentre Plus office or go to the Directgov website.


Who can get Return to Work Credit


You can get Return to Work Credit if you have been getting one or more of the following benefits paid because of sickness or disability:

• Incapacity Benefit
• Employment and Support Allowance
• Income Support because of sickness or disability
• Severe Disablement Allowance.

You must usually have been getting these benefits for 13 weeks immediately before starting work. However, you could still get Return to Work Credit if you haven't been claiming one of these benefits for 13 weeks, as long as you were claiming Statutory Sick Pay for 13 weeks before making the claim for the benefit.
You must work for at least 16 hours a week in a job that is expected to last for more than five weeks and you must earn no more than £15,000 per year. You qualify for Return to Work Credit if you become self-employed as long as you meet the other conditions.
How to apply for Return to Work Credit

You must apply to your local Jobcentre Plus office within five weeks of starting work.
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/benefits/benefits_and_tax_credits_for_people_in_work.htm

DX2

Help when you start work


You may be able to get some help with the costs of starting work if:

• you start a new job; or
• you increase your hours or wages; or
• you go back to work after being sick or disabled.

Some kinds of help will depend on how long you have been unemployed, and some types of help are only for people on certain government schemes or training. If you want to find out what help you can get, you should ask at the Jobcentre.
Help with rent and Council Tax when you start work

When you start a new job, or increase your hours or wages, so that you come off certain out-of-work benefits, you may continue to get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit paid at the same rate for the first four weeks of your new work arrangements. This extra benefit is known as ‘extended payments’. To qualify you must have been getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Contributory Employment and Support Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance or Incapacity Benefit for at least 26 weeks before the change in your working circumstances. You can also get an extended payment if these benefits have stopped because your partner got a new job or increased their hours or wages.
You must tell your local authority about your new job or increase in hours or pay within four weeks of it starting. (In Northern Ireland this will be the Housing Executive.) If you are on a low income and will still be entitled to some Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit in your new job, you can carry on getting the benefit.
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/benefits/benefits_and_tax_credits_for_people_in_work.htm

I_luv_cats

On the Direct.gov website it says you have to stop claiming and
enter full-time work or more hours/wages, expected for 5 weeks or more.

Incapacity benefit is on the list.

parainsomniac

Hi,
I was just on the forum looking for info on working tax when i read your thread.

Having recently gone back into work , part time and as a lone parent Im in mid money change over, Its very stressfull. When informed the Job Center that I had found a job I told them my concerns Ive had a about the money switches taking a long time, the lone parent adviser assured me I would barely notice the cross over from IS to WTC....
Im hoping very much that Im not going to end up with a long battle with the I, she part filled out the bit that goes to the IR for my WTC and said I was to phone her with my childcare arrangements and the registration no. and also the tax number for my new employer, she would then send off form... hey presto it would be sorted and all I to do would be after a couple of weeks, contact the HB to make sure that was all ok..
So far I have had a letter about my in work credit thats due to start , and letter saying IS has stopped and Ive had 4 letters from the HB and 4 CT, all arriving today that range from saying your HB + CThas been suspended..... then letter saying they have reviewed and changed to Its re instated till feb 2011 then another letter says till end of this month then it will stop again till I fill in form for the new claim..... and also a letter saying they have done it and have decided Im entitled to full HB .... aparently they want my last 5 pay slips or last 2 months by the end of next week... which is impossible as Ive only just started work ....

Least they are half aware that there some change happening..

My biggest worry is that I havnt heard a beep from the WTC people about my WTC! I tried phoneing my job center and the lone parent advisor but got nowhere on any more info on the new claim, so then I try WTC helpline .... can I get through ??
nope, all day I just got as far as the automated voice , 'Thanks we are busy .. goodbye ' I was still trying at 7.55pm toninght as they close at 8pm...

so Im worried now that its going to be a while, I have started getting the threatening letters from gas abnd electric now, and my HA saying Im in arears, along with the water debt I pay weekly , plus the childcare I will be due an invoice for next week too ! I have £10 in my purse, non in my account, my mum (thankyou mum xxxx ) is coming down to me tommorrow am, before my shift to lend me £50 to pay at least something off my utility bill, thankfuly Im paid weekly from my new job, but thats only min wage and 16hrs so nearky the lot will have to go on utilitys, apparently ,my next bill will also be due on friday and so lumped ontop of this owed one...

I feel completley out of my depth, once my WTC actually happens Im likley to get a lump backdated which will be great, but what if it takes that long that the bung me on a pay meter with dept to clear before my WTC starts, plus the rest..
On a happy note at least I love my new job and there is loads of extra hours need for next month which my help..... then again doing overtime is likley to create havak with WTC at some point, especialy as they are impossible to speak to.







Nightmare, :eek:
So far Ive had a about the money switches taking a long time, the lone parent adviser assured me I would barely notice the cross over from IS to WTC....
Im hoping very much that Im not going to end up with a long battle with the IR

parainsomniac

sorry fokls if my post is jumpled , Ive just read it and it seems that when I sent it the paragraphs decide to move ! tried to edit but its not done it!