Extremely urgently need help with benefits problems!! (Long read)

Please-Help-Me_4

Short version-
I extremely urgently need help on what practical physical things i can do to force the benefits departments to speed things up??!


Long Version-
Whats happened so far is as follows; My previous job ended at the end of september, and as im under 25 i would severely struggle to afford to live on the housing benefit rate as its £130 less than my actual rent.
So my girlfriend at the time who was herself having problems living with her family decided to move in with me as we couldn't afford to live alone.

So she moved in on 27th sept, and i then made my claim for housing benefit on the 29th September, with me and her both filling in all the forms and providing all the documents requested.
I also applied for jsa as a joint-claim as she was living with me, and i told her to cancel her income support claim.

2weeks later and the jobcentre said they couldn't process my claim yet as they still needed a copy of her passport of driving license.
She doesn't have a passport, and told me that she had lost her provisional license but had applied for a new one.
A few days later after lots of arguing we brokeup as bf/gf, and so the nextday when i went to sign-on i told the guy at the JC that we had splitup, and so i should only get £50 per week, not £112, the guy pretended he had updated it on the computer although i could see he hadn't done anything.

So the nextday i phoneup the JC and asked them for an update on my claim as itd been nearly 3weeks without any award letter or payment (so the council wern't paying me any HB money either), and also asked them if they could confirm that my claim had been updated to a single claim for me.
The guy on phone said they had been awaiting her passport or DL, and then said no the claim hadn't been updated!

I got a call back from them later that afternoon where he asked me the date me and my partner had splitup, and then asked if she was still living with me.
I truthfully told him that she would be living at mine for about 1week more until she found somewhere for herself and her baby to move to, and at this point he said that he couldn't process my claim then, and instead would pass it on to the compliance team who would call me the week after (so 7days more) and arrange a home visit.

Fastforward to yesterday, i finally got letter in the post about the compliance visit, however instead of a home visit they want me to go to the jobcentre, but its not going to be till the 8th November!! :mad: So i have to go another 7days without any income at all!
I then phoneup the council and said to them that its been 1month since i made my HB claim but still hadn't got any money, and so could i check what the status of my claim was.
The guy said that there had been some kind of issue with my partner being on my claim, as she had never cancelled her claim for income support, but that she was on my claim, however before they could make any payments to me they needed to have a copy of my award letter from the JC.
I told him that the jobcentre are still processing my claim, but as soon as i get the award letter i will bring it to the council.
My partner and her baby also moved out of my flat yesterday afternoon.


And so now today its been over 1month since i made my claim, the 1 and only reason that im not homeless right now is because i had savedup £1,800, however im down to my last £900 now, and that will only last me till the end of November.
If they haven't paid me all my backdated benefits money by then i become homeless in December!!

I have the JC interview on the 8th November, and knowing how fking long they take to do anything (apart from cutting people's money which they do within hours!), it could easily take upto 4weeks after the 8th before they send me the award letter!

And to add to that as i now live alone, and was honest enough to update them as soon as me and my partner splitup, the award letter will only be for the single rate jsa.
But so when i give that to the council, they will then think that i lied about her having lived with me, and so my null my claim!! :mad::(


I am seriously just struggling so fking much with all the stress of this, every single day i am getting more and more scared and my last bit of money is going down and down with no income coming in!
My find can't think about anything else as im just constantly terried and panicking!
If it was me who owed the JC or council money they process and issue the repayment notice within 24hours!
Yet when its them who owe me money its been over 1month without me getting a single penny, and i have no way of even forcing them to speed it up even though everyday that passes puts me in a more dangerous situation!


I simply have nowhere and no-one else to turn to anymore, so can anyone on here please please just help me with how i can force the JC to speed this all up??!

fluffymovie

Hello, sorry to hear about all the stuff that's been going on.

I can't advise on JSA I'm afraid but perhaps you may be entitled to apply for hardship payments or a social fund loan until they calculate your award.

As far as your HB claim goes, I think all the changes you have had will make this harder to assess but what is going through my head is this
1 - Before your girlfriend and baby moved in, you should get HB paid based on the shared room rate and you should get JSA for that period as a single person.
2 - After your girlfriend and baby moved in, you should get LHA based on the 2 bedroom LHA rate but this will be complicated as she had IS in her own name whilst living with you.
3 - Now that she has moved out again, the council will need to revert your claim to that of a single person.

So, what do you do now? I would personally write a full letter detailing all the circumstances of your claim and what income you had for the period in question (whilst your gf lived with you and claimed IS)

I would suggest that you ask for a payment on account as you can't get information from the jobcentre if they wont see you until 08.11.10.

You need to explain what income you had to live on both before your claim for JSA starts and at present and ask the council to consider using a notional income for the assessment. Effectively, it is your gf who should have an issue as she failed to cancel her IS claim and so was being paid as a single parent when she had moved in with you, not you.

I would also advise you contact CAB or welfare rights or failing that, ask to see a team leader or supervisor at the council.

Good luck

EDIT: Also, if you moved into the property and could afford it when you moved in, you would get 13 weeks protection meaning that you are paid HB paid based on your full rent rather than the LHA rate which may well help a bit but again, this is complicated by the changes to your LHA rate but just thought of it!

Please-Help-Me_4

Hi and thankyou very much for your reply.

The only 2 rates the council should be paying is the 2bedroom rate from the start of my claim on 29th September, upto yesterday when she offically moved out, and then be paying me the under 25's rate from now onwards.

And the jobcentre should pay me the joint claim rate from 29th September till 22nd October when me n her ended our relationship,
and then pay me the under 25s jsa rate from 22nd October onwards.

And they should reclaim the income support money which she was paid during those 3weeks, as she was the 1 who was in the wrong as she signed the HB forms herself to delcare she was living here, while at the same time kept on claiming IS.


They don't listen to when i try to say anything though, just give the same standard line ''we are processing your claim, it will take as long as it takes, if we need anymore info we will ask you as and when we need it''. !!!!

fluffymovie

Apologies, misread your post.

However, I am right in thinking that if you could afford the rent when you moved in and havent' claimed HB in past 52 weeks, you will get the protection. Unless you don't meet these criteria and then, yes, only 2 rates.

Best off to put it all in writing and send a copy of letter to both JCP and HB and possibly CAB or Welfare rights for advice.

Good luck