help with cleaning costs via benefits

kerry13238

hi i started a job cleaning for someone who had it paid for via benefit not sure what type. basically i cleaned for 2 weeks then they said my services were no longer required and i stopped this was a month ago and i am still waiting for payment.
what i am concerned about is that they have now suspect they have not told the relevent benefit department that i am no longer cleaning for them does anyone know what department deals with this? and what the benfit might be called?

AsknAnswer2

There isn't a benefit that helps specifically with cleaning costs.

The person may have been receiving DLA from DWP if they are disabled and require assistance. They can spend this on what they like if it helps them. They don't have to have the help, they just have to need it to qualify. So if it is DLA then whether or not you are cleaning for them won't affect their benefit. Only a change in their condition would.

People who are disabled can also get direct payments from their local authority. This is so that they can pay someone to provide services to them that would assist them. Just because you are no longer doing it, that doesn't mean that they haven't enlisted someone else to do it. They do need to keep records and account for where the money has been spent for direct payments.

PipsoG

I am on Direct Payments and both my Personal Assistant and Home Help get paid every 4 weeks via a payroll company that I use.

When you started working for them did you agree that you would be paid cash in hand - in which case they would need to do receipts so the local council could see how the Direct Payments were being spent or were you going to be paid by a payroll company.

Have you asked them about payment?

kerry13238

he said he would pay me at the end of the month when he got his money he said he needed my business account details for the benefit office. he said if i send him a bill he would pay it i hadnt been paid so i called him he said that he had not recieved the bill so i sent it again now he is not answering my calls. is he doing anything wrong? i am starting to wonder if he is saying he is paying for a cleaner and he is not im worried it will come back on me as i was only self employed for 2 weeks and informed the tax office i am worried when it comes to self assessment they will think that i am not declaring earnings so im not sure if i should call the benefit office to inform them a i have not been paid and b i am no longer cleaning for him?

mcculloch29

I think this may well be direct payments, where a person who has difficulties in caring and cleaning for themselves is given benefit to meet the extra cost of carers and cleaners, services that were previously arranged through social services.
Direct payments should be made by your client directly to you. The local Social Services department should be able to give you more information.

Alternatively it may be that the person concerned is using a benefit such as Disability Living Allowance.

I work and am disabled. I use my DLA to pay a cleaner, as I find it difficult to keep my house as clean as I would like and work as well.

Jowo_2

If you have a private arrangement to do cleaning for someone and they haven't paid you (regardless of the source of their income), then this is a civil matter, a breach of contract, and something you can follow up through the small claims court if they refuse to pay you.

It isn't clear here if there is any relationship between your work and the benefit office directly, the only relationship I can detect here is between you and your client. So if it is something set up between you and him, it's nothing to do with the DWP.

As a business person who hasn't been paid for their services, look into whether or not it's worth your while going through the small claims court as it can be frustrating to do and hard to enforce payment if the defendent doesn't have a job. This involves sending him what is known as a 'letter before action' where you enclose a copy of your invoice, you detail the arrears and you give a deadline for payment telling them that if its not received by then, you will take them to court. This should be sent with proof of postage and a copy kept.

There should be plenty of advice on the internet about how to raise a small claims case which can be done online these days through the Moneyclaim online site, including sample template letters.

How much are you owed? Sometimes it's simply better to put it down to experience and move on as sometimes there's simply no redress for being ripped off.

Perhaps other people can further explain how the direct payments system works and perhaps there's a legitimate reason why he's not responding, perhaps he's ill at the moment or on holiday?

But as the previous posters have mentioned, some people receive Disability Living Allowance and there is no requirement for them to justify or prove how they have spent their benefit. In that case, it's no use you reporting to a benefit fraud line that he's receiving an allowance that he's not spending on a cleaner - a person receiving DLA may spend it on whatever they choose - they can spend it on fags if they wish, there is no form of accounting done on it, it's simply a sum they receive to meet the extra expenses associated with being disabled and some have care/mobility associated costs less or greater than the sum of the DLA, it's all irrelevant to you.

PipsoG

Don't you have to pay Court Fees upfront to start an action in the County Court? You can then apply for your cost if you win a judgement but if you don't have much money then it is money you can't afford. Also if the person you have summoned is on a low income how will you recover the money from them?