Housing Benefit confusion.

samwich1979

Just got my new Housing Benefit entitlement back after returning to work from maternity leave and im utterly confused.

I used to get £41.08 per week on a total household income of £1232 per month, I have now returned to work on a total household income of £1500 a month and im only entitled to £4.98 per week.

Why has this dropped so drastically? Surely this is wrong?

I also need to pay back an overpayment of £144.40 as i received 2 payments of my old award in november as i didnt have a payslip to declare my new wage.
They are expecting me to pay £10.20 from my normal payments but i dont get paid this much per week only £4.98 so how can they do this??

Because i have gone back to work i now have additional expenses, £55.10 a month for a bus pass and extra food for lunches to take to work, my husband also doesnt work so im still paying for all the household bills etc and we have a seven month old baby, so how i am i supposed to cope with all this extra expense? Its been a real struggle and i think it is going to continue.

samwich1979

Forgot to mention, ive just calculated on Turn2us that im entitled to £19.82 per week HB, this is very different to what ive been told also. can anyone explain this?

jojo_2012_2

how much tax credits are you getting now compared to then. Also if you have childcare fees have you let them know about them?

samwich1979

To be honest i havent received TC at the minute cos i had trouble even getting the forms to be sent out so i gave up.
Turn2us says we can get £13.05 per week CTC so im going to try and get that sorted asap but even with this it says i can get £19.82 per week HB!
My husband looks after our son as he doesnt work at the moment so there are no childcare costs.

Im so confused!

paddygirl

the best people to ask will be your local housing benefit office when they open on Monday. Hopefully they will talk it through. You have lost £10.20 per week from your weekly award due to an overpayment so the £4.98 per week is probably correct. However its a minefield so check with them on monday.

Vejovis

are you sure the overpayment hasn't been taken from your full weekly award, so after the £10 has been deducted you are left with just £4 a week?

samwich1979

Not sure tbh, the letters they send you with the information on are totally confusing and dont make sense.

If they just explained things properly and basically people wouldnt have to question their decisions.

samwich1979

The letter they sent me doesnt really explain it all very well but it is possible that the £4.98 is the amount i will receive after the £10.20 deduction for overpayment.
I still dont get it though because Turn2us still says i am entitled more. I will be paying a visit to the council offices on Monday!

uganda

samwich1979 wrote: »

The letter they sent me doesnt really explain it all very well but it is possible that the £4.98 is the amount i will receive after the £10.20 deduction for overpayment.
I still dont get it though because Turn2us still says i am entitled more. I will be paying a visit to the council offices on Monday!

Tell me your weekly income, I have worked out from £1232 per month on the basis of having a partner and one child under a year old that you should have been paying £39.67pw towards your rent (leaving aside any LHA restriction) and that on a monthly income of £1500 you should be paying £79.87pw towards your rent, a difference of just over 40 quid.


I'm presuming you were only citing earned income - if not, please break down all components of your income. Also, are there other children you haven't mentioned?

samwich1979

uganda wrote: »

Tell me your weekly income, I have worked out from £1232 per month on the basis of having a partner and one child under a year old that you should have been paying £39.67pw towards your rent (leaving aside any LHA restriction) and that on a monthly income of £1500 you should be paying £79.87pw towards your rent, a difference of just over 40 quid.


I'm presuming you were only citing earned income - if not, please break down all components of your income. Also, are there other children you haven't mentioned?

All i get is my wage from work and Child Benefit. As i said above i need to sort my CTC as i had tons of trouble trying to just get an application form in June.

My total weekly wage before tax etc is £474.58 but after the councils deductions they have taken it down to £337.79. I presume this is how they worked out my entitlement?

uganda

samwich1979 wrote: »

All i get is my wage from work and Child Benefit. As i said above i need to sort my CTC as i had tons of trouble trying to just get an application form in June.

My total weekly wage before tax etc is £474.58 but after the councils deductions they have taken it down to £337.79. I presume this is how they worked out my entitlement?

Ok, well then, your entitlement until your child turns 1 will be whatever your rent (or local housing allowance if you are renting privately) is less £74.30 - does that sound correct?