married son is a student with 2 children

Wazz42

I don't know if it's to do with the new rules etc but my son and his wife qualified for housing benefit, council tax benefit etc and now they have received about 8 letters all at once telling them they are not entitled and have to repay from last Sept. Tom is in year 2 of a 3 year course, they married one year ago. They live in Aberystwyth, just in case that make any difference. They will try to get an interview on Tuesday (letters all on the mat when they got home on Easter Saturday). Now my son is saying he will leave uni, and dil says they would be better off if Tom left!

We can't use the benefit calculator any more because Tom is a student.

Any help please
Wazz

dseventy

Wazz42 wrote: »

I don't know if it's to do with the new rules etc but my son and his wife qualified for housing benefit, council tax benefit etc and now they have received about 8 letters all at once telling them they are not entitled and have to repay from last Sept. Tom is in year 2 of a 3 year course, they married one year ago.

The first thing they need to do is check out if the reasons are correct? Have they had a reason for a breakdown? Has son been using/declaring student finance? What is DIL income? Hours?

Wazz42 wrote: »

and dil says they would be better off if Tom left!

Wow, sounds like a lovely lady, you do wonder why they pick em don't you?!

D70

Notmyrealname

Well they should be getting child benefit, child tax credit x2 as a very minimum. Also there's the student loan and bursaries which will be counted as income.

It could be that they've got the letters because he didn't declare the loans/bursaries so they've stopped his claim. If he isn't entitled to HB/CTB that is because the income from the loans and bursaries is quite considerable and after paying rent/CT they have, in addition to tax credits/CB, £120 a week or more left over.

In short, I doubt they're starving. I can guarantee they'd be no better off on the dole but it sounds like your DIL is one of those stupid people from a long line of dolies who thinks that they have to be on bennies to be better off. No doubt she'll use that as an excuse as to why your son couldn't take a good paying job.

oldhand

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Well they should be getting child benefit, child tax credit x2 as a very minimum. Also there's the student loan and bursaries which will be counted as income.

It could be that they've got the letters because he didn't declare the loans/bursaries so they've stopped his claim. If he isn't entitled to HB/CTB that is because the income from the loans and bursaries is quite considerable and after paying rent/CT they have, in addition to tax credits/CB, £120 a week or more left over.

In short, I doubt they're starving. I can guarantee they'd be no better off on the dole but it sounds like your DIL is one of those stupid people from a long line of dolies who thinks that they have to be on bennies to be better off. No doubt she'll use that as an excuse as to why your son couldn't take a good paying job.

And to make matters worse they live in Aberystwyth........:(

MrsManda

As the letter says they've been overpaid benefits since September I expect it to be related to your son's student finance package.

Making appointment to see the council is likely to be the best course of action and they'll need to take evidence of what he receives through student finance as well as other household income. It may be that the council's figures are wrong or there's just been a mistake somewhere.

Caz3121

this should help you also calculate which income they should be counting and which not
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_070816

sandraroffey

when my daughter was a single mum AND a student, she had no end of probs with the housing benefit people at the council. even though they had proof everything and took copies of it all, they still gave her money that, after a few months, they decided she shouldnt have had it at all.

she spent almost the entire course putting in claims, getting the claims, then having to pay it back. it was unbelievable.

really do check and double check, what information they hold. when my daughter phoned about a completely different matter, they found that she had been given a certain part of the claim either. mess up after mess up.

i still cant understand why a student LOAN is classed as income. you have to pay it back after all.

kingfisherblue

sandraroffey wrote: »

when my daughter was a single mum AND a student, she had no end of probs with the housing benefit people at the council. even though they had proof everything and took copies of it all, they still gave her money that, after a few months, they decided she shouldnt have had it at all.

she spent almost the entire course putting in claims, getting the claims, then having to pay it back. it was unbelievable.

really do check and double check, what information they hold. when my daughter phoned about a completely different matter, they found that she had been given a certain part of the claim either. mess up after mess up.

i still cant understand why a student LOAN is classed as income. you have to pay it back after all.

A loan is income - it is money coming into the household. Yes, you have to pay it back, but only when you are earning (it used to be a minimum of £15000 a year, not sure of current figure), and even then, it is a low interest that you pay.

Wazz42

Thanks for the replies, the calculators are helpful and the info that we're not alone here, so far they haven't had 3 months payments the same.

Dil is lovely, and speaking out of worry and frustration as was son, I've looked at grants from uni he may be entitled to. They are sorting out all the paperwork tonight in the hopes of an appt being available tomorrow, we will know more then, but they have declared all their monies coming in as soon as each payment arrives.

dseventy

Wazz42 wrote: »

Dil is lovely, and speaking out of worry and frustration as was son,.

Thats quite a thing to say though! Hope you as MIL can have a quiet word so remarks like that don't get back to your son and the children!

Good luck.

D70