Please help new mum & benefits have been stopped

mrsiwannabefree

I live with my partner who suffers from panic disorder & agrophobia. I haven't been able to claim carers as he's only on the lower rate of disability.
I became pregnant unexpectedly last year and when I tried to claim for us as a couple I encountered all sorts of problems. I was told I could only claim jobseekers & would have to go to the jobcentre 3 times a week to actively look for work. I was expecting twins & having to have weekly scans & hospital appts as well as care for my partner & explained that but was told I couldn't claim until I was 29 weeks.
At 29 weeks I claimed Income support at around £30 per week, I had the twins 4 weeks early and claimed child tax credit.
After a few weeks I was told my income support was being stopped and that my partner had to claim for me.
So we contacted incapacity benefit but was told that my partner couldn't claim for me or the children.
So we went back to income support who still said no it's your partner that must claim.
My benefits stopped at the end of March and we've been back & forth trying to sort out who can claim for what ~ it's stressing us both out as we're living on £100 per week incapacity & £100 per month dla
Trying to buy baby milk, nappies & food etc. on what we're getting is so hard
I went to a local counsellor who said he'd help but hasn't, I keep leaving voicemails for him & emailing but he doesn't reply
Citizens Advice say they can't see me at my local one, I have to go to the next town which is near on impossible with a partner that has agrophobia
I'm at my wits end, can someone please help

mrcow

With 3 kids, you should also be getting £185ish child benefit on top of what you've listed every 4 weeks. Are you claiming this?

Molly41

And child tax credit?

RAS

Trying speaking to CAP. They do home visits.

Their emphasis is debt management but given the situation they may well be able to help you with the benefits and the budgetting.

Debt counselling agency, which specialises in helping those who are emotionally struggling too. The religious focus is why they do it, not how they do it.

• Link: Christians Against Poverty
• Tel: 01274 760720
• Opening times: different for each bureau

MrsManda

Your local children's/sure start centre may have a benefits advisor you can talk to. My local one does and he will do home visits if required.

As Molly and mrcow said, you ought to be receiving child benefit and child tax credits so if you're not already claiming these you need to get a claim in straight away.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/start/claiming/how-to-claim.htm

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/claiming/get-started/how-to-claim.htm

epitome

You should have got Income Support for 3 months (15 weeks) after baby born.

Now that has finished it is JSA for both of you, either one of you can claim JSA, it does not have to be him.. If you decide to claim JSA you should consider putting the child benefit in his name so he gets national insurance for him. You don't have to go to the jobcentre 3 times a week, you have to do 3 jobseeking actions per week, that could be 1 week.....Phone up two prospective employers and apply for one job.


Alternatively if he can get a sick note from doctor on going for months he could claim ESA for both of you.

Anubis_2

epitome wrote: »

You should have got Income Support for 3 months (15 weeks) after baby born.

Now that has finished it is JSA for both of you, either one of you can claim JSA, it does not have to be him.. If you decide to claim JSA you should consider putting the child benefit in his name so he gets national insurance for him. You don't have to go to the jobcentre 3 times a week, you have to do 3 jobseeking actions per week, that could be 1 week.....Phone up two prospective employers and apply for one job.


Alternatively if he can get a sick note from doctor on going for months he could claim ESA for both of you.

Her partner is on Incapacity benefit! JSA doesn't come into it for him so why are you suggesting it???? He will be migrated to ESA at some point.

OP as your partner claims IB, and no one seems to know who should claim, I would seek a welfare rights officer or services in your area and contact them immediately. Type into google the name of your council and welfare rights eg:

Liverpool welfare rights service

Also ask here http://www.welfarerights.net/home.php - they have a contact number and they help the UK.

Also the advice about seeing a benefit advisor if welfare rights are not accessible is a must.

epitome

She didn't actually say he was on IB just that she had contacted them, and I missed that bit anyway. All I saw was that she had been told she had to claim JSA (which if he is on IB was incorrect advice, well actually it was correct to say that was all **she** could claim, but equallly her partner could have claimed Income Support)

In which case if he is on IB he can claim Income Support top up for both of them. She does not phone IB for this, she has to phone 08000556688 and make a new claim for Income Support in his name. To claim Income support you have to phone that number then choose option 1 for new claims, and option 1 for claiming because of illness or disability.

They may want to speak to him (though strictly speaking there is no need to really) but because she will speaking to an ESA agent they may not know the rules that implicit consent is fine for a new claim to IS, however it's just easier to play along to their misunderstanding and let them say hello to him on the phone.
She was incorrectly advised by Incapacity Benefit.

You should try to backdate the claim to the day after your Income Support stopped, give the reason that you were incorrectly advised by Incapacity Benefit that your partner could not claim for you.

Anubis_2

epitome wrote: »

She didn't actually say he was on IB just that she had contacted them, and I missed that bit anyway. All I saw was that she had been told she had to claim JSA (which if he is on IB was incorrect advice, well actually it was correct to say that was all **she** could claim, but equallly her partner could have claimed Income Support)

In which case if he is on IB he can claim Income Support top up for both of them. She does not phone IB for this, she has to phone 08000556688 and make a new claim for Income Support in his name. To claim Income support you have to phone that number then choose option 1 for new claims, and option 1 for claiming because of illness or disability.

They may want to speak to him (though strictly speaking there is no need to really) but because she will speaking to an ESA agent they may not know the rules that implicit consent is fine for a new claim to IS, however it's just easier to play along to their misunderstanding and let them say hello to him on the phone.
She was incorrectly advised by Incapacity Benefit.

You should try to backdate the claim to the day after your Income Support stopped, give the reason that you were incorrectly advised by Incapacity Benefit that your partner could not claim for you.

who can claim for what ~ it's stressing us both out as we're living on £100 per week incapacity & £100 per month dla

She did mention it more than once

MissMoneypenny

airliner wrote: »

Because you live in a country with a good welfare system.
If you don't like it, leave.

He is right though, as the welfare system was invented as a safety net and not a way of life. When able bodied people need money, they should work.

The welfare system is changing now and going back to that safety net. Are you going to tell those complaining about ESA, PIP and Universal Credits "If you don't like it, leave"?

C_Mababejive

There are plent of people who suffer mental illness such as stress,depression and anxiety who drive themselves on and on and hold down full time jobs and run their families. And why? because there is no other option. The other day i did a ten hour shift ending at 2100 hours and with the tremendous heat, i could hardly function and was almost fit to drop when i got home. I;m sure there were plenty like me. My back is broken carrying so many others in this country.