mortgage interest and I.S

scudybeef

hi,first post on here,,i was wondering if there is a limit to how long DWP pay towards interest payments on a mortgage,,i claim incapacity benefit(long term) and DWP have been paying the interest for a few years(around 6),it is an endowment mortgage,so i pay the endowment and the rest of the interest payment,,is there a maximum length they pay for?

Also,i was told when i first claimed mortgage help that i was what was known as "a 10 pence case",where the DWP payed towards the mortgage,but to stop my money (I.B) being used towards the payments,they would send me a giro for £1.30 every 13 weeks,which they did,the accompanying letter always said that this was for income support,,(not very clear i know,but i have no paperwork to look at )

i've now received a letter fining me for putting in a claim for free prescription (which i didnt know i wasnt entitled to), am happy to pay the prescription fee if im not entitled to income support(although my cicumstances haven't changed at all),but am not willing to pay a fine for something in which i have acted,to the best of my knowledge,fairly and truthfully.

im sorry if this sounds a little confusing,but im struggling to put this down into words,basically,im wondering about contacting the DWP and finding out im no longer entitled to mortgage help.

thank's for reading,if anyone needs any more infomation,pls just ask.

P.S
i've checked my bank account for the past 5 years and can find many of the £1.30 IS payments,,also,,all payments upto my last payment (7th june 2012) end with the letters IS at the end of the DWP transactions...does this not stand for income support?

colin13

they pay the intrest rate ,at which they decide,,the last government paid a higher intrest rate,but this lot cut it,U./I./we,,just have to put the rest to it if they payment dosent cover it,
and yes IS is income support,al be it 10p,we also get that,it opens up other benefits to you,imo u are entillted to free scripts and eye test and dental ,,deffo worth a query

scudybeef

hi colin,thx for your reply,im glad to hear that "10 pence case" is familiar to someone,i was beginning to think i'd imagined it haha.

the payment doesnt cover all the interest,but is certainly a big help,but i am worried that if i contact them,they may say that i shouldn't be receiving mortgage help anymore,(i dont know why i think this,but DWP is a minefield).

You mention the free dental care and eye tests,i have been claiming these also,on the understanding i am entitled to IS,do they check when a dental payment is required?or do they just send payment when asked for?
Im a little worried now,because of the things i have claimed for,which,if im not entitled to,makes me think the DWP will chase me for any prescriptions and the like that they say i should have paid for,,as i said in my first post,until i received the letter telling me i was being fined for not paying for a prescription,i though i was gettin IS help.
If anyone knows if there is a time limit for DWP offering mortgage help with interest payments,i would really like to hear,,many thx.

mikey_bach

Hi Scudybeaf,
there is no time limit to how long I.S pays the interest on your mortgage.

Its called a ten pence because ten pence is paid each week to the customer to keep the claim Income Support running.
You have your Incapacity Benefit I dont know how much but if you didnt have a mortgage you would not be entitled to I.S.
Now of course you have a mortgage so in order to pay the interest on the mortgage Income Support has to be live in payment, to do this they pay the minimum amount each week 10p.

By doing this your claim is live and they can pay your building society direct through the I.S system.

You are right you get it every thirteen weeks, giro or into your account.

As far as I am aware this makes you entitled to free dentists prescriptions etc, so I would query that fine....

scudybeef

i already feel less stressed than a couple of hours ago

i get a little paranoid that things will come crashing down,even though ive done nothing wrong.

i just need to get some clarification from DWP,plus paper proof to send to the audit team(prescription chasers)

thankyou for your info,its put my mind at rest a bit.

Tescodealqueen

I am not sure but you may find that your case does not show on the IS system (as a 10p case). If you can't get the proof you need ask the person who takes your call to check with, or put you through to the mortgage team, they are the specialists and should be able to sort you out.

mikey_bach

The case will show on the I.S system, to have help with the mortgage all details of the loan has to be input onto the I.S systems, the claim is live and 10p is paid to keep the claim live.

The mortgage team can confirm this or the I.S team

scudybeef

thx Mike,i will get in touch with DWP tomorrow,,would anyone know a number to contact them on? i have a pay monthly mobile (no landline)and was looking for a non 0845 number as i dont think my plan supports these types of numbers,,many thanx,been a great help.

Tescodealqueen

Thanks Mikey Bach, my experience is quite old and some 10p cases used to fall off the system and become clerical, so the x check did not work. Glad to see things have got better.

scudybeef

Quick update: Just recieved conformation that I AM entitled to IS and always have been,looks like a mistake from the audit people.
Thanx for the help,feel relieved right now that i wasnt actually ripping anyone off,thx again.:beer:

mikey_bach

Knew you were entitled brilliant news