Disabled Ebay Seller's Tax Credits Stopped - Advice Please!

shedboy94

Spamfree wrote: »

I'm not sure what people are getting themselves in a twist for over the OP. Over the course of 7 days, the working hours are only an average of 4.5 hours per day.
I commend the OP on not just sitting on her backside expecting to be claiming every disability benefit going, at least she is trying to do something!!!!!

From the sounds of it she is claiming every disability benefit going apart from ESA - WTC with disability element and DLA....if she wasn't working the WTC would be swapped with ESA

Icequeen99

I think the moderators should lock this thread now. The OP asked for help with the overpayment that she has which involves discussion of the tax credits rules and appeals/how to repay.

This has turned into a discussion about whether the policy of tax credits is worthwhile and what might happen under Universal Credit. That isn't what this board is about.

IQ

shedboy94

Magic_Fairy wrote: »

Thank you for your comments UnderPressure.

I have things for sale in my shop, buy stock etc and prepare clothes/items/listings/photographs etc to upload but that doesn't mean I will get sales every week. I can be working and NOT get sales. I haven't always made a loss, only in the past tax year. However I do admit that my income was small in the past and I did need the support of Tax Credits as many other people on low incomes do.

I understand that the Government wants to make this benefit harder to claim, however until the new rules are implemented they have to base their decisions on the current rules for which I believe I met/meet the criteria.

I admit I struggle to do tasks that other people take for granted and that will make my hours look exaggerated. However I thought they were supposed to take my disability into account (after all that is the basis of my claim) and they don't appear to have done so.

I have no probem with being told I no longer qualify, or that perhaps I should claim a different benefit but I am upset that I DID work long hours last year, I haven't lied, I declared my income honestly and now I may have to pay back £6500 which I can't afford! If they thought I should be in receipt of another benefit it would have been better if they had told me within a few weeks of my renewal claim and not a year later!

But by the sounds of it WTC is not just helping to support you, it is your main income, and that's what the problem is. They do take your disability into a/c - that is why you receive more WTC than someone who isn't disabled.
You also mention averaged hours - I can assure you WTC isn't based on average hours
You also mention washing, ironing, reparing clothes - sounds quite physical to me.
The question again is - would you do what you do if you didn't receive WTC - if not then it isn't a proper, viable business.

Magic_Fairy

As I stated in previous posts I have not always made a loss from my ebay business, but yes I did always get a low income from it. Anyone on a low income can claim Working Tax Credits as long as they meet the qualifying criteria which when I claimed it I was told I did.

I have also been told that I can work out the average hours I work each week as I do different tasks on different weeks depending on my fluctuating symptoms. I have also seen this documented somewhere on their website although I can't remember where off the top of my head. I will look for it later.

I don't think doing a bit of washing and ironing on days that I am able to is unreasonable. I never said I was completely unable to work, I said tasks take me longer than they would take a healthy person and I have to do certain tasks on days when I can as on other days I am bed bound. I do my hand sewing when I am stuck in bed, along with uploading listings that I have prepared at other times.

In the last tax year I made a loss, yet I didn't know I would make a loss at the begining of the tax year did I?!!! I can assure you I wouldn't have bothered running an ebay shop if I thought there was no chance of me making any profit. I could in fact have done NOTHING and claimed a different benefit which it seems people posting on this thread would prefer!

Sixer

OP: if I were you, I would step away from the keyboard now. People are just repeating the same - irrelevant - opinions. Every time you respond, it just incites more - irrelevant - opinion.

In amongst it all is the advice you need. Get proper welfare rights advice and support. Appeal the decision. Consider the best benefit for you going forward.

Best of luck.

Magic_Fairy

shedboy94 wrote: »

From the sounds of it she is claiming every disability benefit going apart from ESA - WTC with disability element and DLA....if she wasn't working the WTC would be swapped with ESA

Exactly. You yourself just said 'if I wasn't working' I would receive ESA. What does it matter which one I claim as long as I meet the qualifying criteria? The issue here is that I WAS working but cannot prove how long it takes me to undertake the tasks necessary for my business. The Tax Credit Office does not seem to have taken into account that it takes me longer to do certain tasks than it would a healthy person, despite me providing a letter from my Doctor which clearly explained this. The problem I now have is that I claimed this benefit in good faith and now could be landed with a bill of £6500 which I cannot pay. And I am not claiming every disability benefit going. I get DLA and Tax Credits, nothing else. I have never claimed any grants or any other benefits I might be able to claim because I have some pride and prefer to try to work to pay my way. I made a loss in the last tax year as I'm sure many other businesses did. Even a big business like Woolworths was unable to survive the recession.

Icequeen99

Sixer wrote: »

OP: if I were you, I would step away from the keyboard now. People are just repeating the same - irrelevant - opinions. Every time you respond, it just incites more - irrelevant - opinion.

In amongst it all is the advice you need. Get proper welfare rights advice and support. Appeal the decision. Consider the best benefit for you going forward.

Best of luck.

Exactly.

And please moderators, please close this thread.

IQ

Magic_Fairy

Icequeen99 - Thank you for the PM. I wrote a reply but when I pressed send I got logged out! Now when I try to reply I keep getting a message that says I have to wait an hour between sending messages!

leamingtonspaceman

What bugs me about this situation is that the OP's ebay selling is not classed as 'work' because it generates little or no income. And yet, if you are claiming income related benefits, and you decide to sell some of your own possessions on ebay...that you have paid for previously...then you'll get pulled-in because all of a sudden...you have a 'business.' It'll then be up to you to 'prove' you don't have a business and an income.

It's double standards. The OP is penalized for not earning enough even though they put in the hours. And yet someone can also be penalized by doing exactly the same as the OP...and this WILL be seen as 'work' and 'income.' The rules are 'bent' to suit the Government and create paradoxes such as this. If even an hours work a day, or £10 a day income is considered a business that can affect income related benefits, then it must also be treated the same for WTC.

I wish the OP all the best. They have a sound basis on which to appeal.

OP...ignore all those who keep saying "it only takes five minutes to list an item on ebay." Stephen Hawking is an intelligent chap...but it'd certainly take him longer than five minutes to complete an ebay listing. YOU know your limitations...stop trying to justify yourself...and believe in what YOU think to be right. There are plenty of people on these forums who immediately jump on anyone claiming to have a disability...and will do whatever they can to 'expose' you. They do this just from information you post. They don't know you. Don't give them ammunition. They steer the discussion off-topic and fail to answer your questions...instead choosing to initiate a character assassination.

Good luck.

iaintw

You must be 16 hours doing on working tax credits
You should not be able to have more hours work.
my advice is get a friend to work with you and employ them too.


edit
for more information go here
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/TaxCredits/DG_194914