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Housing Benefit
LiveLoveLaugh
Posts: 62 Forumite
Hi just looking for some advice,
A few years ago myself and my partner were both unemployed as we were made redundant, we claimed job seekers for a while and housing benefit, when my partner returned to work our housing benefit stopped. I continued to claim my contribution job seekers for 6 months and then when this was up i was told i was no
longer entitled to anything as my partner worked.
On the day i signed off the worker in the job centre told me i was not entitled to any job seekers/income support and we were not entitled to any housing benefit or council tax benefit, he also told me I would not be entitled to the pregnancy grant (I was 5 months pregnant at the time of signing off, we also have another child who was 2 at the time).
We have then gone on and struggled on for the last two years on my partners income and child tax credits, I have stayed at home with my two children as returning to work does not make us better off due to childcare, travel expenses etc. To be honest we have managed for the first year and my partners income did increase slightly but over the last 12 months things have been really tough. We have over the last 6 months had to use credit cards to pay our bills as we just don't have enough money coming in to cover everything and we are getting to a point where I don't know how we are going to be able to carry on paying everything.
Then a friend happened to mention that they receive housing benefit, they are a couple who both work and have no dependent children so i was surprised at this, i then decided to look back in to housing benefit and it would seem that for the last year at least we should have been entitled to £83 a week housing benefit and £5 a week council tax benefit. We have fallen in to difficulty paying council tax a couple of times over the last year and not once has anyone mentioned to me about claiming or that we might be entitled even though i told them i did not work and it was just my partners income.
Obviously I am now filling in a claim form to send today but what is the likely hood of them back dating it, i haven't been ill or anything to stop me claiming, i was just mis-advised but i don't have any proof of this other than the name of the person at the job centre, if they backdated our claim it would clear the debt we have racked up paying our bills and would get us back on an even keel but are they likely to just say tough? What should I write in the part where they ask why I want it backdating?
Any help appreciated, thanks
A few years ago myself and my partner were both unemployed as we were made redundant, we claimed job seekers for a while and housing benefit, when my partner returned to work our housing benefit stopped. I continued to claim my contribution job seekers for 6 months and then when this was up i was told i was no
longer entitled to anything as my partner worked.
On the day i signed off the worker in the job centre told me i was not entitled to any job seekers/income support and we were not entitled to any housing benefit or council tax benefit, he also told me I would not be entitled to the pregnancy grant (I was 5 months pregnant at the time of signing off, we also have another child who was 2 at the time).
We have then gone on and struggled on for the last two years on my partners income and child tax credits, I have stayed at home with my two children as returning to work does not make us better off due to childcare, travel expenses etc. To be honest we have managed for the first year and my partners income did increase slightly but over the last 12 months things have been really tough. We have over the last 6 months had to use credit cards to pay our bills as we just don't have enough money coming in to cover everything and we are getting to a point where I don't know how we are going to be able to carry on paying everything.
Then a friend happened to mention that they receive housing benefit, they are a couple who both work and have no dependent children so i was surprised at this, i then decided to look back in to housing benefit and it would seem that for the last year at least we should have been entitled to £83 a week housing benefit and £5 a week council tax benefit. We have fallen in to difficulty paying council tax a couple of times over the last year and not once has anyone mentioned to me about claiming or that we might be entitled even though i told them i did not work and it was just my partners income.
Obviously I am now filling in a claim form to send today but what is the likely hood of them back dating it, i haven't been ill or anything to stop me claiming, i was just mis-advised but i don't have any proof of this other than the name of the person at the job centre, if they backdated our claim it would clear the debt we have racked up paying our bills and would get us back on an even keel but are they likely to just say tough? What should I write in the part where they ask why I want it backdating?
Any help appreciated, thanks
0
Comments
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bloolagoon wrote: »Have you included child tax credits in your income?
Yeah I've included it0 -
you tool the advice of someone who worked for DWP regarding housing benefit.
that is the problem.
the council deal with housing benefit, not the DWP.
the onus is always on the claimant to ensure that they are claiming what they are entitled to.
unledd you have it in writing from the DWP that you were not entitled to housing benefit, then i cant see that you will get any benefit backdated.
Taking the word of the DWP on entitlement to housing benefit is like asking a butcher what shoes you should buy.
completely different benefits with completely different criteria0 -
You have no chance of getting it backdated unless, as nannytone says, you have something from the DWP in writing stating that you would not be eligible for HB.0
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you tool the advice of someone who worked for DWP regarding housing benefit.
that is the problem.
the council deal with housing benefit, not the DWP.
the onus is always on the claimant to ensure that they are claiming what they are entitled to.
unledd you have it in writing from the DWP that you were not entitled to housing benefit, then i cant see that you will get any benefit backdated.
Taking the word of the DWP on entitlement to housing benefit is like asking a butcher what shoes you should buy.
completely different benefits with completely different criteria
this isnt quite right, HB is a DWP benefit administered by Councils, a large portion of applications are made via the JCP/DWP.
the applicable amounts & basic rules & regs are the same / similar.
i do agree the DWP wouldnt know about HB entitlement, but its maybe more like asking a butcher about the fish counter in tesco, same supermarket but different area.
On the backdating, the fact OP starts with 'years' means theres no chance of that happening. was there a claim to JSA ever made or registered or just put off beforehand ? might make a difference.
Ive seen backdates awarded at my LA on the ground of misinformation, but this is something thats very much down to the discretion & interpretation of the officer making the decision.
just give them as much as you can, explain the poor advice & go for it. maybe get assistance with the backdate from someone like CAB ?0 -
Based on what you've said, there is no chance of this getting backdated.I work as a Housing Benefit assessor, any advice given is for general information purposes only. It is not, and should not be construed as, financial or other professional advice.0
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