Housing Benefit suspended due to change of address.

Naf

Murphybear wrote: »

To the OP I am a bit concerned that you are waiting for your HB to buy food. Surely it should be set aside until the rent is due?

I use my Tax Credits to pay the rent as its almost the exact amount I need. HB pays our food bills as it comes in more frequently through the month.

I take your point; and for someone struggling to pay bills, then you would be right that it should be prioritised this way. But so long as everything gets paid, it's not really an issue.

samwich1979

Naf wrote: »

My council advertises a 'claim today, benefit tomorrow; 24 hour promise' - but it's all lies.

Until someone looks at your paperwork, the council have no idea what your new benefit will be; all they know for sure is that you're no longer entitled to payment for your old claim at the previous address.
I had the same problem when I moved, but once it gets processed the dates all get sorted; any overpayment at the previous address will be swallowed up by underpayment at the current address and you'll receive exactly what you expect (assuming you're right about your actual benefit amount not changing); just maybe not exactly when you expect it.
If you're really struggling in the meantime, consider a crisis loan.

I just dont remember having this problem when i have moved previously, it all seemed to go very smoothly, no payments missed and have never had a letter about suspending my claim.

I wouldnt ever go for a crisis loan again, had one just after i had my son 2 years ago as i had no money for his formula and they made my life hell while i was trying to pay it back.

Nada666

So your address has changed. Therefore a new claim is processed. And you think you deserve special treatment because?

And your comment about crisis loans is bizarre, too. The repayment rate of crisis loans is capped at a very modest level and are not stacked together - they are repaid serially.

catz1ct

It is normal practice to suspend a claim when someone has moved address, this is to avoid any overpayments.

I know you say all the info is the same so you wont receive an overpayment but when the claim is cancelled at your old address an overpayment is created because you have effectively already been paid for the period. When they put the new address into payment an underpayment is created and then this should be offset against the overpayment.

This is going into the more technical side but if the council didn't suspend the claim it can cause issues with audit (who are very strict) and subsidy (it may mean that the council cannot claim back the money from the government).

We normally tell people a change in circs will be done in 10 working days but of course sometimes its slightly longer or shorter depending on the workload at the time.

shop-to-drop

Your mistake was waiting until after you moved to inform the council. Surely you must have been planning the move for several weeks or months. That is why you are having problems this time you can't expect them to continue paying your original claim when you aren't even living in the property.

Naf

samwich1979 wrote: »

I just dont remember having this problem when i have moved previously, it all seemed to go very smoothly, no payments missed and have never had a letter about suspending my claim.

You may have just been lucky on catching your council when they were not as busy; and perhaps long enough before your next payment date that it was all sorted by then.
Remember they're currently recalculating practically everything for end of tax year; 'Bedroom "Tax"'; and the reduced CTB subsidy; as well as dealing with substantially more claims due to austerity measures.

samwich1979 wrote: »

I wouldnt ever go for a crisis loan again, had one just after i had my son 2 years ago as i had no money for his formula and they made my life hell while i was trying to pay it back.

I'm currently paying back 3; and other than sending repeated letters wanting me to pay a higher amount each month I've had no problems. Eventually they just stopped sending and 'accepted my offer' - I never made an offer, just kept paying exactly what I had been. They're not too bright, but hardly so bad as to feel you need to avoid them at all costs.

shop-to-drop wrote: »

Your mistake was waiting until after you moved to inform the council. Surely you must have been planning the move for several weeks or months. That is why you are having problems this time you can't expect them to continue paying your original claim when you aren't even living in the property.

Yes, and then again no.
OP should have gone to them earlier, but that's still no guarantee it gets sorted on time. My council knew about mine in advance and I still missed at least one payment.

samwich1979

Nada666 wrote: »

So your address has changed. Therefore a new claim is processed. And you think you deserve special treatment because?

And your comment about crisis loans is bizarre, too. The repayment rate of crisis loans is capped at a very modest level and are not stacked together - they are repaid serially.

They gave me £71 and expected me to pay it back within 2 weeks because i worked, no options for any longer than this.

I was on maternity leave and if i had the money to pay this off so quickly i doubt i would have needed the crisis loan.

So no, not a bizarre comment just the truth. I ended up asking the CAB to contact them and arrange a more suitable repayment after much hassle.

I dont deserve special treatment just want to know i will receive the money i should when i need it. Never had this happen before with a straight forward address change.

samwich1979

catz1ct wrote: »

It is normal practice to suspend a claim when someone has moved address, this is to avoid any overpayments.

I know you say all the info is the same so you wont receive an overpayment but when the claim is cancelled at your old address an overpayment is created because you have effectively already been paid for the period. When they put the new address into payment an underpayment is created and then this should be offset against the overpayment.

This is going into the more technical side but if the council didn't suspend the claim it can cause issues with audit (who are very strict) and subsidy (it may mean that the council cannot claim back the money from the government).

We normally tell people a change in circs will be done in 10 working days but of course sometimes its slightly longer or shorter depending on the workload at the time.

So does this mean i will not get any money next monday? Surely they cant do this if you need it?

samwich1979

shop-to-drop wrote: »

Your mistake was waiting until after you moved to inform the council. Surely you must have been planning the move for several weeks or months. That is why you are having problems this time you can't expect them to continue paying your original claim when you aren't even living in the property.

Myself and my family got notice to leave, a property came up the next day and we agreed to move. So we didnt have much time to organise it and i work so cant always get to the office when they open.

Also you cant change address in advance as you need a tenancy agreement to do this. We got this the day we moved.

midnight_express

samwich1979 wrote: »

So does this mean i will not get any money next monday? Surely they cant do this if you need it?

I very much doubt that you will get paid on Monday. You keep refering to a minor change of circumstances when in fact your old claim has ended and a new claim has been opened. It may be different where you are, but in my area there is always a backlog and new claims take several weeks. (Public sector jobs are being cut all the time.) It won't do any good saying you need money for food etc as it isn't part of their remit to supply money for anything other than rent.