No Tax Credits or Housing Benefit for at least 5 weeks... family of 4?

belowtheline2013

Hope someone can help, really panicking here :-(

Trying to sum up our situation as quickly as possible -

My partner lost his job unfairly last year after suffering depression.

We had our second baby in July last year and I returned to work in January. I only have a part-time contract of 17.5 hours per week which is what I reduced my hours to after the birth of our first child (my partner was in a full-time well-paying job at this time).

Due to the depression we also separated in August last year and I made a single claim for Housing Benefit and Tax Credits. I was on Maternity Leave at the time. Unfortunately I wasn't managing money very well and one thing led to another and I fell into arrears with my rent, electricity and ended up giving up my house and moving into my mothers with the 2 children and making a single claim for tax credits.

Now, I was at my mothers for a few months and managed to pay off the arrears etc. and only have a few (non-priority) debts to clear.

I got back together with my partner recently and as he has a very difficult relationship with my mother it was impossible for us to give the relationship a proper trial. So we made the decision to move into a place together. We moved in last Wednesday.

My partner still hasn't found work and has over 200 job application in his e-mail outbox. His contributions based JSA isn't due to run out until August but he won't qualify for Income Based JSA due to my income.

I thought it would be a fairly straightforward process of updating my claim and they would pay us at the new rate.

But apparently not, I phoned and told they have to end my single claim and send out a new joint claim by post. They have told me to expect to receive the claim pack within 3 weeks. And once it has been completed and returned provided there is no information missing I can expect to wait 3-6weeks for the claim to be processed.

Housing Benefit are insistent that they can be us nothing until the new Tax Credits are awarded.

We have nothing except JSA of £71 a week for us to live on as a family of four for up to 9 weeks.

My measly wage of £556 on the 15th of May paid the first month's rent.

My next wage of £556 is due 14th June but will all go on rent again.

My child benefit is due 17th of June but will pay my Council Tax. I work for Council Tax/Benefits so it is a condition of my employment that my Council Tax is kept up to date.

Other than that we have absolutely nothing. My children need nappies, formula milk, food etc. I'm walking 2 miles and back to work everyday.

We have been told we don't qualify for a Crisis Loan or Community Care Grant as we are not in receipt of passported benefits.

What do I do?

Toomuchdebt

Can you not increase your hours temporarily?

tomtom256

So you work in council/tax benefits and didn't realise this would happen.

Have you looked at foodbanks etc in your area?

HB should be payable on your current income and then they should reassess once tax credits are awarded, but again working were you do you should know this or at least have a colleagues who could offer advice.

I'm guessing partner JSA is conts based so will run out within 6 months, depending how long he has been on it.

I would go back to HB and ask them to sort out the claim on your current circumstances not future ones and let them know of your financial difficulties.

samroo

You will need to prioritise where your £71 per week is spent. You already have your rent and council tax under control. So next comes food and baby essentials which should be manageable. What other essential outgoings do you have?

Dovah_diva

You really didn't think this move through. Why on earth didn't you save some money while living with your mother? Being dependent on Government hand outs always means a delay while claims are processed. I would echo the advice above - consider visiting food-banks for your essentials and visit the Old Style Board on MSE. It has some great, very low cost recipes. Failing that, anything you can pawn in the short term? Anything you can Ebay?

shellsuit

Dovah_diva wrote: »

You really didn't think this move through. Why on earth didn't you save some money while living with your mother? Being dependent on Government hand outs always means a delay while claims are processed. I would echo the advice above - consider visiting food-banks for your essentials and visit the Old Style Board on MSE. It has some great, very low cost recipes. Failing that, anything you can pawn in the short term? Anything you can Ebay?

They were paying their debts off, like was said in the OP.

Even if they had saved, they'd still have the debts, so would be in the same position now.

OP, I don't know what to suggest, but I hope something gets sorted for you soon.

Dovah_diva

shellsuit wrote: »

They were paying their debts off, like was said in the OP.

Even if they had saved, they'd still have the debts, so would be in the same position now.

OP, I don't know what to suggest, but I hope something gets sorted for you soon.

I am assuming they planned to move back into a home together; it wasn't a spur of the moment decision - therefore they should have planned for that financially. I appreciate that they were paying off debts, but did they really expect a seamless transition with their benefits? Very naive if they did.

lippy1923

Dovah_diva wrote: »

I am assuming they planned to move back into a home together; it wasn't a spur of the moment decision - therefore they should have planned for that financially. I appreciate that they were paying off debts, but did they really expect a seamless transition with their benefits? Very naive if they did.

Sorry OP but I agree. You should not have moved out of your Mothers until you could afford to do so. I would suggest moving back in with Mum for a while, taking care of any outstanding debts, try to increase your hours and wait for OH to get a job before considering moving out again. You simply cannot afford it.

If Mum is happy enough for you to live there and support you then she should be able to support your decision to get back with OH and help you plan for that. Your little ones come first, so don't stretch yourself too much.

Good luck

Blackpool_Saver

lippy1923 wrote: »

Sorry OP but I agree. You should not have moved out of your Mothers until you could afford to do so. I would suggest moving back in with Mum for a while, taking care of any outstanding debts, try to increase your hours and wait for OH to get a job before considering moving out again. You simply cannot afford it.

Good luck

Suppose there was no Mum to go back to, suppose this married couple could only rely on each other, imagine that eh? not running back to Mummy

lippy1923

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

Suppose there was no Mum to go back to, suppose this married couple could only rely on each other, imagine that eh? not running back to Mummy

Why would there be no Mum to go back to? OP only moved out last Wednesday. If the OP can and Mum is happy to help out, then they should do it. Why struggle unnecessarily when they could help themselves out and not rely on handouts that are not getting them far enough?

Dunroamin

lippy1923 wrote: »

Why would there be no Mum to go back to? OP only moved out last Wednesday. If the OP can and Mum is happy to help out, then they should do it. Why struggle unnecessarily when they could help themselves out and not rely on handouts that are not getting them far enough?

If they've recently moved to a rental property they'll've signed a contract and still owe rent, even if they leave now. Better to see if mum can help out with a loan rather than accommodation.