Child Tax Credit New Claim - how long to wait ?

davefrombristol

Hi
I live with my daughter in a 2 bed flat, she is 18 and has come off JSA to start a child care course at college. My only income is part time ( £78 approx ) so I don't qualify for IS / JSA as I earn just above what I'd get on JSA, Child Benefit stopped on my daughter's 18th birthday back in January this year.

I get full HB although the multiple change of circumstances over the last year or so has resulted in HB being stopped and reinstated on numerous occasions with my daughter being treated as a non-dependant at times.

She has started at college and has no income - the bursary form suggests she will only be entitled to travel expenses. At present the two of us are living of my £78 a week which has to feed /clothe and pay the bills and foot the bill for travel to and from college daily as the bursary money wont start till sometime next month.

I am currently going through the process of applying for CTC - had to ring to apply for the form to be sent in the post ( 2 weeks ) and now go through multiple weeks awaiting a decision from them. Is it the case that they won't pay me until I am in receipt of Child Benefit which could take weeks to start up again. ?

Is there any way of expediating the claim for CTC as the hardship caused by many weeks of waiting could take its toll on me. When I used the Universal Credit Calculator recently it gave me a score suggesting I'd be £50 a week better off then I am now but that won't be coming in for years, I'm also frightened of telling HB of the change of Circumstances ( daughter returning to college ) as they will stop my housing benefit as I cannot provide proof of CB, I'm already under pressure from the landlord with warnings about eviction due to debt caused by non dependant charges re: my daughter, interestingly under universal credit any spouse under 21 would not incur these non dependant charges.

davefrombristol

Update

Another 10 days has passed by .... two adults living off my weekly wage of £78 which has to pay for everything ... food, gas, electric, water & the internet to be able to post this etc whilst the tax credit muppets live in comfort and spend weeks without even acknowledging receipt of the forms ( simple forms as quoted by Gordon Brown so why cant they get on and deal with it for people that are clearly in desperate need ? ).

No wonder the food banks are in such demand - I'll have to try and find one soon and join the ever growing list of people that are not claiming JSA or IS but are simply stuffed by the system.

paddedjohn

Is there anything stopping you getting a proper job?

Poppie68

Can your daughter not get an evening/weekend job. With regards to the CB and CTC credit claims, they process thousands a week so things don't happen quickly.

davehughes182

It can take upto three weeks from when the form is received by TC before you could hear anything. If they have had the form for over three weeks, you may qualify for a hardship payment although that isnt guarenteed.
If you have left it longer than three weeks, then ring them ASAP as it informs you both on the form and on the telephone of the timescale.

Of course, you could always look for a second income as working 12 hours a week is hardly ideal when if you get an extra 4 hours you would get WTC also!

Podge52

paddedjohn wrote: »

Is there anything stopping you getting a proper job?

Maybe some of the many millions also looking for paid employment. Jobs aren't just there for the taking you know.

And what makes you think the job he has is not a proper one?

pmlindyloo

I suggest you visit CAB and ask them to make a phone call on your behalf to both Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits.

At the very least they will be able to tell you if your claims are being processed, if they need any further information and how long the claim might take.

In my experience these departments are often more forthcoming to CAB advisors than they are to their clients.

Also, CAB will be able to get you a food parcel. In our area you need to be sponsored to receive one of these. I'm not sure that you can walk in and get one yourself.

davefrombristol

I work one day a week for a company that employ others on the same basis so they dont have to pay national insurance contributions. I drive 250 miles in one day without hardly stopping from 8 am to 6 pm. If I get more hours ( 4 - 6 hours ) I'd be able to claim working tax credit and I would probably jump from £78 a week to about £250 + but work is ever so hard to find.

davefrombristol

paddedjohn_Is_there_anything_stopping_you_getting_a_proper_job?_/QUOTE wrote:

I hope that you one day find yourself as a single parent bringing up a disabled child and never manage to find a job for years and years

paddedjohn

davefrombristol wrote: »

paddedjohn_Is_there_anything_stopping_you_getting_a_proper_job?_/QUOTE wrote:

I hope that you one day find yourself as a single parent bringing up a disabled child and never manage to find a job for years and years

That's not a very nice thing to wish on someone is it, I only asked a simple question since you only work 9 hours a week at present. Your daughter has got diabetes and she functions well enough to go to College with the expectation of working with children and presumably school before that so why can't you up your work load? There are plenty of jobs going at this time of the year in supermarkets and other shops which may suit you. My question still stands, is there anything stopping you getting a proper job?

davefrombristol

paddedjohn wrote: »

63279421 wrote:

That's not a very nice thing to wish on someone is it, I only asked a simple question since you only work 9 hours a week at present. Your daughter has got diabetes and she functions well enough to go to College with the expectation of working with children and presumably school before that so why can't you up your work load? There are plenty of jobs going at this time of the year in supermarkets and other shops which may suit you. My question still stands, is there anything stopping you getting a proper job?

The heading is “Child Tax Credit New Claim - how long to wait ?”

If I was lucky enough to get a second job and boost my income up towards £15,000 to £42,000 then I would still be entitled to Child Tax Credit so can you please stop trying to deflect the question over to my income or lack of income, as that is completely irrelevant to my post.

Wikipedia definition of child tax credit

“In the United Kingdom, a family with children and an income below about £42,000 can claim child tax credit on top of child benefit.”

You hark on about increasing my income as if its so plain and simple to walk round the corner and a job awaits everyone, others here will agree that it is near damn impossible.

Now I have been waiting for almost one month for Child Tax Credit to kick in – don’t forget that this money is paid because I am responsible for my daughter. If she wasn’t at college she would be receiving job seekers allowance and looking for work, she is at college to better her chances of looking for work.

How much longer do you think I should be expected to wait before CB and CTC is in payment and more worryingly they seem to have moved over to paying every month rather than every week, does this mean that I will always be one month behind on payments ?