Using the benefits advisor help needed

IanMcRV

Hi all, this is my first post on this rather marvellous forum

My story is that originally I was a programmer and contracted out so I had to have my own Ltd company as agencies will only pay into a business bank account. Long story short my last contract was 2 years ago then after that I started living off my overdraft and my credit card presuming that I'd get another contract at some time to pay it all back again but alas my skills got a bit rusty and I haven't been able to get a job and now I'd have to describe myself in a position of debt crisis as I'm not sure how I'll be able to pay the next credit card bill. Plus accountants fees are coming up etc. and I'm having that feeling of dread that you get.

I did go to the citizens advice bureau and got a 'debt pack' and I've also read some great advice and watched the video on MSE.

I've always been a bit proud and didn't want to claim benefits but now I have no choice and in fact feel a little foolish that I didn't do so right from the start.

I used the benefits advisor which tells me:
Jobseeker's Allowance (Contribution based) £49.01 per week
Earnings £27.69 per week
Total weekly income£76.70 per week

where I put in that I have a part-time job as a speed dating host where I earn on average £120 per month, works out to 1.5 hours per week (it's 3 hours, once or twice per month on average)

Is that what the 'Earnings' part means on the benefits advisor?

I will also need to claim for rent and can I claim for the money (coins) that I need to put into my electric and gas meters?

Is there any kind of back-dating possible?

Anything else I can claim for to try to get me out of this sticky situation?

I have a really massive debt now with credit card and overdraft totalling nearly £15k ... silly me.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Ian

Caz3121

where are you currently living, is it private rented and how many bedrooms are you over 35?

If private rented you can find the LHA rate for your area, 1 bedroom rate if over 35 and shared accom rate if under. This is the rate that housing benefit use for their calculations and is the maximum that is paid (irrespective of the size of your property)
Anything you are short needs to come from your JSA as does the gas and electric. You can make a claim for council tax benefit if you have not already

nannytone_2

any earnings over £5 per week will be deducted £ for £ from your JSA.
you are expected to pay for gas and electricity from your JSA
you should get housing benefit and council tax support, but how much you receive will depend on your circumstances.
do you rent privately or social housing?
how many bedrooms do you have?
council tax support is worked out differently in each council and your council will have its own scheme.
backdating may be possible, but for a max of 3 months and you would need an exceptional re sebts are your laiming to get it backdated.

your sebts are your own concrn and will not be considered when it comes to claiming benefit

IanMcRV

Hi, I'm living in a house of multiple occupation (or non-occupation in our case) It's a bedsit, I pay the landlord on the 1st of each month (I use his website) I just have the one room then we share the bathroom (I have a cooker, fridge and sink in my room) I don't pay separate council tax.

what are 'sebts' ?

Oh, and yes I'm over 35, I'm 55 and a few days

nannytone_2

i meant debts.
you will have to excuse my spelling as i am blind and my touch typing isnt what it could be.

do you have a tenancy agreement?
you need to find out the shared accomodation LHA rate for your area. this is the maximum you can receive, but it will also be affected by earnings.
the coucil tax being included in the rent may be an issue, as housing benefit is not paud to cover council tax

IanMcRV

Ah right, you do pretty well I just thought 'sebts' might be something that we could claim that I hadn't heard of

I do have a tenancy agreement but it's ancient, about 6 yrs old and I 'think' it was only valid for one year, they just didn't give me new agreements. I'll have to dig it out and have a look.

Am I correct in presuming that housing benefit is done through the local council and nothing to do with JSA type benefits?

pmlindyloo

nannytone wrote: »

i meant debts.
you will have to excuse my spelling as i am blind and my touch typing isnt what it could be.

do you have a tenancy agreement?
you need to find out the shared accomodation LHA rate for your area. this is the maximum you can receive, but it will also be affected by earnings.
the coucil tax being included in the rent may be an issue, as housing benefit is not paud to cover council tax

The council tax shouldn't be an issue. As the OP is living in an HMO then the landlord is liable for the council tax not the OP.

The LL might 'up' the rent to take account for this but in the end the OP will only get the shared accommodation local housing allowance. The rest he/she will have to find for themselves.

As for your earnings (what a wonderful job!) just declare it for JSA and HB purposes. They will need proof of earnings (a letter from your employer will be OK) and as Nannytone says it will be deducted from your JSA except for £5 disregard.

nannytone_2

you claim through your local council, but they do share data with the job centre.

it doesnt really matter that your tenancy agreement is old, it is quite usual to have an orginal fixed term contract followed my a rolling month to month agreement

IanMcRV

Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

So would the sum total of my claims be JSA and housing benefit?

Are there any others that I can claim?

I am actively seeking work but not being very successful at the moment.

pmlindyloo

IanMcRV wrote: »

Ah right, you do pretty well I just thought 'sebts' might be something that we could claim that I hadn't heard of

I do have a tenancy agreement but it's ancient, about 6 yrs old and I 'think' it was only valid for one year, they just didn't give me new agreements. I'll have to dig it out and have a look.

Am I correct in presuming that housing benefit is done through the local council and nothing to do with JSA type benefits?

Your original tenancy will be fine as after that you will have gone onto a statutory periodic tenancy (month to month) in the absence of signing any new agreements.

And yes, HB has to be claimed through your local council not Job Centre Plus.

I hope you are getting some help with your debt. Have you looked at the 'sticky' (the top threads) on the debtfree wannabe forum? There is a thread that gives you the names of free debt advice organisations which will go through your different options.

Edit Nannytone, you are too quick for me!

IanMcRV

Thanks, yes I've read that sticky, I went to the citizens advice bureau today and got a 'debt pack'.

It seems to me that I firstly need to get some kind of income and then go have a chat with my bank to see if we can find a solution.