Income support

mikey_bach

As soon as she stops caring for the 35 hours, ring CA they will cease the claim, then ring I.S who will give her the eight week run on and the extra week then the claim closes.. She will get a letter to confirm

If she moves area during the run on, ring the local contact center and complete the COA over the phone..
She will still get I.S at the new address until the run on ends.

PippaGirl_2

Really hoping mikey is about to clarify one last question. If the carer closed their carers allowance claim and closed their income support claim and then moved area with their partner could they place a JSA couple claim and ask for the carers premium to be added to the couple JSA claim for the 8 weeks run on?

Or does it being a couple claim complicate things?

Thanks.

mikey_bach

If the carer closes the CA claim and I.S claim then makes the a joint JSA claim
then they are still entitled to the eight week run of the carers premium even if they change from I.S to JSA.
If the partner of the carer makes the claim to JSA and the carer is the partner on that claim then they will still get it for eight weeks.
so either way they will get and making a joint claim will not effect it.
Just make sure when you make the claim you say CA has just ceased, its of the form but dont miss it, just in case the processor misses it, shouldnt happen but !!

the Carer can put the partner on the I.S claim for the eight weeks run on if they dont want to shut the I.S claim, they would get the same as claiming JSA..
a lot to think about

PippaGirl_2

Thanks Mikey that's really helpful. I had absolutely no idea the carer could add someone to the IS for 8 weeks instead. The might relieve a lot of pressure on them both. They are both applying for jobs madly in their new area but getting nowhere, so will continue to do so but maybe not having the jobcentre visits might be easier but then again maybe the JSA will help them find jobs. Though they could still make use of the jobcentre even if claiming IS I guess.

Is a couple IS amount the same as a couple JSA? eta have discovered it is the same amount. Now need to decide which would be most helpful to them wrt to finding a job, less pressure or advice from the JCP!

Either way the 8 week carer premium run on will be a big help.

PippaGirl_2

I wonder if you could advise whether what is happening is normal and answer a couple of questions for me.

I telephoned to inform CA that she was stopping caring from X date and the paperwork has arrived confirming those dates. However CA went into her account on the Monday, the day after she stopped caring. As CA is paid in advance I take it that this is an overpayment? If so, will they just take it back from her bank account, or ask for it back, or deduct it in installments from other benefits? It has already gone on living expenses and she is worried they will just take it causing an unauthorised overdraft and huge bank charges.

Also, we handed in her housing benefit application form the day she moved into the property which was the first day she had all the evidence such as tenancy agreement etc. that the form said they needed. On the application form she said that she had been claiming IS and had informed IS of a change of circumstances and was changing her IS single person claim to a couple claim to include her partner, and that she would be getting the carers premium top up for the 8 week run on.

She has now had written acknowledgement of her HB claim from the LA but the letter says they will not proceed with her claim until they receive from her notification of the results of her IS result once the change of circumstances has been processed. She hasn't heard back yet from IS, she sent the forms back to them the day she received them. Is this normal for the LA not to proceed with the HB claim until her IS is sorted? They know she has no other income or money and her rent will be due out and she doesn't want to get in arrears so soon after getting this tenancy.

Also, she was due IS a week ago which would have been her normal date for her single claim but obviously they are in the process of changing her claim from single to couple claim and her payment did not go through, not even at the single rate. Neither of them have anything to live on and no food or anything. I sent them £10 which was all I could afford so they bought milk and bread etc. but this will run out. Does anyone know how long the DWP might take to sort out the change of circumstances with the IS? How will they eat and manage meanwhile?

Sorry for the questions. I am so worried for them. I don't even live near them to be able to help them.

mikey_bach

PippaGirl wrote: »

I wonder if you could advise whether what is happening is normal and answer a couple of questions for me.

I telephoned to inform CA that she was stopping caring from X date and the paperwork has arrived confirming those dates. However CA went into her account on the Monday, the day after she stopped caring. As CA is paid in advance I take it that this is an overpayment? If so, will they just take it back from her bank account, or ask for it back, or deduct it in installments from other benefits? It has already gone on living expenses and she is worried they will just take it causing an unauthorised overdraft and huge bank charge

As long as she informed them she is stopping CA then she is ok What probably happened was the money was due to go into the account and they couldnt recall it on time but don't worry, only worry if it is paid next week
They will not recall it in one go, its one week under £65 so shouldn't reclaim it its called a SMOP and will write it off

Also, we handed in her housing benefit application form the day she moved into the property which was the first day she had all the evidence such as tenancy agreement etc. that the form said they needed. On the application form she said that she had been claiming IS and had informed IS of a change of circumstances and was changing her IS single person claim to a couple claim to include her partner, and that she would be getting the carers premium top up for the 8 week run on.

She has now had written acknowledgement of her HB claim from the LA but the letter says they will not proceed with her claim until they receive from her notification of the results of her IS result once the change of circumstances has been processed. She hasn't heard back yet from IS, she sent the forms back to them the day she received them. Is this normal for the LA not to proceed with the HB claim until her IS is sorted? They know she has no other income or money and her rent will be due out and she doesn't want to get in arrears so soon after getting this tenancy.

this is perfectly normal the LA are waiting for IS to update their screens will be ok when that is done Update the screens with the new change of address and entitlement to IS is going to continue at the new address

Also, she was due IS a week ago which would have been her normal date for her single claim but obviously they are in the process of changing her claim from single to couple claim and her payment did not go through, not even at the single rate. Neither of them have anything to live on and no food or anything. I sent them £10 which was all I could afford so they bought milk and bread etc. but this will run out. Does anyone know how long the DWP might take to sort out the change of circumstances with the IS? How will they eat and manage meanwhile?

They can take week or so, she will have to chase it and explain they have no money, if they have the paperwork then it will done straight away Ring up ask for a call back from the section and how desperate they are

Sorry for the questions. I am so worried for them. I don't even live near them to be able to help them.

If every one has been notified of the new changes it will happen
IS may need chasing, for that call back dont be fobbed off
If CA gets paid again next week then its their official error
hope it gets sorted

PippaGirl_2

Thanks Mikey that's helpful. I guess I just assumed the LA could deal with the HB without needing to wait for an IS result as there is no other income.

She is phoning IS today to see what is happening and ask when a payment will be made.

PippaGirl_2

I've had her hysterical on the phone today. IS say they haven't received her forms and would have got them by now. They are sending another form out to her but this means she has to get new copies of all evidence again and send it all back. IS say that normally they try to turn around forms in 9 days but as this will hit Christmas it is likely to be 3 weeks from when they receive it all back. I totally forgot to tell her to send the forms and evidence recorded as so much 'gets lost'! She says she said to the man she has nothing to live on and no food and the rent won't get paid and he just said "have you got parents to ask?" and she said her Mum is on ir benefits and can't afford her own bills and he said "have you got grandparents?" to which she said no they have all died. She is hysterical and has no money and no food and the rent won't get paid or anything. She is autistic so tends to panic if things don't go right anyway let alone not being able to survive. She is hysetrical about not being able to get back to family for Christmas as well and being stuck there. Her local CAB isn't open till Monday but I've urged her to go as I think she needs advocacy, and preferably emotional support though not sure if that is what CAB do.

I feel so frustrated that I didn't tell her to send the stuff recorded or special delivery to start with, I should have known this would happen.

Will they backdate it all eventually to the date she requested the first form?

What is she supposed to live on and how will her rent be paid? I think she could lose this tenancy as they just won't renew the lease at the end of the 6 months term with a bad record of paying. This is a nightmare.

mikey_bach

Ok, give them a ring tomorrow and see if they have received the forms ask for a call back from the section, if not then ask them to make an appointment at the Job center to fill in another set, they will send it through the internal post, or if she is really desperate they may fax it up. If they do then she could get payment
It will be back dated..... To get payment she would have to push though
hope she gets it sorted

PippaGirl_2

I won't go in to the awful saga of the IS and HB claims as it was a nightmare (one of the couple has money in a Trust fund which they have no access to until they are 21 however it is taken into account and the savings takes them over the £6000 limit and they lose £4 a week from their benefits, all of that took ages for the admin team to investigate and examine all the paperwork). But it finally got done and sorted.

The 8 weeks of IS ends today. One of them has been taken on a zero hour contract by an agency to work as part of 'bank staff' as a health care assistant. They have trained her at their cost and she has paid for her DBS check herself which she is still waiting to come back so she can start work. She is going to phone the agency tomorrow to see if the DBS is back and if so hopes to start work Tuesday. The agency have told her they could provide her with work up to 7 days a week if she wants it with shifts from 8-11 hours long. I have advised her not to work more than 40 hours a week for her health and wellbeing though. The other partner has had interviews but not been offered any work.

As things are up in the air work wise (maybe the DBS won't come back for a while, maybe the agency won't provide enough/any work despite their promises etc.) I have advised them to place a claim for JSA tomorrow anyway. That will mean they won't be without any income. They can explain to the DWP their situation when they get the call back and at the face to face they will have within days. Also the one of them that has no work or anything in sight can then be supported to find work by the JCP.

My question now though is, assuming the DBS does come back soon and one starts doing some shifts on bank work, what is the procedure in how she informs the DWP and LA (for housing benefit) how much she has earned that week? How then will benefits be worked out weekly?

What I am worried about is an overpayment and then letters demanding money will escalate her anxiety and affect her health (she's on the autistic spectrum).

This is mainly for the next 5 weeks because then she starts university and will be receiving student finance, then everyone will need updating again.

Thanks for your help.