Housing Benefit - Receipts or Accounts?

Housing_Benefit_Officer

Nemo1966 wrote: »

Sorry but idiot !!!!! who work for the council shouldn't be allowed to post on this forum. Your advice is biased and probably misleading.

Typical council answer - just shut up and do as you are told. That's why councils are trained to answer people who question them with non answers.

Are your premises expenses for the property you live in and claim housing benefit for? Your vehicle is that just for business use or do you use it for private use as well? Mileage are you claiming 45p per mile travel or the cost of petrol?

Poppie68

HBO has helped numerous members by giving very helpful,informative unbiased advice. He and others are trying to explain to you the reasons for the request but you are constantly pushing back.
Basically they can ask for whatever is required for them to investigate a claim fully and for them to make a correct decision..... IMO you seem to be protesting to loudly, maybe the Housing benefit office are on to something! Just saying!!!!!!!!

Nemo1966

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

Are your premises expenses for the property you live in and claim housing benefit for? Your vehicle is that just for business use or do you use it for private use as well? Mileage are you claiming 45p per mile travel or the cost of petrol?

Yes my premises are the property i live in. Use of home is £4 per week @48 weeks which I understand in the standard allowance (I don't work from a specific room, therefore I have no business rates to pay).

Mileage is 45p per mile x 400 miles (business use - I have not included private use in this allowance).

nannytone_2

Poppie68 wrote: »

HBO has helped numerous members by giving very helpful,informative unbiased advice. He and others are trying to explain to you the reasons for the request but you are constantly pushing back.
Basically they can ask for whatever is required for them to investigate a claim fully and for them to make a correct decision..... IMO you seem to be protesting to loudly, maybe the Housing benefit office are on to something! Just saying!!!!!!!!

i thought HBO was a 'she'

Penny-Pincher!!

So would it be correct to presume that if you're claiming £4 a week for using your home for the business, that £208 p/a would be deducted from whatever HB you get awarded as I wouldn't of thought you could claim HB for business use?

It sounds like they just want proof in form of receipts for the accounts you've put in to make a claim for HB. Sounds reasonable. I would of thought bank statements, petrol receipts, business insurance papers, copies of purchases for the business, etc etc. They would all be organised now thanks to the accountant, so either send copies in of everything or go to the offices and let them make copies?

PP
x

Nemo1966

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

So would it be correct to presume that if you're claiming £4 a week for using your home for the business, that £208 p/a would be deducted from whatever HB you get awarded as I wouldn't of thought you could claim HB for business use?

It sounds like they just want proof in form of receipts for the accounts you've put in to make a claim for HB. Sounds reasonable. I would of thought bank statements, petrol receipts, business insurance papers, copies of purchases for the business, etc etc. They would all be organised now thanks to the accountant, so either send copies in of everything or go to the offices and let them make copies?

PP
x

The £4 per week to use my home to work from is not for rent as you incorrectly presumed. Check the HMRC website. I didn't even know I could claim a proportion of my household bills as an expense (I guess that's why I pay an ACCOUNTANT).

I will type this slowly for you; The council has copies of everything. They are NOW asking for further clarification and further breakdowns. I don't know how I can further break anything down other than to copy and paste the whole HMRC website!

The point I am trying to make, and has been completely sideswept by everyone on this forum jumping to conclusions that I am up to something dodgy or telling me to stop whingeing (thanks for that btw), is that I was asked for accounts OR receipts by the council. I have now provided both. I don't NEED to hire an accountant, i am perfectly capable of doing my own tax return and have done so quite successfully for the past 6 years. I employed the services of an accountant purely to simplify the process of HB renewal in an attempt to make it easier (for them) to process my claim, but all it seems to have done is make the whole process even more protracted. Why even ask for accounts if they can't understand them?! So, despite providing my accounts, and receipts, they are asking for further clarification on my expenditure for travelling expenses, use of premises, bank charges.

At what point can I say YOU HAVE EVERYTHING, I HAVE EXPLAINED EVERYTHING, PLEASE JUST STOP STALLING AND GET ON WITH IT!!!!!

I honestly feel like they are drawing this out so that they don't have to pay me anything out of their 2014 budget!!

NYM

I can visualise you typing that through gritted teeth...

No one on this forum can provide an explanation why you've been asked to provide the additional information nor why your particular accounts don't satisfy the requirements.

Public funds are limited. If your local authority insist on you supplying the info in order to give you some of those limited funds...if you want to make a claim from it, you have to supply what they want.

rogerblack

Nemo1966 wrote: »

The £4 per week to use my home to work from is not for rent as you incorrectly presumed. Check the HMRC website. I didn't even know I could claim a proportion of my household bills as an expense (I guess that's why I pay an ACCOUNTANT).

What is allowable as an expense from HMRC and what is allowable as an expense for HB is not exactly the same thing.
Accountants and lawyers may often be up to speed on HMRC, but not know much about HB and other means-tested benefits.

fluffymovie

Wow, chip on your shoulder much!

1 - HB expenditure is met through government subsidy £ for £ so your comment about delaying payment seems a bit pointless wouldn't you agree?

2- Housing Benefit regulation 86 states "Subject to paragraph (2) and to paragraph 5 of Schedule A1(1) (treatment of claims for housing benefit by refugees), a person who makes a claim, or a person to whom housing benefit has been awarded, shall furnish such certificates, documents, information and evidence in connection with the claim or the award, or any question arising out of the claim or the award, as may reasonably be required by the relevant authority in order to determine that person’s entitlement to, or continuing entitlement to, housing benefit and shall do so within one month of being required to do so or such longer period as the relevant authority may consider reasonable".
If you don't want to provide the information then your claim will be suspended and then terminated. In my experience (over a decade so far) receipts are requested to verify the figures stated in the accounts. They may seem high for example and as we pay put taxpayers funds, we have a duty to verify them. If you think this is unreasonable, your MP would be your best shot

FBaby

I always fail to understand why anyone can get so irate over having to provide evidence unless they have something to hide. That they get annoyed because of the time it demands ok, but why turn offensive? If I'm challenged over something I know I have done right, I am only too eager to provide the evidence to show it.