Housing benefit arrrgg!

chocdonuty

I get housing benefit for which I am grateful but jeez they make it such hard work if you don't have regular hours!
I am a single parent and am contracted to do 16 hours but try to do overtime where I can, up to 40 hours but this varies on the shifts I can get and whether work allows overtime, occasionally it will be stopped for a short time.
Because of this my wages change frequently, so every four weeks I pop up to the council as soon as I get my payslip so they can recalculate my claim.
Previously I went up, I'd present my payslip and a housing officer would recalculate my claim there and then, I'd know what I was getting paid and so could budget easily.
However they have now changed the system so I either email or pop in my payslip and it goes 'upstairs' to be dealt with my housing officers.
Currently they have three of my payslips and I'm due another next week! the longer they take the more over/underpayments there are and they won't cancel each other out so its ridiculously confusing!
Supposedly they have a 4-6 week backlog so they tell me.
When I ring up (weekly now) I'm told it's in the system and a lady is dealing with it, they've been telling me this for almost a month. I've actually spoken to her before as she couldn't work the claim out, despite me handing in every payslip every 4 weeks for over 5 years!
It's driving me mad, If I hear nothing by the time I get my next payslip I'm going in and making a fuss!
Anyone else have this problem or is my council just incompetent!
I've said before if I was in private rented and my rent was short because they haven't updated my claim (paying me as if I was on a higher wage for months) I'm sure I'd be out on my ear by now!

elmer

Housing Benefit is eventually being replaced by Universal Credit so local authorities are shedding staff who key benefits as eventually , they will only deal with pensioners and Council Tax reduction.

Sadly universal credit hasn't rolled out as fast as it should have but LAs have still had to cut staff, so less staff still doing the same number of claims means that processing times are slipping, and the best staff are jumping ship if they can find a better job. Its not great from a claimants point of view or if your trying your best to keep up with the workload

Sorry it doesnt help your situation, but I can't see it getting better any time soon

elmer

White-as-Snow

No it would seem all councils are having the same problems. Or at least mine is. Been waiting 4 weeks so far (because of a backlog) for a reassessment and in the meanwhile my Housing Benefit is suspended so that I don't end up with an overpayment. :mad: