Request for guidance / advice

Drewski333

Hi, there's a lot of background here so I thank whoever reads it all for any guidance they may offer.

I'm a single 41 year old male living in Devon, no dependents. A friend of mine bought a house here 3 months ago and asked me and another friend of hers if we'd like to move in with her. We both agreed. I moved from Essex to Devon.

Since last September I had an abundance of work as a Healthcare Assistant and Support Worker with an agency. I was led to believe that there's plenty of work in this new area, and that's why there's a branch of this agency in town. I learned that there's plenty of work for those who have their own car. I do not.

So, the day before moving down here I hurt myself: a bulging disc in the neck, with symptoms of severe nerve pain, numbness and tingling in shoulder, arm, hand and fingers. I was incapacitated for the first 6 - 7 weeks. I went to the chiropractors for 3 treatments which helped but not enough. I couldn't afford more than 3. I took a lot of pain killers and rested a lot until the symptoms seemed clear enough for me to return to work. The agency struggled to get me more than 10 hours a week. Most weeks I had 6-8 hours of work only.

2 weeks ago I woke up in the morning with the symptoms back again, not as severe as the first time but pretty bad. Bad enough to not be able to move very much, major difficulty in brushing my own teeth, getting dressed, preparing food, sleeping, and more.

I applied for Universal Credit to help me survive while the condition heals, which in some people can take many months. The indicative figure they gave me would be enough to pay one month's rent with £4 left over. I have no savings and no other income from anywhere else.

I've been to the GP who prescribed me antidepressants to knock me out so that I can sleep, but I refuse to take that kind of poison. Today I went to the physiotherapist at the hospital who said he can do nothing for me until the symptoms settle down. Also received a call today telling me that the amount I will receive will be considerably less than the indicative figure. Apparently they want to investigate why I'm paying what the landlady (friend) is asking me to pay. They asked for a tenancy agreement which I've NEVER had at any time in my renting life. My work coach told me that a letter written by hand from my landlady friend stating that I'm a tenant here and paying X amount each week would be enough. I'm now told that that's definitely not enough. They need a formal document. And then the panic struck me.

Someone at the Benefits agency in Scotland said that I can claim DLA or PIP, but looking at the criteria on gov.uk it doesn't look like I'm eligible but I could be wrong about that too. I'm unsure.

I don't know how I'm going to survive unless I move out of this current house and dramatically downgrade my standard of living. I mean, if I have to, I will but of course I'd rather not.

The benefits calculator, while it's known that they can only give a rough guesstimate, have quoted me as being able to receive double what I've been told I'll receive. So, my head's in a spin, which hurts like hell and I want to know how to survive while this disc issue clears up.

All responses are welcome, and I thank you in advance.

Alice_Walker

Certain antidepressants can be helpful for nerve pain, as well as sleep problems and low mood. Why write them off as poison when they may help you get better, surely they're worth a try?

Your condition at present would not be sufficiently long term to qualify for PIP.

It is usual for the DWP to ask for a tenancy/ lodgers agreement.

NYM

I can't give you any advice really, other than put your details into the Turn2us site.. which should give you an idea of what you might be entitled to.



Out of curiosity, why did you speak with a Benefits office in Scotland?

pmlindyloo

Is your doctor giving you fit notes at the moment? Is your work coach adapting your commitment agreement to take notice of your condition?

If your condition means that you are going to be unfit for work for many months then you may be eligible for contribution based ESA if you have worked and paid sufficient NI contributions during the last two years. Discuss this with your work coach and doctor.

As regards your housing costs you are not a tenant but a lodger since your friend owns the house. So she will need to write saying this. You could get a rent book form Smiths and backdate your rental payments and give this to the Job Centre.

I suspect that you have not formalised your living arrangements with your friends and you may be splitting the mortgage/bills/council tax three ways.

Unfortunately for you (if this is the case) then this is not how the council/DWP works. Your friend owns the house and the mortgage is her responsibility. You are not liable for it. As a lodger you should be paying rent. The council tax is also your friend's responsibility. She may wish to ask for a contribution from you for this and utility bills but you are not liable.

As a lodger you will only be eligible for the shared room rate of local housing allowance for your housing costs. This is undoubtedly going to be a lot less than you are currently paying.

So, you are going to have to have a discussion with your friend who owns the house and your other friend. If you are contributing a third each towards the mortgage then perhaps this can be amended? Have you checked what people pay for a room (that's how the DWP sees it) and shared use of the house for your area?

You say you have no savings. Have you anything of value that you can sell to pay your contribution towards the current house? Anyone you can borrow from until you recover? Probably the best solution if this is going to be a short term problem.

If the lack of a car means that you are going to be jobless for the near future then perhaps a complete rethink is needed.

Drewski333

I wanted to speak to my personal work coach at my local Job Centre but the only number they've given me is the Service Centre, which seems to be located in Scotland. I've called them twice today on the same number and I only ever get put through to Scotland.

My GP has given me a fit / unfit note for the next 2 weeks and I am to speak with him in a fortnight's time to let him know the symptom situation.

The DWP has already decided that I'm not eligible for any kind of ESA.

"As regards your housing costs you are not a tenant but a lodger since your friend owns the house. So she will need to write saying this" - how about printing off a tenancy agreement form template from the Net? Would that suffice?

There is no mortgage. My friend bought the house outright. The three of us are indeed splitting the cost of phone / internet. All other bills are included, and she is paying my council tax.

I have nothing of value except my laptop which is not a luxury but a necessity. I already sold and / or donated a lot of my 'stuff' years ago when life's poop started hitting a fan or two from time to time. Borrowing money again might not be an option any more, since I've had to do that several times in the past. There's only so many times people will happily help financially.

A rethink meaning get out of care work, because without a car there's not enough hours to put food in belly and roof over head? A new job direction? Yes, no doubt. My body needs to heal first before I can even think about working though, and that's what's causing me grief.

pmlindyloo

Not sure from your post whether you are paying rent or not? You say, all 'other bills are included'.

So, how much are you paying her? Would this not be covered by the UC if they include the shared accommodation rate of local housing allowance as your housing costs?

As regards the evidence for housing costs I must stress than you are not a tenant but a lodger. You(she) could download a lodger's agreement from the internet but they will only pay the rent - not other bills - so this must be made clear in the lodger's agreement the amount of rent you pay her.

Drewski333

Yes I pay rent of £100 per week. We're only 3 months here and the first phone / Internet bill came last week which was the first 2 months lumped together, which came to £60. I am expected to pay a third of that. DWP told me that they don't even look at phone / Internet costs so I must find my own way to pay my share of that.

I've been told that I'll be receiving £316 approx but they need to investigate the legitimacy of the 100 per week in the first place.

So I'm clear, are you saying that in any case only the rent is paid, never 'other bills'?

NYM

Drewski333 wrote: »

Yes I pay rent of £100 per week. We're only 3 months here and the first phone / Internet bill came last week which was the first 2 months lumped together, which came to £60. I am expected to pay a third of that. DWP told me that they don't even look at phone / Internet costs so I must find my own way to pay my share of that.

I've been told that I'll be receiving £316 approx but they need to investigate the legitimacy of the 100 per week in the first place.

So I'm clear, are you saying that in any case only the rent is paid, never 'other bills'?

It doesn't matter what you're charged by your friend, you will only be entitled to receive the Local Housing Allowance set for your area. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx

Caz3121

Drewski333 wrote: »

Yes I pay rent of £100 per week. We're only 3 months here and the first phone / Internet bill came last week which was the first 2 months lumped together, which came to £60. I am expected to pay a third of that. DWP told me that they don't even look at phone / Internet costs so I must find my own way to pay my share of that.

I've been told that I'll be receiving £316 approx but they need to investigate the legitimacy of the 100 per week in the first place.

So I'm clear, are you saying that in any case only the rent is paid, never 'other bills'?

There will be an eligible rent which is the rent excluding bills and there is also the LHA rate for your circumstances. Providing they accept the lodgers agreement you will be entitled to the lower of those figures
As you are sharing accommodation, this would be the LHA rate for shared accommodation which for North Devon council is £66.70 per week so, if that is your area that is the maximum you would receive for housing. (your rent could be £500 per week but you would still get no more than the shared rate for the area)
If you google "LHA calculator" you can check by your postcode what the maximum is

I am confused why you are being told you are not entitled to any ESA if you have a fit note. If you have been working and paid sufficient NI then it would be contributions based and if not it would be income based, you would then use the ESA for the delta in the rent plus your bills... what reason do they give

sangie595

Alice_Walker wrote: »

Certain antidepressants can be helpful for nerve pain, as well as sleep problems and low mood. Why write them off as poison when they may help you get better, surely they're worth a try?
.

I agree. I recently added osteonecrosis to my burgeoning group of diagnoses - this getting older lark really isn't that much fun, and I recommend against it ) and there was absolutely no way on earth I could sleep and I was a nervous wreck within a couple of days. Mt doctor recommended upping my treatments for nerve pain that I already had, and they knocked me out like a light (and I was still well below the dosage used for depression). It was wonderful - within three days I felt so much better that I was able to cut back on the tablets again, and still, weeks later, I am managing much better than I was. Sleep is a healer - if you don't get it then it makes everything else worse.

I'd also have to say from years of experience that anyone with severe damage had better get used to a lot of "poison" and needs to change their approach to medication. Natural products may help some, but as it progresses then not even the "poison" helps as much as you would like it to. Still, in a few weeks more (as soon as the pesky broken ankle is a bit better) I will be having my first hip replacement, and I am assured that once I am better I will be able to take up Dirty Dancing, which I always fancied learning. Mind you, during the hip operation and immediately afterwards I am sure I will be demanding as much of the "poison" as I can humanly persuade the doctors to part with. Especially after being told that they do not knock you out for a hip replacement :eek:

HB58

Like Caz, I am perplexed by the refusal to pay you ESA. What reason did DWP give?