advice please!

scottyem

i would love some advice soz if iv posted this in the wrong place or done it twice

basically im 20 years old been out of work since jan 07 (i left) then been diagnosed with sever depression nov 07, doc said id been sufferin for couple of years

i have not claimed for anything all year. i phoned to make a benifit claim today, the guy made me feel like sh*it! he really spoke down to me and did not explain anything.sed i may not be entitled to anything coz my stamps arnt up to date whatever that means and i may has well been off the face of the earth for a year!

So really i have no idea where i stand i dont know if im entitled to anything, i dont know what precedures are i dont know what to say or do - no one i kno has ever been on benifits so im cluless!

hes sending a form out which i need to attatch a sick note to n send back and my case "may" be considered

i have never claimed benifits befor but im really strugglin financially now, my mum has been keeping me up to now but she cant for much longer n i cant face leaving the house never mind finding a job at the moment

Please could someone tell me the ins and outs of how things work and what im ment to do, iv tryed to research it but its so confusing. am i entitled to anything?does anything get back dated?it would really help me stop feeling so anxious if i knew what was what

thanks again Emma

dmg24

Hi Emma,

Sorry to hear that you are not well. Hopefully you are getting losts of support, and if you do ever need anywhere to go for a natter the Depression Support thread on MSE is excellent (it is in the Relationships section).

Incapacity Benefit is only payable where you have paid two years of NI Credits. However, because you are 20, there are special rules. These are as follows:

You may be able to claim Incapacity Benefit even if you haven't paid enough National Insurance contributions if:

• you're aged under 20 (or 25 if you were in education or training at least three months immediately before turning 20), and
• you've been sick for 28 weeks, and
• you're present and resident in Great Britain for 26 weeks in the year before you claim

My feeling is that you will not qualify under these circumstances, because you have only recently been diagnosed, and (I assume) you were not in education just before you were 20.

As an alternative, you may be eligible for Income Support for reason of Incapacity, which would entitle you to £46.85 per week.

Do you still live with your mum? If not, you will be entitled to a small amount on HB (based on the cost of a room in a shared house), and Council Tax Benefit.

Hope things get better for you soon, I know that the last thing you need at the moment is money worries on top of everything else x

scottyem

Thanks for reply thats helped me understand what he was going on about!

im not entirly fussed about how much money i get coz i dont spend much at the mo i just need enough to live off

so do you think id be eligible for Income Support? would i be right in thinking you have to be able and willing to work if you recieve that n spend time at job centre looking?

thanks again

suelees1

DMG's already given you the info about benefits but I just wanted to add the following. This Incapacity Benefit is what they call IB(Y) or Incapacity Benefit in youth. Depending on when you reached 20 you MIGHT just be on the borderline for claiming as you can have IB backdated 3 months without good reason. This would also depend on your GP giving you a backdated sick note for 196 days.

If you don't get IB(Y) then you should get Income Support (IS). You have to send in sick notes for this so you'll need to see your GP. I'd ask her/him if s/he would give you a sick note backdated for a year as if you do get IS then you'll be entitled to additional money by way of the disability premium in this.

You don't have to sign on or look for work as it is paid because you are incapable of work

It sounds like you've got the ball rolling by phoning Jobcentre. I'm assuming they took your claims over the phone? If not you have to ring back now or tomorrow morning and tell them you want to make a claim. They should accept this one call as a claim for IS and IB(Y) and also Housing and Council Tax Benefit if you are a tenant.

I'd also suggest you ring 0800 882200 and ask for a Disability Living Allowance claim form as you might be entitled to this as well.

I know you probably don't feel like it but I would really try to see a welfare rights advisor in your area as getting them to agree to backdate your benefits can be a bit of a struggle particularly for those who don't have much experience about benefits.

scottyem

Thanks

i turned 20 on the 28th dec so not long ago. im going to the docs on friday, is it better just to ask for it back dated to be on the safeside? do you think he will?

they took my claim over the phone but they asked "do you want your claim started from 2day" i said yes- is that going to affect anything?

il giv that number a ring 2moz see what they say, i cant believe how difficult they make it all!!

thanks again x

suelees1

Phew you might just be lucky then. It's a bit complicated to go into here but basically you'll only have a chance of getting IB(Y) with a sick note backdated for 196 days (28 weeks). However if you can prove to the JCP that you've been incapable for 52 weeks you'll also be entitled to the disability premium in the amount the law says you need to live on so you'd get some IS as well.

I'll not pretend it'll be easy to get what you're entitled to. Backdating regulations are very strict and even then are limited to three months normally but in the case of the disability premium you're not actually asking for a claim to be backdated, simply providing some evidence that you've been incapable.

GP's will usually give you a Med 5 backdated sick note if they've seen you during the period but if not they might agree to it if it's obvious to them that you've been feeling like this for some time.

When you're feeling really down the last thing you feel like doing is struggling with Jobcentre decisions so this is why I think it best if you seek some expert advice.