single mum with boyfriend moving in

Luvly.cuppa.T

Hi all, this is on behalf of my friend is who is a little unsure of what to do.

She is currently a single mum of 3 and is surviving on Income Support. She has a boyfriend that she is considering taking the 'next step' with , by moving him in when she moves, around Xmas time. A fresh start for them both etc.

Now, does she tell the DSS (DWP is it now? The same thing I think?) in advance that he'll be moving in, or on the day that he does? The same for Tax credits- should they claim in advance, or on the day?

Also, she's realised that they will be eligable for the Tax credits as her man gets a low wage (about £8,000 gross per annum), but she is obviously worried about having to face a moment where they may have very little to live on, while all of this goes through.

How long will she have to wait between leaving IS and getting TCs? Also would she have a (oh what do they call it? Where people start work and they can get IS for the next 2 weeks to help out- that thing!)?

Also with her being in a new address, in a completely different borough, will that complicate anything?

Any advice woud be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tabbykatt

I myself am in the same position as your friend and have been wondering the same things.
I am going to wait until almost the date until I inform the agency's, not because I am worried what they will say, but more the fact that I am worried that a computer slip up will stop my benefits now and that would leave me and my 2 young children with nothing and I dont relish the thought of spending many hours re-filling in forms and sitting in the DWP offices while they fix the error.
Does the father of your friends children pay anything to CSA? If they do then she may be intitled to a Maintenence payment (not sure of the exact term), when she leaves IS. It does depend on whether it is claimed via the old or new system? In the new one she would have been 'allowed' to keep £10 per week (I think thats the amount, I will have to dig out my paperwork) of any payment made by the father over and above her benefits, but under the old system this was not in place and so a calculation of this £10 per week over the period of payment has been put aside for when the care parent leaves benefits. It could be a very usful lump sum for her in the interveaning period between IS and TC's? Does this make any sense?
Good luck to your friend

jen_jen_2

check out the inland revenue website for a calcuation for what you will be on when he moves in, this will help plan what her new income and expenditure will be.

CAB are good for a benefit check.

you are not obliged to tell DWP about a change of circumstances until they happen so i would wait until he moves in, i dont know about claiming WTC before so they can process it, there may also be a fast track claim that could be made.

if hes only on 8K and over 25years is it poss hes entitled to WTC for himself (something like this but check web site) which he could claim now and change his circs when she moves in.

other suggestion could she save a couple of quid each week until now and christmas to get them over any potential difficulties or join a credit union, save with them now and she will be able to borrow (at a low rate) then.

zzzLazyDaisy

I would definitely NOT tell the DWP beforehand. It is asking for them to jump the gun and make a mistake and leave her without money.

If she notifies them in writing on the day, this may mean that she is overpaid by DWP, and they may seek recovery of the overpayment. But if it were me, I would rather it be that way round than risk having mney stopped prematurely.

Luvly.cuppa.T

Tabbykat- sorry to hear that you are in the same situation- it doesn't seem very rewarding when you are going legit, does it?

I'm afraid that my friend doesn't have any contact with her ex (thankfully too), and so no maintainence to get overjoyed about!

jen_jen- I had a look at the entitledto website and that came with some figures, that apparantly is what she recieves now from IS. It does mean though extra money to Council Tax and rent. Reading from this site it seems though that the 'entitledto.com' can be over zealous with its figures!! I'll have a go at IR site and see what comes up.
Unfortunately the boyfriend is now living at home with his mum, who is on IS herself, and he can't really apply for WTC as it may get her into trouble.... it's only temporary as he's moving in with my friend. A good idea to put forward though!

LazyDaisy_ Those were my thoughts too, but unfortunately she was called in for an interview last week, as the DSS had an allegation that she was living with her boyfriend. Although it's not true, she does feel under pressure and that she may be found to be as a couple. (It seems as though there is no straighforward approach to investigating someone and that it really boils down to an opinion on certain things that can be taken the wrong way[or the right way- depending!!].) In saying this , she did say to the investigator that she was planning to have her boyfriend to move in when she moves, and feels that perhaps to keep the DSS off her back to tell them the date they plan to do this.

Thanks to your replies- I will certainly pass them on.

Does anyone know how long it will take from signing off the IS to receiving the first payment from TCs? This I guess is the crucial point, esp as it will be of that costly time of year!!

jellyhead

hi, i don't know how long before the first tax credits payment comes through, but regarding the benefits, when my husband moved in with me on our wedding day i wrote to income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit, social fund loan etc. the week of our wedding - i didn't inform them in advance, they probably got my letters on my wedding day or the day before. all that happened was they took a few weeks to sort it all out and they carried on paying me in the meantime then they asked for it back a few weeks later. if the same happens with your friend then maybe the benefits payments will carry on for the extra 2 or 3 weeks and in the meantime the tax credits will be correctly amended so when they come through she can repay the benefits overpayments. i didn't pay a lump sum actually, i was cheeky and offered them a fiver per week. they accepted

Amie_007

I would advise that your friend tells the DWP that her Income Support claim needs to be closed down as soon as the partner moves in. She must put the request in writing and explain that she wants to withdraw her claim to benefits as she is no longer a single parent. She also needs to make sure the same letter is then sent to the Council, if she is in receipt of Housing Benefit and Council tax Benefit.

The day her partner moves into the house, then she is no longer entitled to benefits as her circumstances have changed. She needs to make sure that they definately stop all payments, and if they don't then she needs to keep phoning up and telling them until they stop paying her. I would advise that she keeps a record of all telephone conversations and obtain receipts for any letters sent it, until they close her claim and stop her payments. If she does not do this and the DWP continue to pay her in error, then she will be liable to repay the benefits that they have overpaid. if she is able to prove that she declared her change in circumstances and that they failed to action her declaration, then the overpayment will be classed as an official error and she would not be responsible for the repayment of the overpayment. She needs to tell them until they stop the benefits and keep proof of any action she taken to do this.

I realise that the transition from coming off Income Support onto any other benefit (or into f/t work) is a very difficult time for anyone, but I really wouldn't recommend letting DWP continue to pay your Income Support until your WTC is sorted out.

Your friend is not entitled to Income Support as she is no longer a lone parent and therefore, this could be considered as benefit fraud.

Your friends partner is working and does have an income of his own, so your friend and her partner need to make allowances for this, expecially if they know that this situation is going to happen.

There is some sort of system where your WTC can be "fast tracked" and the Inland Revenue will give it priority above other cases, but I don't know enough details about it to explain fully, I'm afraid.

Just a thought, could your friend apply for the childs tax credit element of WTC, so that Income Support just pay her for herself. That way, when the transition period comes around, she will still have an income from her child tax credit to help support the family. The money that she will be short, until her WTC is sorted out, would be the IS that is paid for herself, and the shortfall would not be quite so great as she will still have her Child benefit and child tax credit.

Luvly.cuppa.T

So it seems that writing is the way to go these days! I guess that's down to the 'lost post' syndrome.....
What about phoning and writing? I think that she would be happier speaking to someone on the day, rather than hoping that a letter would do it for her!
I can see how recorded delivery would be the sensible option.

With regards to the child tax credits, I think it's a case of working out the lesser evil. I had pointed this out to her, but she feels that she could be waiting and trying to survive on very little money should that not go through as smoothly as it should! So it's either that, or go through the bad patch when she moves in with b/f.

How long would it take for the swap over from IS to CTC? Is it immediate?

I think that she also worries about the !!!! ups from the IR with too many changes (so it seems from reading this board and others) messing up their calculations. So she would rather do it all in one go and hope that the IR manage to get it right!

mandym

If she phones up on the day to notify them, the claim can be suspended which will stop any further payments going out. She can then confirm in writing so the claim can be closed.