Benefit Chase Up

learning_to_drive

My girlfriend is owed £1300 by the council, I have just moved in with her so she now no longer claims any sort of benefit apart from tax credits that we get due to my income as we live together. We haven't received this payment yet though.

She moved out of her home before due to her mum being a bit of a fool with her, and the fact she had a baby but no father. We got together just after the baby was born and have been together ever since, but I couldnt afford to move in with her last year, I have just got a new job and I can afford to move in now.

She obviously was entitled to help with her rent, however she was due to get the full amount (near enough) but she left her job (part time) due to being very ill with PND, the council then reduced her payment further as she was claiming income support and wouldnt name the father.

She has been making up the £120 shortfall each month, and didnt even get her payment until the 3rd month of the tenancy.

So as a result, she is owed money for that, and in my eyes, the shortfall for the months she has been living on her own and struggling. However as soon as she claimed the income support, despite a week earlier the assessor sent her a letter saying she was entitled to £500 for housing a month, they cut it to £390 instantly, and said if she proceeded to try and claim the money back, her benefit would be stopped until the investigation had been completed.

What is the best way to proceed with this claim? Do any people have advice?

She doesnt have to worry now as we are a couple and I've taken on our daughter as my own, and we have another baby on the way :j.

Any advice would be appreciated.

dmg24

I am not sure why you think that she is owed money?

Can you provide a breakdown of what you believe she is owed, and why?

sjaypink

do you mean she should have been entitled to full housing benefit but was never paid it?

when they paid her hb 3mths in, was it just 1months they paid or did they backdate it?

i believe income support can be cut back if a father isnt named but im not sure on hb.

can't really help unless you say what the councils official line is on this- did they say she was not entitled to any? or that she didnt fill the forms in correctly, or on time etc.? is her rent higher than your local fair rent amount?

as with anything like this you will have to put any complaints clearly in writing if you believe you have not received all you should have done. but if you are not sure why the full rent wasn't paid then ring and ask for an explanation from them in writing first. you can then be clear what the councils position is and what mistakes/ communication problems have occurred.

mitchaa

I cant see how your GF is owed any money either

Would you care to explain where this £1300 figure comes from?

learning_to_drive

She paid 3 months worth of money (got a loan from bank) and then they refused to pay backdated pay, at this time she then began claiming income support, so the initial award of £525 (to cover full rent) was pulled back to £390 due to the fact she was claiming and wouldn't state the father, she then had to go to jobcentreplus and explain her reasons which were accepted (threatening moronic family).

She coudnt claim whilst she was claiming the council money because she said that her money would be stopped whilst this new claim went in, how would she pay her rent then?

Its roughly £1300, without the exact sums, bear in mind to this sum there is the money that she is owed that was a shortfall (£130 per month) when she claimed income support.

The council just didnt return letters and calls, and their only official line was if you claim this backdated, then we will stop your money whilst we investigate it, it could take 6 weeks.

Should have given some money towards the bond (bear in mind that this is private rent, intially award was £480 then pulled back to £390). Roughly £200

Paid Aug / Sept / Oct rent herself, £1575

Since then she has received £390 towards a £525 rent, despite the award letter stating £480 was to be paid, then suddenly it was dropped to £390 without explanation. No explanation still has been received.

It is worth chasing the fact that the £90 shortfall has been paid since November?


So the total sum is probably nearer £2k, apologies for that, i did beer mat calculations initially then spoke to her tonight and she says that is the case.

How to proceed is the question? she has all the proof and paperwork and offer letters and what not.

dmg24

Your post still does not make much sense. Can you just give us a brief list of the numbers and why you believe she is owed each amount?

real1314

learning_to_drive wrote: »

She paid 3 months worth of money (got a loan from bank) and then they refused to pay backdated pay, at this time she then began claiming income support, so the initial award of £525 (to cover full rent) was pulled back to £390 due to the fact she was claiming and wouldn't state the father, she then had to go to jobcentreplus and explain her reasons which were accepted (threatening moronic family). HB has nothing to do with naming the father or not. It's more likely that the full rent was not payable under HB rules. You're barking up the wrong tree on this angle.
You referred to "the assesor" in an earlier post- what do you mean by this?

She coudnt claim whilst she was claiming the council money because she said that her money would be stopped whilst this new claim went in, how would she pay her rent then? Eh? she couldn't claim what whilst she was claiming what? It's a bit self contradictory to make any sense of.

Its roughly £1300, without the exact sums, bear in mind to this sum there is the money that she is owed that was a shortfall (£130 per month) when she claimed income support. Her Income Support may have been reduced whilst she failed to name / give reasons not to name the father, but I don't think they pay the reduction back. It was her choice not to do something about it.

The council just didnt return letters and calls, and their only official line was if you claim this backdated, then we will stop your money whilst we investigate it, it could take 6 weeks. That doesn't make any sense. You seem to be mixing up the council with the jobcentre, so no-one will know exactly what you are after.

Should have given some money towards the bond (bear in mind that this is private rent, intially award was £480 then pulled back to £390). Roughly £200
Bod payments are not part of HB and afaik they do not pay over cash for bonds, they may give a bond guarantee to landlords in rare cases, but not cash.


Paid Aug / Sept / Oct rent herself, £1575

Since then she has received £390 towards a £525 rent, despite the award letter stating £480 was to be paid, then suddenly it was dropped to £390 without explanation. No explanation still has been received.
Why do you think that £525 would be paid? What other income does she have/ did she have during the periods you are concerned with?

It is worth chasing the fact that the £90 shortfall has been paid since November?
You've given £525, £480 and £390 as figures, which figure is which?


So the total sum is probably nearer £2k, apologies for that, i did beer mat calculations initially then spoke to her tonight and she says that is the case.

How to proceed is the question? she has all the proof and paperwork and offer letters and what not.

You need to work out what the actual question is before anyone can answer it.

learning_to_drive

The housing benefit assessor who judges how much you can get awarded her £480, she began claiming income support, it went down to £390 no explanation was given.

Discount the Bond, she paid 3 months @ £525 rent = £1575

She has lived there for 9 months now, 3 of which she paid via a loan, 6 of which she has been short by £90 against the award she received. = £450


TOTAL: £2025

She attempted to claim back the backpay, they said they would stop her money if she did this, what I am asking is, what does she claim back, the shortfall as well as the backpay?

dmg24

You need to go back and look at her HB award notices, which would detail how her entitlement was calculated.

When did she apply for HB, before or after she paid the three months rent? If before, why have they said that they will not pay it? If after, why did she not apply earlier?

I agree with real1314, they will not pay the bond as cash, and she would need to have specifically applied for this prior to moving in.

Why did they only pay £390 towards the £525 rent? This would be detailed on the award notice.

learning_to_drive

Ok, leave this with me, there are holes in the story and I need to double check, hence the advice I gained on here, I'll ask her for her papers later and post up my findings.

Thanks all x