They won't replace items for wear and tear if they can help it. Which is shocking as eventually all things wear down, and if you recieve benefits, how can you afford to replace more expensive items?! Take photos of the holes and mould and send it in with a CCG application, and get a supporting letter from a health visitor if you have children under 5, regarding the mould. When applying for a CCG the more backup and evidence you have, the better your chances of success. Do you rent? If so, would your landlord/local authority hellp with these costs? As they are responsible for maintenence of the property and if it is mouldy, they need to do something about it. Perhaps see if it is an issue for environmental health. Just thinking ahead, as I am sure some lovely person at the DWP will tell you it's the landlord's responsibility. Good luck, hope you get it. And if you don't, exercise your right to review. A lot of people get nothing till it goes to an appeal tribunal and then because they are higher in authority, they sometimes do overturn the decision.

Rant all you want, Emma. I completely agree with you, just pointing out a few bits, that's all. I think the guidelines are disgraceful, like I said they have to be tough to discourage the ones who think they can have anything they like at the taxpayers expense, but unfortunately it's good honest and desperate people that suffer too, and that needs to be addressed. Sometimes a regulation allows an award to someone who does not need the money, but another regulation will fail a person who desperately needs it. The entire department needs an overhaul, and every year they promise it but it never gets better, only worse. All quantity and no quality. That's the government for you. I despise the governments policies, regulations etc but I don't despise all the people who work there, they either abide by the policies or lose their job and all that's left then is nasty people who won't bend anything for anyone who think they are God. There will always be bad eggs among the ones who do want to help, so rant away!

If you need more professional advice on this one, try acas. This is their website: Acas - How can we help? Best of luck.

I've been investigated twice for tax credit fraud, asked for the same items as you are being asked. Both times they got it wrong and the second time they actually found that I wasn't being paid enough! Regarding the paying of your exes money into your account. You say it is then transferred onto him. Is this transferred via your bank? If so, that will show on your statement. He lives in the loft conversion. There is a difference between house and houshold, but I am not sure of the quote, hopefully someone will be able to help with that. If his name is on the bills, they will probably take that into consideration as it will look as if he is contributing financially to the household. If he contributes towards bills and you are not in a relationship, he can be considered a lodger, in which case his contributions count towards your income figure. I think it's going to be difficult to prove that you are living seperate lives as the mortgage is in joint names, his money is paid into your bank account and he lives within the house. Do you have any sort of seperation agreement? Or solicitor involvment that documents your seperation? My guess is they will either decide you are living as partners in which case you could be liable to prosecution for fraud, or they will give you an opportunity to prove otherwise. Unless you can prove you aren't, I don't know what to advise because bills in his name, his wages going into your account and a joint mortgage is their "proof" that you are living as a couple.

Hi! I apparently am entitled to a 25% reduction in my council tax. I work full time but am entitled to a reduction as a single person. In January last year, I informed my local council of my new status as a single person, they sent me a form to complete which I completed and returned by hand, along with copies of letters from my solicitors and the court against my ex partner to prove I was single (very messy break up). I took my two free months at the beginning of the finaincial year, in the hope that my claim would be sorted out by then. After this two months, they passed it to a collection agency, which I pay every month to. They never did sort my discount out, but I was informed during a telephone conversation that as it had now gone to debt collection, they couldn't take it back and I'd get a further discount they following year. The council tax bill for this year arrived and my discount had not been applied as promised. I rang the council up, they stated that there was a note on the computer detailing my call in January last year advising them of my single status and that a form had been sent out to me for completion but nothing since. I advised the lady of my return of the form and the copied letters. She sentme a new form along with an attached form which I had to get a "professional person" to complete - the sort of professional person I would have to pay to complete it! I completed the form alone, and again enclosed copies of solicitors letters, and again took the two beginning months as my free months, hoping it would be sorted. I received a letter informing me it was going to debt collection if I didn't pay immediately. I paid online and then rang the council to ask what stage they were at with my claim. Yep, you guessed it, they deny all knowledge. Never recieved it. The guy states there is a backlog and hopefully they will soon find my claim. It's now been 18 months in total and still I am paying the full amount, and they have "not recieved" my form. They are also not fulfilling their council tax duties. My brown garden bin has not been collected on two occasions and three times I had to ring to have a bulk item lifted. They confirmed three times they would lift it and didn't, so I asked someone I knew to take it to the dump. What do I do about getting my discount, when they refuse to acknowlegde my form? And if they do acknowledge it, it will only be backdated three months. I appreciate things sometimes go missing, but twice from the same customer? Question: Why do dI have to prove I live alone via a statement from a third party? They clearly know I live alone, seeing as it is now only my name that appears on the council tax bill, and I can evidence I live alone through my bills, rent and tax credits. I don't know how to address this.

A crisis loan is for a crisis, and the full amount for the item should be given if your social fund debt allows it and you have satisfied all the conditions neccesary to obtain a crisis loan, ie - having no other source. If you have £1400 of social fund debt and apply for a total of £300 to cover the costs of a cooker, and a fridge, you won't get £300 as you only have £100 of available funds. The person deciding on your application has to consider if your account is true, and obtain proof if neccesary such as telephoning the police with a crime reference number if the claimant states their benefit money has been stolen. If there is little proof it is up to the descretion of the officer. Crisis loans, depending on the deciding officer can be heartless. If a person asks for a suite, it is not a neccessity. A fridge to keep food fresh, however, is. The argos and tesco catalogues are used for community care grants, not for crisis loans. You would be amazed at what people think they can claim from the public purse with a Community Care Grant. These loans are there as a safety net, but there are some people who do use them to make attempts to claim the ridiculous and I have known people who think nothing of asking £3000 for a holiday abroad, or £4000 for a state of the art plasma T.V. Yes, people do really do that. There are also a lot of people who will lie through their teeth to try to get money and not pay it back. Also people who take no responsibility for anything and expext to live at the taxpayers expense, part of the process is getting people to take responsibility. There are many reasons the process is so strict, but I am in full agreement that it is more often than not an unfair process. It is very unfair on the people who struggle every day to get by and just need a little help financially now and again. The guidelines are outdated and need revamped for many social fund awards. Unfortunately they can't always award the full cost of items. There are millions of claims made every day and there is only so much within the budget, if they awarded everything then there would be even less money to help with and taxes would rise, We already live in a state where a lot of people work for next to nothing due to the amount of tax they pay. They have to decide if the item is reasonable, neccessary and how cheaply it could be sourced. The people who decide on applications do not decide if you can or cannot have funding for a specific item. The policies are not made by them. Depending on the social fund loan/grant applied for there are items specific to that grant/loan which can be paid, anything else cannot be met, and for some items there is a limit as to what can be paid out for an item, for example, a kettle could be £5, an ironing board £8, and so on. People have to stick to the policies. Depending who you get there are some that will bend every which way they can to help you and there are ones who could not give a monkeys. Some can be downright rude. If someone is rude, complain, it's not acceptable. They wouldn't accept a customer being abusive, customers don't have to accept it either. I've been on benefits so I know how hard it is to live on peanuts, and how it feels to have certain people look down their noses. Budgeting loans do not base their price on anything, it is awarded if the conditions are met, and does not require much investigation, usually just a case of the computer working out how much can be awarded. Maternity grants are awarded if you recieve a qualifying benefit. Funeral Payments are tricky. They depend upon whether you receive a qualifying benefit, other relatives and their benefits, any estate, insurance bank accoutns the deceased had, where the burial or cremation took place. A funeral payment does not take previous social fund debt into account. If it is later discovered that the deceased did have estate the money can be claimed back. I don't know all there is to know about Social Fund, but I know a bit and a bit about other consumer issues, I came on here to help people as they have helped me with other consumer issues I know nothing about, I'm a great believer in giving back a little of what I get given to me. If anyone has any questions and I think I may have the answers then I will reply.

I don't understand the point you are trying to make, Emma?

Like I said, depends on the area. Argos/Tesco are frequently used as a comparison to price. They rarely award the full price of an item. Customers are often expected to meet some of the cost.

The Argos catalougue, sometimes Tesco, depends on the area.

Doesn't work like that Martin. Not with Budgeting Loans anyway. If you apply for £200 and get an offer of £100, you would still only get the offer of £100 even if you applied for £400. It's dependant on how much Social Fund Debt you already have, if what you are requesting is reasonable (ie a budgeting loan can only be paid for specified items) and if you have been recieving the correct benefit for the correct number of weeks. It is also dependant on whether you recieve child benefit, child tax credit, disability etc on top of the correct benefit. A Community Care Grant can be applied for but chances are if they think what you are requesting is reasonable, they will determine if a Crisis Loan or Budgeting Loan would cover the expenses instead, as they are relucted to give a grant where a loan can be given and the money recouped.

The staff to children ratio is dependant on the ages of the children in care. However, as your girlfriend is not yet qualified, she should not be left on her own at any time, even with one child - I'm sure she is perfectly capable, but what I mean is the law, not what she is or is not capable of doing. There always has to be a fully qualified member of staff present at all times. All staff whether qualified or in training have to have enhanced disclosures carried out too prior to employment or training commencing and regular disclosures either 6 monthly or annually, the cost is usually met by the employer. Discuss it with Ofstead if you are England or Wales, or if in Scotland with The Scottish Care Commision.

Regarding the comments about your pregnancy and early lunches etc. This is actually sex discrimination. Try getting in touch with the Equal Opportunities Commision (I believe they are now known as "Equality and Human Rights Commission) here is their website: Equality and Human Rights Commission - home page Also give ACAS a shot, here: Acas - How can we help? The Equal Opps folks are fab they are brimming with case studies on how the unfair treatment of pregnant women can be constituted as sex discrimination, and cases where women discriminated against have won tribunals. Also, have a look at The health and safety executive's guide on new and expectant mothers: Health and safety for new and expectant mothers Discrimination against pregnant employees is a very serious offence, which tribunals take a dim view of. Most employers have no idea regarding the rights of expectant mothers.

First off, you are under no obligation to attend Occupational Health, it is entirely voluntary but I must stress that if your employer requests it, it's in your interests to accept because if you don't they can and will use your refusal against you. Occupational Health can only request information from your GP that is relevant to your case, in some cases they do not contact your GP at all. In most cases, your GP will not give them the actual notes but write a letter about the illness you are being assessed on and the effects it has on you, and any treatment you recieve for it. An occupational health appointment normally consists of an informal chat where they will ask you questions regarding your illness, take into account any GP statements and send a written report to your employer (which you have a right to have a copy of) detailing any reasonable adjustments that the employer should make in order to make your job fit in with your illness. I have been through OH on a few occasions and it wasn't what I expected at all, they actually helped me, and did not side with my employer at all. In fact, the person I saw gave my management food for thought! Regrding meeting with your manager. This will probably involve just going through the forms with you, he'll ask you questions to complete the papers, write a report which you have to sign. DO NOT sign the report if you do not agree with it. If you feel your manager is not the appropriate person to deal with the completion of the forms, ask if there is another manager/senior member of staff who can go through the forms with you. You also have the right to take a colleague with you if you aren't having any joy getting a union rep to go with you to the meeting with your manger. Good luck with it all.

If your complaint to HR involved her specifically (regarding her unfair treatment of you) I'm not sure it's appropriate for her to be investigating the complaint. No boss is allowed to shout at you, it's considered as intimidation and bullying. I'd ask to see a copy of your workplaces policies and procedures regarding both behaviour towards colleagues and also see if there is any guidance regarding the charging of your computer if you are an outdoors worker. Do you have a union and are you a member?

I don't know how Ir systems work, and appreciate this is an old thread. However. Most government systems CAN revive a person if accidently input as deceased. Before someone is entered as deceased, verification of death is required such as a BD8, death certificate, coroners statment or police statement. They can't just "end" a person without verification as far as I am aware. Maybe in IR but if other government compputer systems can revive a person, I cannot see how IR can't.

It should be typed, not handwritten. Handwritten statements are unprofessional on their part. If something they send you is illegible, write a letter and tell them the writing is illegible to you, respectfully request a type written copy in order to respond appropriately.

Yep. The amount payable is worked out based on the total of £1500 for a single parent or a couple as the benefit between a couple is always a joint benefit claim, whether one person signs the application or not is irrelevant because the benefit claim is a joint claim. It's very rare that you will get anywhere near the requested amount. With Community Care Grants, Crisis Loans, Statutory Maternity Grants and Funeral Payments you have the right to ask for a review of the decision if you think it is wrong. I assume you can also ask for a review of a Budgeting Loan Decision. Community Care Grants are harder to get than a budgeting loan. The person deciding on the case has to decide if your wellbeing would be affected if you didn't receive the money. Quite a lot of Community Care Grants are refused and the advice is to try for a Budgeting Loan. Community Care Grants can also take a lot longer to get a response from. But no harm in applying, the worst they can do is tell you that you are not entitled to a payment.

Thank you to everyone for your help. I will send the letter by recorded delivery and keep you informed if I hear anything back.

Thank you, Scampjet and djweeble. I've edited the letter as you both suggested below. The parts I've added in are in red.

I was also thinking of adding a bit in asking them to remove my address from their system with immediate effect as the information they hold on my address may affect my ability to obtain credit in the future.

Here is my letter: What do you think, will it do? Thanks if you managed to read that far, it is very long!

Here

Okay, gimme a mo to copy, paste and edit the personal details.

Okay, I have had a good look around the site since coming home from work and found a few helpful hints in other threads and a link to OFT's guidelines. Thank you Scamp. I have written a draft letter (it's rather long) to the company in question, but as I have not done this before, I'm a little unsure if it will be alright. Is it OK for me to post the letter here for feedback from more experienced members before I send it?

I was so worried, I never thought of searching the net for them, just googled it and they are on the internet. It's Advantis Credit LTD.