With regard to the phone calls I'd send something along the lines of: http://moneyaware.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/1914-Reducing-creditor-calls.pdf

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Your HB will increase as you income has decreased, although you may be hit by the "bedroom tax" if your daughter is away from the home at college. You may well be entitled to some support under your local authorities Council Tax Support Scheme (this will vary according to your local authority). What are Claire's wages (net & gross) as the figure you have given only gives an hourly rate of £5.89 (from the yearly figure) or £5.85 (from the monthly figure). Both of these are below the minimum wage.

Call them to ensure the claim hasn't been stopped. It used to be the case that claims would automatically be back-dated for 1 year, but the nasty Tory party stopped that as they didn't want the plebs to get too much money in one go.

Have they said why she needs to be interviewed at all. Pension Credit is usually a fairly simple thing to apply for as the only information they would need to know is. 1. Amount of State Pension 2. Amount of any private pension payable to you 3. Amount of savings you have as any amount over £10,000 will be deemed to create an income of £1 for each £500 over £10,000 4. Any other income ie rent from an investment property, shares, etc 5. Rent (if you pay this) for Housing Benefit claim 6. Council Tax for Council Tax Benefit claim 7. Whether you get any disability benefits to determine whether they need to add on any disability premiums to the base level of pension credit. Basically they add your incomes together (disregarding any disability payments such as DLA and Attendance Allowance). They then work out your "applicable amount" which is £142.70 for a single person plus any additional premiums (disability & carers). If the applicable amount is more than your income then the difference is topped up with Guaranteed Pension Credit. There is an additional type of Pension Credit for those over the age of 65 called Savings Credit which is a reward for making some provision for yourself with your private pensions.

I had a meter installed a couple of years ago and my water bills halved. Generally if there are less (or the same) number of people in a property than there are bedrooms then a meter usually reduces the bill. Ensure that you have all the water saving devices. They are generally available at no cost (or nominal amount) from your water supplier. These will include something that goes in the toilet cistern to reduce the water used in each flush, aerators that fit onto your taps, and a restrictor that fits onto the shower hose. Have showers rather than baths, and never use the washing machine for less than a full load. OH and don't install a swimming pool.

http://www.britishgasenergytrust.org.uk/

Housing Benefit is paid on a 4-weekly cycle whether that be to the landlord, housing association or tenant. When Universal Credit comes in then 1 payment of all the benefits will be made monthly to the claimant, and it will be their responsibility to pay their rent to the landlord from this lump sum. There will be very few exceptions to the Housing Element of Universal Credit not going to the claimant.

I think your best option is to give the Gingerbread helpline a call as they will have the information or be able to direct you to someone who can assist. They are on 0808 802 0925 and their hours are: Mondays: 10am to 6pm Tuesdays/Thursdays/Fridays: 10am to 4pm Wednesdays: 10am-1pm and 5pm-7pm. Your call is completely free if you call from a landline or from the following mobile phone networks - 3, T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2, Orange, Virgin. If you are in Scotland the number is: 0808 801 0323 The factsheets they produce are available at http://www.gingerbread.org.uk/Factsheets_ModuleResults.aspx?FactsheetCategoryID=2

This will primarily be about the change to Universal Credit, DLA changing to PIP (another ATOS assessment to be done) and the bedroom tax (if he's got more bedrooms than is deemed necessary by the government then he will be expected to contribute either 14% or 25% to his rent). There are also changes that will affect Council Tax Benefit and this will vary depending on his local authority. These changes to Housing Benefit & Council TaxSupport only affect people of working age. If he's in receipt of DLA and in an adapted property and affected by the bedroom tax then the Housing Officer may be coming to let him know about Discretionary Housing Payments that can be applied for through the Council.

What you are looking for is called your Applicable Amount. This is a figure you are expected to live on, and varies according to your circumstances such as whether you are single, a couple, what rates of DLA you receive, age, if you are a carer, etc. These additions are called premiums. From the limited information you have given your applicable amount would appear to comprises an amount for being a couple & the disability premium. For a couple, where one has an entitlement to the premium, the disability premium is £43.25. It does not apply to HB & CTB if you have (or can be treated as having) a limited capability for work with respect to a claim for ESA. The person who qualifies also needs to be under pension credit age. They add up your applicable amount and then compare this to your income (DLA is ignored as income). If your income is less than the applicable amount then you will get full HB & CTB, if it is more then there is a percentage taper system for the EXCESS income that is then deducted from HB & CTB.

I think you will find it will be worse than many people think. Yes the money available for CTB is being reduced by 10%, but the crucial thing is that pensioners are protected from the cuts in this instance. So if a local authority decides that the way forward is to spread the cuts on working age claimants then the percentage cuts for these claimants is dependant upon the number of pensioners in the area that receive CTB. Now not all pensioners will receive CTB, but a good proxy measurement is the number that receive Pension Credit. This results in large cuts in areas with a lot of pensioner claimants. It has been estimated that in areas such as Craven & Richmondshire in North Yorkshire that the cuts may be in the region of 30% - 40%.

Ask your local HB office about claiming dual HB. HB reg 7(6) d & 7 allow you to receive HB on both homes for up to 4 weeks if you have moved into the new home but your local authority agrees you could not reasonably have avoided liability for rent on both the new and old home (eg because you had to accept the new tenancy and move quickly and had to give notice at your old home). This rule ONLY applies if you have moved into the new home. Different rules apply when fleeing violence, awaiting adaptations, waiting for a social fund payment in certain circumstances, and moving from a care home or hospital when you can claim for the new property before moving in.