Do you think DWP still have my records of income support that i claimed 2011-2013? There is some information that i need and i'm hoping they still have the details. Thank you.

I am not sure whether this is best place in here or special needs and disability. I also don't want to clog up the what made you swear today? thread in the Bear Garden. For those of you who have seen that thread within the last few days, you'd know that my Granddad has been given 2 years to live and has cancer in his spine and liver. He had mouth and throat cancer 3 years ago and was given the all clear 9 months later. Any support, advice, etc. would be appreciated please. I will also be using this thread to post what's going on with his treatment, etc.

After my previous post about Europcar helping themselves to an unauthorised amount from my Nationwide credit card 3 months after my final invoice for hire, and failing to get it refunded I rang my Nationwide Credit card customer service to report this unauthorised transaction. I was put through to this department where a lady listened to my claim for a refund after I explained this matter had been closed and paid in full as per their emailed invoice received. I was asked for all evidence I had to back up my case. When I told her I had emails to prove what I was saying was true, I was asked to send all these emails in by being given a reference number and email address to send in all my emails evidence to. I receive a reply that all has been received and a stop has been placed on this amount and they will be contacting Europcar for them to explain why they had taken this amount in dispute. I replied stating if this is a fuel charge it had been agreed due to a danger of a smell of burning from the rear and this hire car which had also been breaking down I had made the safety decision not to take it into a fuel station to return it full and returned it half full. So if they were claiming the fuel cost and a penalty fee as I received an invoice by post after this charge written in german and charged in euros which was sent in also by email then this should not be charged! I had gone through all this on the phone to the lady in the disputed transactions department and she agreed and promised me their investigation would make sure what this charge was made for and if it was for fuel etc they would explain why it had been agreed by Europcar this would not be charged due to the car faults and breakdown so no further amounts was due on this hire. I was hopeful of getting my money refunded as I was told to wait for the disputes dept at Nationwide credit card to carry out their investigations and contact me again in due course. Can you imagine my horror when I receive a letter in the post from Nationwide Credit card disputes department enclosing the same invoice copy I received from Europcar stating in English this time the amount charged was for Fuel as the car was not returned full as per their contract it included a penalty fee as I had failed to do so. The letter continued that therefore they have released this amount to Europcar and if I disagree to this decision I have 14 days to let them know by letter in the post my reasons for doing so. As it was now clear the lady on the phone had not listened or made any notes of what I had told her, the department although they had sent notification of receiving all my emailed evidence no one had bothered to read them and had just waited for the German car hire company Europcar to send back an invoice of what they had made this extra charge for 3 months later after saying the matter was closed to Rerntcars.com who told me there was no need to change my credit card number as no more money was due so would not be taken from my card? So as well as Rentalcars.com not bothering to get my money back my Nationwide bank credit card company who I have been with for a very long time didn't bother either. Is this really the state of this country now that customer service is a department that is there to fend off customers and a couldn't care less attitude is the norm now. What do you think? Too be honest I was so disappointed in Nationwide Credit Card disputes letter I haven't bothered to answer it. But am seriously thinking of changing my card provider but are any of them any better I doubt it? Thanks for reading and please reply Soundguy:???: Link to rental car.... http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?475327-Rentalcars.com-Employee-Error-Ignored-by-company

Hi me and my partner have a bit of a problem and not sure what to do I'll go into a bit of the back story so bare with me. I stopped working in November 2015 due to issues with my right hand and was diagnosed with Parkinson's March 2016, I put a claim in for PIP May 2016... Meanwhile my partner was the sole earner from November 2015 and we were getting WTC to top up her wages. My partner went of sick from work with depression the 4th July 2016 and started getting SSP 11th July 2016 we then made a claim for HB/CTB and still getting WTC, then I got my PIP claim (£55.10 Standard rate Daily care) in September backdated from May which in turn entitled my partner to Carers Allowance as she cares for me got that backdated to August. Fast forward to the 22nd of January the last day of 28 wks of SSP ( Or so we thought) we cancelled the WTC from the 22nd due to the SSP ending… My partners employer supplied a SSP1 stating the date 22nd and we started an Income Support claim 23rd January we were started on a rate of around £30 a week the calculation included the SSP, she then supplied a letter off her employer stating that the last payment of SSP she received is her last and no more SSP is due, the IS was then backdated from the 28th January recalculated without the SSP on so that added an extra £88.45 a week on top of the £30ish a week we were already receiving. Here comes the issue we checked the bank and my partner has had a token payment from work of around £35 which were guessing is SSP (not got her wage slip yet) but upon checking her old wage slip with the 1st SSP payment on it seems instead of my partner getting 4 weeks SSP they gave her a days holiday (she never requested it) then the rest SSP which could be the result in the £35 payment a days SSP... The head office deal with payments (which is based in Birmingham) so I am guessing why her employer has gotten confused on the SSP end date. What do we do? As informing IS about the days SSP payment will cause an overpayment of around £350 to my reckoning and it will need recalculating once again with the small SSP payment then once again once her next pay date is due which we'd like to avoid due to fact it took awhile to get the correct IS issued to us had to chase up for letters, keep ringing up,jobcentre visits etc... Could we ask her employer to take back the £35 odd payment by maybes giving the holiday back they gave her/or something on them lines which would be the easiest option and not have to inform IS? Quite a mess up by her employer. Thanks Trev.

Hi, I have had two Jawbone fitness trackers. First one strap broke, I called jawbone customer support and they sent out a new strap. I got a new better UP2 and gifted the old one to my friend. Now I purchased this UP2 from Amazon on 25 May 2016 (so its still within its years warranty) and the strap has broken and it now will not sync to my phone despite following all of their advice on their website so its no longer fit for purpose and its not even a year old! I called the customer support number which now states there is not longer any customer support available in the UK!!? I have emailed via the app on my phone 4 times and no response. They are still selling these things (at a reduced price now) How can I get a replacement or a refund? Surely this is breaking some consumer law? Any assistance appreciated! Thanks Fittaedae

READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-within-the-royal-air-force-community-for-those-affected-by-domestic-abuse

Ok first off i know this is a sc@m unfortunatly a old family friend got done for £300 he has phoned the bank but they are dragging their feet on refunding the money since it was a authorised transaction . However i feel they are trying to get him to go away am i right i believe he should be given it straight back since its a well known [problem] in it circles , im going down to him to go through his computer to see what they have done to it so would like some info as to how to proceed with the bank its barclays if that helps

Hi there I am a Support Worker employed by a city council. I support someone with a very mild learning difficulty, but they are totally independent. They are able to cook, clean, self-travel, etc. by themselves, and our team is present 24 hours a day to ensure the service user does not make unsafe decisions about relationships, or get in trouble with the police for anti-social behaviour. They live in reasonably small, modern 2 bedroom flat on the 4th floor. The single bedroom is designated as the staff sleepover room. The flat is owned by a housing association, which the city council then rents. Therefore, the service user is not directly the tenant. We do not have guardianship of the service user. My question: The service user is a smoker of around 110 to 20 cigarettes/day. They choose to smoke inside their bedroom - sometimes with an open window but often fully closed up, particularly at this time of the year. If they are smoking in their bedroom, the smoke can be smelled by staff in the sleepover room - even with an open window. We have been told we have the right to leave their flat for 1 hour if the service user starts smoking. Upon re-entering after 1 hour, the smell of smoke is still noticeable. I understand 2nd hand/passive smoking is dangerous as its unfiltered, can linger in the air for many hours and the dangerous stuff is invisible. As I am working 12+ hour shifts each day in this environment, what rights do I have as a non-smoker? Should I join a union? Many thanks

Hello I was moved to the esa support group in August/September this year, but I received a letter from DWP this morning telling me to go and meet my job coach on the 11th January 2017. The letter says that I must take steps to prepare for a return to work when I am able and says that I must also tell them about work-related activities that I've done. They also give a warning about my payments, saying that they know how important the payments are to me! They say that they want to help me keep them, but in return I must do work-related activities. Its all very confusing to me, so can anyone help me with some advice? Thanks.

Hi I am just looking for some definitive answers regarding eligibility for SSG as I am being given conflicting info I am not one of the 2016 cohort so the old rules apply - I started my course in 2014 In march i was told that provided that i could demonstrate Housing benefit 3 weeks into my course this would qualify me for the SSG however SFE are now saying that this is not sufficient and I need to fulfil another criteria. They are claiming that the documents I provided are out of date although I supplied the link below dated Sept 2016. However a page on my SFE page says HB is a reason for getting it as does the following link http://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/6934/sfe_1617_assessing_financial_entitlement.pdf I am trying to get together some stuff for an appeal I would very much value some opinion, if I am wasting my time so be it , just ant to know if I am on the right side Needless to say, if my PIP Tribunal is a win in Dec, this will all be academic Thanks

Armed forces domestic abuse: worldwide support Information for armed forces personnel and their families who are stationed overseas. READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/armed-forces-domestic-abuse-worldwide-support

Hi I'm new to forums. I dropped an air passenger off at Liverpool Airport's "Express Drop Off" zone, in a car park that I could not avoid as it was on the end of a No Stopping road. I was stopped for 30 seconds. When I went to the barrier to leave they demanded £2 and went on about a contract and a sign on the road which I had not seen and more .... after about 20 minutes I snapped the barrier by pushing it out of the way and went to leave in my car. The car park called the Police who asked very similar questions about a contract. Now I've investigated and found PoFA S54 and do not like the idea that a person can detain me on the grounds that they demand that I have agreed to a contract of which I am unware. Oh my defence for snapping the barrier is that I was trying to prevent a crime. No further action. So I've begun the Practice Directions pre-action letters and get a reply from the car park supervisor. They have a ParkMark accreditation, but don't bother to display T&Cs, as required. No T&Cs = no contract, not just for me but to anyone. They detained me for 45 until cops let me go. I asked the cop if he was recording his trying to coerce me into agreeing to a contract. He was. Snapping the barrier was proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances cos I felt trapped. Does anyone know where they got the right to detain me from cos it ain't S54(3) PoFA 2012? No one should be confused into accepting a nonsense contract, that is not on offer, by hostile, sneering people claiming that a sign on a 40 m.p.h. road which is only in view for 3 seconds as it flies past means you've agreed a contract and pay up to leave. Already found, item 24 Sch 1 unfair terms, signage is substandard and does not conform to BPA, Fraud by false representation and abuse of position. Thanks in advance. I know I'm a nuisance but I don't want other people barracked like I was.

I was left with a 4k benefit debt a couple of years ago which I have been paying back at the rate of £100 per month from my self employment and have had no problem doing that. Debt currently stands at £1700. However I have finished self employment and now receive Income Support and Carers allowance. Got a review letter from the actual DWP Debt management people other day wanting to review the rate of repayment and asked me to get in touch. I called them and said I would like the arrangement to continue at the original rate of £100 pcm as I am now in receipt of the above benefits they said they had to take the money back from the benefits now and not from the Direct Debit I have had in place for over two years. They told me that the repayment amount would be £29.60 per week from an IS payment of £133.30 which is approx 22% of the benefit entitlement. Just wanting to know if that percentage is about right I would much preferred it to have stayed as a Direct Debit has I had already worked out my income to take the DD into consideration and it would have been far less hassle.

Armed Forces Day show your Support Date for your Diary: Saturday 25th June 2016 Events are being held all over the UK. READ MORE HERE: https://www.armedforcesday.org.uk/

I am trying to decide whether to claim carer's allowance or income support. I intend to become a carer for my mother who gets attendance allowance. I am 50 and claiming income based JSA. I live with my mother in a council house.

READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dwp-announces-extra-support-for-armed-forces-spouses-and-civil-partners-to-help-protect-their-state-pension

The MOD has updated its information on Support for Veterans on 7th April 2016 READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-war-veterans

Ill start at the beginning About 12-14 years ago I was called into the income support office for a fraud interview. I had been working but wasn't earning over the stated allowed amount. I was self employed. My ex husband had decided to "grass" me up as I was in a new relationship and he was very controlling and violent. I took the case to tribunal back then with copies of everything they wanted including having professional accounts done that showed I was earning within the allowed amount. At the tribunal I was sat in front of a lady who had all my paperwork in front of her including my accounts. She said to me she had no idea what they all meant and couldn't understand the account figures. after I heard off them saying I was liable to pay back around £8000 I think it was (according to their recent letter) I wrote again asking for my case to be heard by some one who could understand accounts and figures. After a while of arguing through letter they stopped writing to me. I thought they had sorted it out as it had just gone. However about a month ago I received a letter off a different department in DWP saying I owed them money and I panicked. I was told by them they were putting an attachment of earnings on my very small wages. I wrote asking from what time period and they came back with that it was from 2002/2003 ! I have no idea where I stand on this and what my rights are. I am beside myself with worry, the last time the stress caused me to miscarry . I am already having problems sleeping and feeling tired all day. If it was a normal business I know they aren't allowed to reclaim money after 6 years with no contact but as this is the government Im guessing the rules are different? can anyone please help ? im so worried I feel like crying all the time PS their first letter said I owed £3500 and the second one put it up to almost £8000 !

Microsoft has ended technical support and security updates for older versions of its Internet Explorer browser. The changes, which will affect versions 8, 9 and 10 of the browser, were announced in August 2014. Some estimate that these older browsers account for more than 20% of web traffic while Computerworld claims that only 55% of IE users are using the latest version. Browsers are often targeted by hackers and experts predict a crop of attacks. "Beginning January 12, 2016, only the most current version of Internet Explorer available for a supported operating system will receive technical support and security updates," the software giant announced on its website. "Microsoft encourages customers to upgrade and stay up-to-date on the latest browser for a faster, more secure browsing experience." It is continuing to support IE 11 and Edge, which is the default browser for Windows 10. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35291938

The UK Government has taken action to ensure remote homes and businesses can access its promised basic 2Mbps broadband service In a bid to deliver on previous guarantees it has made about affordable broadband access, the government will offer subsidised satellite dishes to some of the most remote areas. The scheme will be administered by local authorities. Homeowners and businesses within eligible areas will receive a voucher code to provide them with a free satellite dish and in some cases installation, as well as reduced 12 monthly subscription costs from partnering satellite broadband providers. Use the postcode checker here to find information about what is available in your area: http://gosuperfastchecker.culture.gov.uk/basicbroadbandchecker/index.php

Hi All, Would someone be so kind as to advise who is responsible to report change of circumstances. IS IT THE MAIN CLAIMANT OR PARTNER OR BOTH??? I await your kind response. S13

A friend of mine was getting income support up until around July last year when his wife hit pension age. She now gets state pension and they get no IS. He claims carers allowance for her, around £60 a week. He has an outstanding overpayment debt with them of around £9000 which he was repaying at £10 a week from his IS, which was around £150 a week. He got a letter about 3 weeks ago stating they are taking £20 a week for the debt from his CA starting third week of December. Firstly, he's not 100% sure what the overpayment was for, he says it was at least 10 years ago and he's been paying £10 a week since then, but insists it started at around £9k, so I'm unsure how it can still be the same 10 years later. Is there any way of getting a statement of the debt, what it was for and payments since the start? Secondly, is there any way to reduce the repayments, even if its just back to the £10 a week he was paying when he was getting £100 more a week? Thanks for any help

Hi all. I am a single mother with three children aged between 4 and 10. I worked in a London law firm up until I was made redundanticon in 2007 and then my husband and I decided I should stay at home with the children while he went out to work. In June 2012 my husband and I suffered a very messy separation, he moved out, and we haven't been on speaking terms since and he hasn't been interested in seeing his children for quite some time. After my husband moved out I informed HMRC of the change and was awarded Child Tax Credits which have been paid to me until August this year when I received a notification that due to the fact there was the belief my husband had never left my Child Tax Credits had been stopped and I was asked to repay all the Tax Credits I have received since June 2012 which amounts to £13,000. I DO NOT have this sort of money. I am also no longer entitled to benefits such as free school meals for my children since I am no longer in receipt of Child Tax Creditsl I objected to these claims and so was asked to send a bunch of documents which I duly sent immediately. I then waited months for a decision to be made and last week I received a lettericon to say their opinion hadn't changed and I am still therefore not entitled to Child Tax Credits. However, the letter did state I could send in further documentation for their consideration, which I immediately did, and am now awaiting further correspondence from them. Could anybody give me some advice please? I am 100% entitled to those Child Tax Credits. Alongside this issue I am now being refused income support and housing benefit due to the fact I co-own properties in another part of the country. Since my separation with my husband I have been living on a chunk of money received from the sale of a property. However, the balance of my bank account had dropped very low and so I decided it was time to put in a claim for housing benefit and council tax deduction and to claim income support. However, I have been informed I am unable to claim these benefits due to the fact my ex-husband and I own properties in another part of the country and because I cannot give them much information about these properties because he always dealt with the properties (I just signed on the dotted line and provided the cash) and he took all the paperwork with him when he left and kept control of all the properties including receiving all income from rent. I have given the addresses of the properties and rough estimates of how much I believe them to be worth but I don't know anything about the mortgages or the tenants or any other details. My bank statements prove I haven't been benefiting financially from them at all and am not receiving any rental income. There is absolutely no way for me to obtain the information required due to the fact my husband despises me and absolutely refuses to speak to me. I have asked a solicitor but was told there is no way to force him to provide this information. I would really like to sell the properties in order to buy my own house but my husband refuses to sell. He also refuses to divorceicon me and therefore I am unable to sell the properties through that. I am so worried about what will happen if I can't claim ANY benefits. I have properties to sell but I am not in a position to sell them. I cannot live in them because they are so far away and our life is here. Besides, they all only have one bedroom. In two or three months I will have no money left in order to pay my rent or to survive in general. Please can somebody advise me whether I should be entitled to income support, housing benefit and council tax reduction even though I own properties in other parts of the country? Or is the expectation that I move into one of those properties, even though they aren't suitable and are far away from our life here? It would mean all the children changing schools and living in a cramped 1 bed flat. As I have already stated there is no way I can sell the properties. Or can I? Is there a way to force my ex-husband to sell the properties? I am EXTREMELY worried for our future. The ONLY income I have currently is £190 per month child benefit. That is ALL. I have £2,500 in my current account and once that runs out I have not a clue what I am going to do if I cannot claim the benefits and the Child Tax Credits I require in order to pay my rent and survive. I have terrible visions of me and the three children ending up homeless on the street. We have no relatives to help us out. The only option for the children would be to live with their father but considering he is mental and has frequently threatened to kill us all I couldn't bear for that to happen. He took me to court earlier this year to try to obtain residency of the children but thankfully his case was not successful. However, if we lose our home it would be our only option. I am so worried. Please can anybody offer me some advice in this thread on how I can go about proving to HMRC that my ex-husband no longer lives at my address and therefore claiming the Child Tax Credits to which I am fully entitled? Also what can I do about the fact I have no money to live on or to pay my rent and yet I cannot claim any benefits? Thank you so much in advance.

I will soon be being left money from a Will to the sum of 11 thousand. What can I spend it on and still keep some so it does not affect Income Support?

Hi Quick bit of advice. Earlier this year I was awarded 3 year ESA in support group due to Fibromyalgia and Functional Neurological disorder along with severe depression. I have been on every antidepressant my dr with prescribe and i'm being seen by mental health services, im also on Butrans patches for pain. Anyway been paid fine every since the award until 13th August when the payments just stopped, no letter, no phone calls nothing just no money. I have phoned the hotline a few times and they always say I can't see any reason on my system for not paying, i'll email another department and they will call back later the same day. Of course i've never had a phone call back. In the meantime the local job centre wrote to my wife inviting her in for a work related interview which is odd because she's self employed and does a little work here and there when it comes in makes no more than £500 a year after expenses. Anyway I wrote back to the job centre explaining she can't get there because we haven't had any money and the job centre is a 25 mile round trip, I made it quite clear it was not a refusal to attend but just not right whilst they are in breach of their side of the "contract". JCP have written back putting the appointments on hold indefinitely until they start paying me again, still no explanation why they are not paying. I've written a complaint and sent that in asking what is going on that was nearly 3 weeks ago, heard nothing. My MP has written to them again nothing. Am at my wits end over it, i'm not good on the phone when dealing with things like this because I am easily confused due to the neurological issues and I have a phobia of the damn thing so I rarely answer it unless I know who is calling. On top of the ESA problem, I returned our child tax credit renewal to HMRC and they have ignored it and rolled salaries over from last year meaning they have invented a £25,000 income we don't have slashing our tax credits down to £79 a month. So at the moment all we're getting is £79 ctc and £137 child benefit to pay for 2 adults and 2 young children. My wife and I visit the community cafe every thursday for a free hot meal to save a bit of money that way but to be honest i'm just getting to the point of snapping over all of this along with the car problems (posted in garage area) and these 2 problems (i'm hoping HMRC screw up is what has stuffed up my ESA but I have no idea on that!) Permanently on the brink of tears and feel so depressed. On top of my usual pains and problems im now losing a lot of weight because I am vomiting several times a week for now apparent reason when it happens sickness lasts 24-48 hours where I can't keep anything down, drs don't know whats causing that either/ Really feel like it's not worth bothering anymore just feel so under someones boot. We're only just managing to put food on the table at the moment let alone paying any bills. Does anyone have any advice on where I go from here i've written to everyone giving them the correct info but no one seems to be listening. I can prove that the DWP have never called back because I have extensive phone call logs showing they haven't called (no withheld numbers called either)