Can HMRC legally accuse a man of making a joint claim with his wife for working tax credit if he has never filled out his part of the application form and never signed it?

Hi there, I want to give as much information as possible so i'll be as detailed as i can and i ask of you that you please take the time to read it all as it would really help me. I currently suffer from severe depression, anxiety and occasionally agoraphobia. This is mainly caused and triggered by stress and pressure and results in panic attacks and uncontrollable shaking and sweating. Was on IB for around 5 years and moved to ESA. After the inevitable but expected zero points on my ATOS/ESA assessment and a decision maker agreeing with ATOS my claim was sent to tribunal from which i was successful and placed in the ESA Wrag group. Don't have the exact dates but this would have been around March 2014. With a 12+ month prognosis. Fast forward to around November 2014 and i was referred to PeoplePlus/A4E but as they didn't have an office near me any contact was done by phone. They have since opened a local office and i have been attending appointments from around May/June 2015. So far it's been ok. I've completed one course which although it was difficult (health wise) i enjoyed it. Mainly due to the (3rd party) "teacher" being extremely pleasant and relaxed. So far my advisor has been pleasant and appears to understand what my barriers are. Though one day they'll say " you're not ready for work yet" and the next day it's "I want you to start applying for jobs soon". But now the pressure is being put on me and it's causing my health to be affected which i intend to address with them this week but first i need to get my facts and my (and there) rights correct. Ideally with the relevant DWP guidance provided. I'll try and keep it as organised as possible. 1.) The DWP guidance here (chapter 2, page 6) and here (item 44) both clearly state that a participant on ESA cannot be mandated to apply for jobs or take up work either paid or unpaid. I've seen on CAG that they can't mandate you to do job search either but i've not found any proof or guidance about this. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I've not been asked to do this yet but in conversations with other claimants i've expressed my opinion that if you can't be mandated to apply for jobs and you're not yet ready for employment then surely doing job search is not of benefit to you. I've also seen on both CAG and DWP guidelines that ESA Wrag claimants can be mandated to take up an unpaid community based placement. Yet there own guidelines state ESA claimants cannot be mandated to take up any unpaid work. Yes, i know it's meant to be confusing but can anyone advise on this? (i've not been asked to do this but it got me curious). 2.) How often should i be expected to attend "reviews"? Mine are called Employment Planning Reviews. They are mandated and at a frequency of around 1 per week. Some have been more often, i.e. One on a Friday and the next the following Wednesday. I've not had 2 in the same calendar week (i hope that makes sense). I've seen some information that says 6 in your two year period and some that say not more than one a month. I'd like to get some clarification on this. 3.) I'm being pressured into doing a course which appears to be ran by an employer i wont name but results in you applying to that company towards the end of the course. I've already said no twice but my advisor is adamant i should do it. I'm guessing i can be mandated to do the course but not mandated to submit an application. But the pressure and stress about this is already affecting my health and is causing me to feel worse. 4.) Is there any template someone can provide with which i can withdraw all phone call consent? I intend to address this vocally but would like something in writing in case i need it. I had an interview with my advisor last week during which he mentioned number 3.) above. I said no as i'm not ready yet. But. I still received a phone call yesterday (Friday) trying to pressure me into it, i said no again and they said we'll discuss it Monday. It's ruined my weekend which is now consisting of anxiety, stress and worry. Though i am quite happy to keep receiving the text message reminders of appointments. Overall, i would like some clear guidelines of what they can and cannot do. I've been ok with it so far as going out once or twice a week is slowly helping me and making some new friends (other claimants) is helping me start socialisng again. But the pressure the're starting to put on me is making me ill again and i want to stop it before it starts. I'm having a crappy weekend full of anxiety, stress and worry because of it. I don't intend to have another one. If you've made it this far, thank you! and i really appreciate any advice or experience you can provide!

My husband was on IB and had a Atos medical last year - which resulted in them claiming he is fit for work. He has horseshoe kidneys that are upside down, one side has minimal function and the function of the 'good' side is impaired - he has a stent inserted to heal his bladder drain - without it his tube blocks and causes the kidney to swell. He suffers from continuous lower back pain, which increases when he walks about and radiates into his groin area. He is on Tramadol and Paracetemol for the pain. He also suffers from Raynauds and even though he talked nifedipine he still looses circulation in his hands and feet in temperatures that are mildly cool. He suffers with painful joints (they thought at first it was RA - they then think it's Hypermobility syndrome - we are due to see another rheumatologist next week). His ill health (over the last 20+ years), the constant pain and not being able to do all the things he wanted to (including bring able to work!) has also led to him being diagnosed with depression (I originally got him to speak to his gp over a year ago about his depression - gp just waved him off with I'm not giving you tablets! Luckily we saw a different gp this time and she was more understanding. He failed at MR stage (no one phoned to speak to us as they stated they had) and is due to attend a tribunal next month. He cannot walk more than 50 meters without suffering pain and discomfort, including breathlessness die to pain levels. He only goes out to attend gp and hospital appointments - which leave him physically exhausted and mentally drained. He spends most of his time in bed (the bedroom is nearer to the toilet too which dosent involve him climbing up and down the stairs. According to the paperwork we were sent for the tribunal his gp (who wouldn't entertain his depression) had put that he was mobile next to the list of descriptors - instead of putting down the issues. How can we fight this 'evidence'? We have tried getting supporting evidence from the kidney consultant but can't see him till 2 days before tribunal!! I fear for my husband's mental state and worry about suicide - he already feels worthless and has said we would be better off without him!! I can't loose my husband - can anyone offer any advice please xx

Hello there, My first time on here talking but I have had many a tip from here before. I am in a terrible state and worrying myself sick about debts. After my husband died 2 years ago I have slowly gotten into a mess with borrowing and I'm now at a point where I can no longer do this. However, I own my house outright (apart from having around a third of it owed to an equity release company who will take the money when I die) I am really worried as my son told me if I am in debt and even if they are unsecured, these companies can make me sell the house and put a charging order on it or make me bankrupt. I really don't want all of this at my age and it is making me quite ill. This is what I owe. Natwest loan £12000 Natwest overdraft £2000 Wonga £1500 Lending Stream £700 Ferratum £300 Myjar £120 Very £2000 Littlewoods £800 Isme £600 Aqua Card £500 Argos Card £1000 As you can see it is a lot. But I want to continue paying Natwest as normal and my overdraft is in an agreement where it is reducing every month. If I could put all of the other debts into one basket, I would be able to carry on comfortably. It is those smaller ones that are crippling me. Would entering into a debt management plan be an option for me? I am so worried about this it is making me sick. I am so worried about going bankrupt or losing my house.

Hi folks, I'm new here. I was recommended to seek advice on here from a friend with a problem I am having at my work at the moment. I have done a search on here and round the government website about overtime but quite a lot of it is contradicting or confusing. My situation is that I am a full time Uni student in my final year (busy busy). I work in a retail shop on a 15 hour per week contract. Now with being in my final year I am extremely busy with my coursework. My shop has recently hired a new manager (happens to be his first store manager role) and I am currently having to work 20+ hour weeks. Over the summer this was no problem at all but now it is in the middle of semester time I am finding it hard. As well as all these extra hours I have been told that I need to complete some online learning in my own time to fulfil my job role. If I don't do these, I have been told that "it will end up being a question of my job role". To me that seems a bit threatening but I am unsure. For some reason, all the training that has to be done is things that I have been allowed to fulfil for the past year I have worked there so struggling to understand the need for training if I already know it? To try and compensate with the extra time needed for the training I requested less overtime hours to allow me to do the training. I was told that it couldn't be done as I was needed in the store for as many hours as possible. I did read somewhere that I can request time off for training. When I was told that I couldn't get any time off I said about needing to cut my hours down to my contracted 15. This made my manager pretty angry and he said that if I refused to work any overtime then he could show me the door. This was downright rude and unfair I reckon. He said it was written in my contract (which is is). The wording in my contract is as follows, The main question I have is that am I allowed to refuse overtime given what my contract says and my situation? Also if anyone knows for sure about training outside working hours (without pay) then I would be pleased to hear more about it. I have tried to give as much information as possible and I realise I have probably rambled on a bit but if any more information is needed then I will endeavour to give it! Thanks

Hi everyone, I have a bit of a problem I really need some guidance with. In Febuary 2012 my wife, my two year old daughter and I had to move out of our old flat due the adverse effect it was having on my wife's health, I took out some pay day loans to cover the moving costs (wholly intending to repay on time), However in March 2012 my hours at work were impossible to keep up due to my wife's increasing dependence on me and her declining health. I ended up leaving around 15th April 2012 and since then have been on income support and i am her full time carer. Our landlord served us with an eviction notice in May 2012 after just 3 months of living there because she had split from her partner and needed to re occupy her property. So this is where my problems start. I started working again for my old employer at the start of June, and left at the end of July. Total, it was around 6-7 weeks. I did this to be able to pass reference checks and avid the need of a guarantor (we wouldn't have been able to have one). However at this time I didn't inform HMRC or DWP or my work. So was being paid both income support and my wage, now this I admit I did because I had a heap of debts from the move before hand which i was unable to pay. I saw a selfish and massively short sighted option to alleviate the financial pressure at the time. But now we are getting close to the end of the tax year, and obviously both my old employer's tax returns and my tax credits renewal im terrified that they will see something wrong somewhere, and if im being honest im wondering whether I should come clean. I know I have done wrong, i completely understand that, but I can assure you it was not for greed in any way. It was my job to protect my wife and family and that's what I thought I was doing at the time. I care for my wife and daughter full time now, they both rely on me for everything, and i'm terrified of going to prison or getting a huge amount of community service because as my wife's health stands now I never leave her side. Any advice anyone could give would be a great help and I would be happy to provide details Many thanks

I have a joint endowment to pay of my mortgage that was taken out with an ex partner who has moved abroad and is not on speeaking terms. I have continued the payments foolishly thinking it would just be paid at the end of the 25years (in 5 years). I have since been told by a friend that I will not be able to get the money without her signature or a joint account, I have no way of contacting her and am now worried that I will be in deep do do in 5 years!!

I would like some advice on ESA. I have been in the support group for two years and my medical issue is highly unlikely to ever go away. However, I would really like to get back to work despite this problem. My background is in teaching and a position has come up which I think I might like to go for. But the job doesn't start until September 2013 and if offered the job I would have to sign the contract immediately. My problem is what to do with the ESA. It would be another ten months before I started working and even then I would still have my medical problem. So, if offered the job, do I inform ESA? I cannot afford for them to stop my payments for the next 10 months as I would have no income but I also don't want to commit benefit fraud. Therefore, if they stopped my ESA, I cannot apply for this job as I could not afford to live. Does anybody know how signing up to work in ten months time would affect my benefit now? Please can you give me the legal view rather than a personal view of I would not tell them?

Hi, just wanted to know if anyone knows if there is anything my partner can do. He is a self employed (sub-contractor) builder, and due to know fault of his own he hasn't been paid now for 5 wks. He is owed over £2,000 in unpaid wages. His boss is not being paid off people who they have done work for, so he doesn't have any money to pay wages. My partner is now struggling to pay his mortgage, bills etc, and he is threatening to pack work in altogether, as he doesn't see the point going to work if he isn't getting paid. It isn't his boss's fault, customers keep promising they will pay and then the day goes pay when they should of paid and it starts all over again. In the mean time, materials are still needed to complete jobs, but there is no money coming in. I would like to know if my partner would be entitled to claim any sort of benefit. He cant claim JSA because he is in work, and he cant claim IS because when he is getting paid he is over the threshold amount, so would there be anything else that he would be allowed to claim?

I started a PhD last year but have just found out that I've not passed the 1st year and so cannot progress onto the 2nd year. It's a total shock as I thought I was doing OK but the supervision has been absolutely appalling with little feedback from my supervisor. In addition supervisor has been quite elusive recently and she's due to go on mat leave next month, don't really know what is going on but I'm really worried financially. My stipend will run out end of September. I can write up what I've got as an MPhil, except there's no money for that, my other supervisor has offered to help out and supervise the writing up for that although he doesn't really have any money. I've asked if they can look into if the funding council will fund this (unlikely) and also asked if he has any jobs, due to meet with him in a couple of weeks when he's back from hols. My partner works more or less full-time, she's obviously really stressed out. We have a 5 year old and I have a daughter with my ex-wife who stays over regularly under a shared care arrangement. I'm panicking an applying for jobs left right and centre. I have worked in the past but wonder if anyone knows the situation regarding benefits to apply for??? We have bills to pay, mortgage etc. Really really stressed out.