can they do this to me??

[Lola87]

Hello everyone, I am in a bit of a trouble financially and would really appreciate some advice!

 

The background of this is basically that i have been on ESA since February as I have been suffering from post natal depression. I am under the care of a doctor, my health visitor has regular contact and I attend a post natal group once a week. My health visitor also set up childcare for my daughter twice a week to allow me some respite.

 

My partner suffers from bipolar disorder but has managed until recently to control this to a degree. The problem was, he didn't deal with it in the correct way and ended up having a massive meltdown. He is now under the care of a doctor and mental health team and is taking medication to help control his condition. Due to the nature of his job, he is unable to return to work until his bipolar is properly controlled. He has been off sick since February and has now gone onto SSP. This drop in income has left us approx £850 short per month. This is where the problems began.

 

So, we have the £850 drop in pay. I contact the council in regards to housing benefit to see if they will amend the amounts as my partners wage has reduced. They want a letter from his employers before they will do this, fair enough. I then go for a medical with the famous ATOS and surprise, surprise, I fail! I got ZERO points - they whole thing was a joke. A very stressful joke! So I put my appeal in, with the support of a place called The Advice Shop who are going to represent me at my tribunal.

 

So obviously, until my benefits are reinstated we are in even bigger trouble financially. The council though, in their wisdom, decide they will kick me while I'm down. I receive a letter on Friday (23rd April) saying they have received notification that my ESA has been stopped and have assumed I am working, so have suspended my housing benefit too! I was straight on the phone telling them to get in reinstated as they are pushing me further into a financial black hole and the woman submitted all the details, said it would be looked at Tuesday (yesterday) and the money would be reinstated instantly.

 

So, I called today to see what's happening. A rather unsympathetic woman on the other end of the phone tells me that the benefit is suspended pending proof that I am not working, a letter from my partners work in regards to his SSP and confirmation in writing that I have appealed my ESA decision. I argued that I never said I was working, the ESA was cancelled and I have put my appeal in but at no stage did any one tell me I had to notify the council in writing of this - the woman I spoke to on Friday certainly didnt mention it! - and I am still waiting on the letter from my partners employers who seem to be dragging their feet. I also asked why they couldn't just leave the housing benefit as it was until I obtained all this proof. She stated again that they required all the proof before they would reinstate it and would not budge on the matter.

I asked how long it would take to reinstate if by some miracle I got all the info needed and it was looked at by them tomorrow. She said it would be reinstated on 4th May. No good to me, my rent comes out before then. She remains uninterested.

 

So here I am with no ESA, £850 down on my partners wages, no Housing benefit and a young child to feed. I live in private rented accommodation so its not skin off the councils nose if I don't pay my rent. I have high outgoings, including a loan which the bank will not give me a payment holiday on. All they will do is allow me to reduce the payments for 6 months but the outstanding money which I have underpaid in that period will be lumped on to my loan repayments when I begin paying them in full again and I just can't afford that.

 

I am going out of my mind with worry...I just don't know how much more I can take. A family of 4 (my stepson stays weekends) can not survive on SSP and tax credits. But no one seems interested in helping us?

[loan_ranger]

Lola87

Hello everyone, I am in a bit of a trouble financially and would really appreciate some advice!

 

The background of this is basically that i have been on ESA since February as I have been suffering from post natal depression. I am under the care of a doctor, my health visitor has regular contact and I attend a post natal group once a week. My health visitor also set up childcare for my daughter twice a week to allow me some respite.

 

My partner suffers from bipolar disorder but has managed until recently to control this to a degree. The problem was, he didn't deal with it in the correct way and ended up having a massive meltdown. He is now under the care of a doctor and mental health team and is taking medication to help control his condition. Due to the nature of his job, he is unable to return to work until his bipolar is properly controlled. He has been off sick since February and has now gone onto SSP. This drop in income has left us approx £850 short per month. This is where the problems began.

 

So, we have the £850 drop in pay. I contact the council in regards to housing benefit to see if they will amend the amounts as my partners wage has reduced. They want a letter from his employers before they will do this, fair enough. I then go for a medical with the famous ATOS and surprise, surprise, I fail! I got ZERO points - they whole thing was a joke. A very stressful joke! So I put my appeal in, with the support of a place called The Advice Shop who are going to represent me at my tribunal.

 

LR's comments (in blue): A pay slip a.k.a. "pay advice" is usually sufficient proof of income for HB, CTB and LHA purposes, asking for a letter from employers is 'overkill', unnecessary and a breach of confidentiality. Seeing as your OH has been on SSP since February I'd expect him to have these showing his wage/salary, go to the Council with a couple of the most recent ones and they can take photo-copies.

 

So obviously, until my benefits are reinstated we are in even bigger trouble financially. The council though, in their wisdom, decide they will kick me while I'm down. I receive a letter on Friday (23rd April) saying they have received notification that my ESA has been stopped and have assumed I am working, so have suspended my housing benefit too! I was straight on the phone telling them to get in reinstated as they are pushing me further into a financial black hole and the woman submitted all the details, said it would be looked at Tuesday (yesterday) and the money would be reinstated instantly.

 

The onus is always upon the claimant to inform the council when a "change of circumstances" occurs i.e. income in this case for HB/LHA and CTB calculations. The council and the DWP/JCP are separate entities and only communicate with each other in the interests of fraud prevention, it is in your own interest to contact the council and best done immediately to find out what 'new hoops they'll want you to jump through' if you want to avoid nasty surprises later on.

 

So, I called today to see what's happening. A rather unsympathetic woman on the other end of the phone tells me that the benefit is suspended pending proof that I am not working, a letter from my partners work in regards to his SSP and confirmation in writing that I have appealed my ESA decision. I argued that I never said I was working, the ESA was cancelled and I have put my appeal in but at no stage did any one tell me I had to notify the council in writing of this - the woman I spoke to on Friday certainly didnt mention it! - and I am still waiting on the letter from my partners employers who seem to be dragging their feet. I also asked why they couldn't just leave the housing benefit as it was until I obtained all this proof. She stated again that they required all the proof before they would reinstate it and would not budge on the matter.

I asked how long it would take to reinstate if by some miracle I got all the info needed and it was looked at by them tomorrow. She said it would be reinstated on 4th May. No good to me, my rent comes out before then. She remains uninterested.

 

Again, the requirement for a letter from you OH's employer is "Dairy farm manure of the first order", a pay slip is good enough for my council.

As to proving your not working (just how can someone prove a non event?) it would require you to re-claim ESA or claim JSA in order to get a letter from DWP/JCP. I always prefer writing and e-mailing to phoning so that I can produce copies as proof because you can't rely on these people not to "lose" your evidence. (See my benefits claim advice  )

 

So here I am with no ESA, £850 down on my partners wages, no Housing benefit and a young child to feed. I live in private rented accommodation so its not skin off the councils nose if I don't pay my rent. I have high outgoings, including a loan which the bank will not give me a payment holiday on. All they will do is allow me to reduce the payments for 6 months but the outstanding money which I have underpaid in that period will be lumped on to my loan repayments when I begin paying them in full again and I just can't afford that.

 

When the council have received all the evidence needed you will be entitled to an "interim payment" of HB/LHA within 2 weeks. In the meanwhile you can apply for an interest free DWP Social Fund Crisis Loan to help with the rent, fuel costs (gas/elec.) and living expenses. Crisis Loans is my pet subject and I would be happy to help and advise you towards getting the best outcome. (See here for more advice, info and help)

 

I am going out of my mind with worry...I just don't know how much more I can take. A family of 4 (my stepson stays weekends) can not survive on SSP and tax credits. But no one seems interested in helping us?

Don't be too afraid or embarrassed to seek a Crisis Loan, after all it is the 'pig-headed' benefits system and not yourself who is to blame for your predicament.

Best regards and good luck,

Paul.

[MIKEY DABODEE]

Also Lola, your husband has grounds to claim Income Support because he is in receipt of SSP, he can claim this for you both

 

You say you are in receipt of tax credits but if is just CTC then that wil not effect the claim but if its WTC it will.

Give the department a ring tomorrow and claim, this will solve your housing benefit problem as well, because ifs IS is awarded you will get the full amount

[Lola87]

thank you both for your responses!

 

i havent applied for a crisis loan yet, i increased my overdraft on my bank account to try and cover us. hopefully it will work out.

 

i didnt realise income support could be claimed mikey...we do get wtc, does that mean we might now qualify for income support?

[Lola87]

i just received a letter from the council dated 23rd April - why it took it a week to get here I don't know, whenever they are on your case about something the letters always arrive the next day!!!

 

Anyway, they have said that they will not resume my claim until they have the following:

 

The exact date my partner stopped working, of proof.

 

Your partners last regular monthly payslip before he went on sick pay.

 

Proof of your partners SSP, confirming 1) when it started, 2) any period of company sick pay and 3) the amount he receives.

 

Proof that you have appealed the decision regarding your Employment and Support allowance being stopped/cancelled.

 

Your last two monthly bank statements for you and your partner.

 

 

 

I can not believe they have got us jumping through hoops to have a benefit reinstated that they suspended on an assumption. I don't even have half of this info at the moment!!!

[MIKEY DABODEE]

Hi Lola

Yes working tax credits will effect your I.S, they take it into account as an Income.

You can continue to claim WTC for twenty six weeks whilst on the sick.

 

You may be entitled it may be worth applying, you have got nothing to lose. I.S will ask for the wage slips so when you get them make sure you get them straight back from the council

[Lola87]

Thanks, we have put in an application and we will see where it goes! worth a shot!

[speedfreek]

i just received a letter from the council dated 23rd April - why it took it a week to get here I don't know, whenever they are on your case about something the letters always arrive the next day!!!

 

Anyway, they have said that they will not resume my claim until they have the following:

 

The exact date my partner stopped working, of proof.

 

Your partners last regular monthly payslip before he went on sick pay.

 

Proof of your partners SSP, confirming 1) when it started, 2) any period of company sick pay and 3) the amount he receives.

 

Proof that you have appealed the decision regarding your Employment and Support allowance being stopped/cancelled.

 

Your last two monthly bank statements for you and your partner.

 

 

 

I can not believe they have got us jumping through hoops to have a benefit reinstated that they suspended on an assumption. I don't even have half of this info at the moment!!!

 

As LR has said when you applied for LHA/CTB you agreed to inform them with in 30 days of any changes.

 

It's a fraud prevention thing and nothing personal As soon as you provide it's paid. Pre-empt the letters and it all just continues

 

Would you rather have benefit suspended until you provide evidence or be taken to court for fraud due to over payment?

 

A lot of the time although they ask for this that and the other in letters all they really need is a signed statement until proof arrives

 

e.g. was on JSA & applied for ESA. Went to council offices signed declaration "I'm living off saving until ESA awarded". Next day letter arrived we have been informed of a change; i.e. JSA stopped and another benefit unknown applied for (well I went in day they sent it so they gave me a print out) please provided 2 months of bank statements? Next day because I'd gone in the letter saying thank you everything continues as normal so no break in payment 8)

 

Yesterday got a letter please provide details of your last ESA award letter Went into today with change of circumstances form, award letter etc. Spoke to adviser we don't need this as it says ESA awarded here is a receipt. :? rofl

 

Though the LHA/CTB person did advise me that I may be related to Jay Z due to my second name! So today I have learnt something unexpected and new