to think this system is a bit shitty?

[SkipHopJump]

Nothing can be gained from this rant but I have no one else to rant to!

DP works full time, not salaried- paid minimum wage fortnightly. He just had spinal surgery and has been signed off for 8 weeks minimum.

He's receiving SSP which is about £77 a week. His rent costs £60 a week, then on top of that he needs to pay council tax, bills, food etc.

So obviously he has no money and NO FOOD. He tried to sort out housing benefit or equivalent for while he is off sick, but he needs to take in 3 pay slips all with solely SSP on. So since he gets paid fortnightly and his first pay slip had both wage and SSP on...this will take him a while! So he's been told he will end up with back pay for housing benefit, which is all very well but how is he expected to live at the moment?

Adding onto that, he just got an abcess (bad few weeks ey?) and went to dentist. So that was £16.50 for appt and £14 for two prescriptions of antibiotics. After a few days he couldn't swallow or breathe so I took him to A&E. He had 2 teeth removed, poor sod.

Few days on and he's being sick and can barely open his mouth. Rang NHS direct who say he needs a dental appt which will, of course, cost at least Band 1. He explains he has no funds whatsoever as he is on SSP but obviously there is nothing they can do about this. So he doesn;t make an appt.

I thought there were systems in place to help people in these situations? I can't believe that actually at this point he WOULD be better off on Jobseekers as at least he could get his teeth seen to.

Surely we've misunderstood something or does Britain really have such a shite system?

Thanks for listening to my long rant Hard to see him sob in pain and only be able to buy him some crappy paracetemol.

[Moominfamily]

That sounds awful, I'm so sorry for your DP.
I had severe infections in two wisdom teeth yet to break through, I went to A&E as at the time I was visiting my boyfriend, and got given anti-biotics and painkillers. Could you try taking him to A&E to see if they would help?
Also, could he get a Crisis Loan? It is very difficult to get through to them by phone but it would mean he would have some cash if he were eligible.
I agree with you totally about the crap way the system works, I was not entitled to the Maternity grant when DH lost his job, as he had been unemployed for less than 6 months and we had no claim for tax credit. There were people working and getting that grant to buy 'extras' and I couldn't even afford a new nightie for hospital! The way it works makes no sense, it should be according to need not arbitrary rules.
Hope your DP feels better soon.

[SkipHopJump]

Moomin that sounds awful, can't believe you couldn't get grant.

I think A&E will have to be the answer! He felt so bad when we went the other day as he thought it wasn't a genuine emergency, next to the elderly people there who had just fallen on ice etc. But I suppose that's all we can do!

Didn't think about a crisis loan and will look into that.

[ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight]

It can be very slow but there are systems in place. He could apply for a certificate of exemption for health care costs and if he gets it can claim a refund on his dental costs. If he receives certain benefits then dental costs are automatically exempt - I don't know if he's getting tax credits or anything.
He will get the money back so could he negotiate with his landlord to pay the rent late? Or (risky) just stop paying until he gets his HB? If he has a tenancy agreement then there's nothing the LL can do if it's only a few weeks that he doesn't pay - if he pays it as soon as his HB comes through.
Personally, I would stop paying the rent and explain to the LL that as he's on sick pay it will take 4 weeks to get the money for the rent. The LL will just have to suck it up. Most LLs take rent monthly anyway so it shouldn't be a huge hardship for them to wait a few weeks.
It is stressful I know.

[ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight]

Second crisis loan - if they accept it then you get the money straight away and can apply over the phone. Might be able to get the money for the dentist appt.

[GettinTrimmer]

Sorry to hear this Skip, really rotten for your dp. When was he signed off sick?

I don't understand the housing benefit rules - are they saying that his last salary should cover the rent for a while?

[SkipHopJump]

Ok so crisis loan looks like an option. No tax credits Kat.
Good idea to talk to LL but they are a difficult agency!

Gettintrimmer- he was signed off sick a fortnight ago. WRT housing benefit- they can't start dealing with his application until he has these 3 pay slips which I suppose will be in a month and a half. But obviously if he was paid weekly the application could go through in 3 weeks. I pointed this out but apparently these are the rules- and while I do understand they need to prove he is on SSP, couldn't a sick note just be enough?

[jendaisy]

The housing benefit system sucks...they do not award any money for a deposit and then they pay a month in arrears so they are assuming that everyone can get hold of at least 2 months worth of rent somehow before they start, which isn't the case for the majority of people in need of claiming HB.

I am a single parent and once they held up my claim for 10 weeks before paying anything when I moved into a new property - in the end the only way I could get any money out of the bastards was to call the local paper and get them to come and take a photo of me looking miserable holding my toddler, and write an article about what a shambles the local council were. It was, of course, mortifying, especially as I have lived in this area my whole life so everyone I have ever known would have seen it...not my finest hour! But pleased to say that it worked and the money was transferred to me that day. It was either intense shame or me and my daughter being homeless so you gotta do what you gotta do .

Unfortunately there are no crisis loans in existance for housing benefit, yes it IS a rubbish system. My only advice would be to go to your local CAB and see if they can suggest anything, even if it's just to write a letter to the landlord which might help your case a bit. Good luck!

[SkipHopJump]

Yes jendaisy I also think probably CAB office is a good idea. Your situation sounds like it was horrendous- everything is worse with a child in the mix. Thank god you shamed them into helping!

[jendaisy]

They are really good at the CAB, most offices have a dedicated person to deal with benefits and they tend to be known by the local council and have a fair bit of clout when it comes to speeding things along, I wish I had known this when I had been having problems! Try getting an appointment with the benefits specialist if you can, they are on the payroll and tend to be very good at their job, some of the doddery old volunteers they have in there aren't the greatest help. Hope it works out for your DP.

[momofnearly2]

My Dp had the same problem when he had a knee operation. He was eventually told by some very nice person at the job centre that he should apply for ESA (employment & support allowance) instead. Within a week of applying he was getting it. It is only £50ish a week but you automatically get full housing benefit and council tax benefit so that £50 a week is yours.

Might be worth looking into because it took Dp talking to about 12 different people before he was told this!

Hope you work something out! Being in this situation sucks!

[SkipHopJump]

Thanks for all the advice so far. Didn't know anything about ESA. And will definitely make a CAB appointment.