to be shocked and confused that no income or only C/B = no entitlement to C/T or H/B help?

[Jamillalliamilli]

I hate the word entitlement before I get screamed at, but that?s the official language being used.

You have ?entitlement? and get help, or you ?don?t have entitlement?, and don?t get help, and it?s all judged on income.

But child benefit is disregarded as income, and therefore if that is all you currently have, there is no income and therefore no entitlement to help.

So if a person has no current income other than child benefit, they can?t get help to pay rent or council tax, and will get evicted if they can?t sort out an income from somewhere in time, and build up a debt of unpaid council tax in the meantime.

Is it an individual council choice or the same everywhere?

Did I understand right that DLA on it?s own if awarded, would also be disregarded as an income? (head spinning and don't want to ask any more)

Am I stupid to not know this and be reeling?

If you Havre more other income then surely you would be eligible for some sort of benefit?

Have you tried entitled to?

Well if you have no income and qualify for income support then you can get hb and ctb.

If you have no income and don't qualify for income support then you can go on jsa, that I believe also qualifies you for hb and ctb.

If you have no income, don't qualify for income support or jsa but you do qualify for esa then you qualify for hb and ctb.

I think.

You are correct that DLA, both care and mobility elements, are disregarded as income.

However I don't understand why someone with no current income wouldn't get help. They could apply for income support if nothing else? Is there other income in the household? What are the circumstances?

It entirely depends on personal circs.

And unlike what some posters would have you believe it's not a walk in the park to get benefits. It's very, very hard.

You mention DLA in your posts, if you have someone in your home on DLA do you qualify as their carer to get carers allowance with an income support top up? Then you'd get hb and ctb

I don't understand why there would be no income. Surely there would either be income from employment or income from a benefit such as income support or jsa?

There was a time when i had no income except for child benefits & child tax credit. I got full housing & council tax benefit. Maybe its a Council thing.

DLA is classed separately to income. It is all related to your circumstances-go to citizen advice who will help you work out what can be applied for.
To be evicted you should be given some warning so hopefully the situation would not escalate to that point.
The benefits system is a minefield and the language used is scary and many give up. There are many factors involved in the awarding of benefits which i find cruel and demeaning. It is target driven despite what they say.....which I fail to understand as we are human beings not boxes/targets.....people should get help and not be the victims of tick box exercises.
Sorry- rant over.
No hang on- did you know that fraudulent claims make up 2% of claimants, where as clerical error makes up 7% of wrongly awarded (usually under in £) claims?!
Rant now over......

Anditwasallyellow the time i didnt have any income was because the jobcentre stopped my money under what they call a sanction which means you get NO money from them.

I did qualify for ESA support group, but ATOS have lost medical examination for renewal forms, and it's been suspended. DWP have sent me my P45 and I have to choose between asking for a re consideration (which I've done) or start a new claim. If I do the later I will have been overpaid H/B and C/T, from the point they suspended me and have no way of repaying it, doing the former means I may be refused.

There's been no income outside C/B for six weeks.

I and my son may be entitled to DLA and have been told to claim it but son wont be co-operating with that and is treated as an adult and I already have a clawback for overpayment as a disabled person, courtesy of the last time I went to and followed citizens advice, so am pretty scared of claiming and being in more trouble.

In the meantime H/B and C/T have been stopped and I've been told that's correct even if I can prove no income other than C/B, if I don't get back ESA payment for last six weeks, then council will look to recover debt.

I thought you were entitled to HB/CTB to continue whilst an ESA claim is being appealed?

Fucking ATOS! they're a menace.

I'd be complaining, loudly and bitterly and as high up as possible, to the DWP, that a clerical error has resulted in impoverishment. In the meantime, see if you can claim IS?

I would also definitely claim dla if you qualified for ESA in support group. My dad gets LRC and HRM and we're having a job convincing them he should be in the support group!

OP, have you been to a welfare rights advice organisation?

You are still classed as being in receipt on your benefit, whilst it is santioned.

What was the sanction for? How long is it for?

Oneofthosedays not according to my council, but I'm crap at all of this and have already got lots wrong.

X post.

You need CAB or another advice organisation to sort this out.

My understanding of HB comes from some time ago, but...

With ESA you can complete a small form that goes to the LA. if you no longer qualify for ESA, then you need to contact the LA directly, to complete a different (more complex) form, as your original form is only valid while your entitlement for ESA is valid.

Contact your local authority.

Oneofthosedays not according to my council

Have you had this desicion in writing?

Hang on! You can fill in a nil income form to declare you had no income and you will still be entitled. Not having an income does not mean you are not entitled to Hb/ctb.

WelshMaenad I believe I can't claim IS, and it's either ESA or JSA which I originally tried to claim and was turned down for because of levels of disability.

Birds I've not been sanctioned as far as I know. I was waiting for another medical assessment and it turned out they'd not received/lost the renewal forms. Council say DWP have informed them I'm not in receipt of benefit, and C/B doesn't count.

Have you got a CAB etc that you can go to?

This needs someone to sort out your whole claim.

Also MP's are quite good at getting involved.

Yes dwp will tell Hb when your benefits stop, that's why you need to fill in the nil income form

Who is your LandLord?

Our clients do somtimes get HB/CT suspended but this is the circumstances that they back pay for, once it is sorted out.

You need proper advice before you make any decisions.

Birds, no, good point, only verbal. I guess that's what I need to ask for tomorrow.

Erik, Jeezy, I have been told today by my LA specifically that having no income does mean no entitlement, so I will be very grateful if you're correct.

I'm finding it hard to believe that people in real trouble would be excluded, hence this thread.

Yes dwp will tell Hb when your benefits stop, that's why you need to fill in the nil income form

With the changes in HB, i would wait and get RL advice as otherwise it is a new claim and subjet to the new HB rules coming in.

Will they affect you, at all?

I have been told today by my LA specifically that having no income does mean no entitlement

Not true.

Ask for a senior or manager and put it in writing for now, they will photo copy your letter and give you a reciept.

I work with young people who get sanctioned on jsa all the time. There is a nil income form they complete to keep their Hb in payment. I don't Think different areas would have different rules but I could be wrong.