housing benefit suspended

[madeitagain]

I am a single mother working 3 days a week. I receive housing benefit. I got a letter requesting recent payslips just before half-term. I went to a friend's over the half term but handed in the necessary information by the due date. I know find my housing benefit has been cancelled. It is a huge hassle as I have rent, childcare an arranged birthday party and clubs to pay for. My account is overdrawn by £500 and rising. I have an arrangement with the bank to go to £700. I called the housing benefit personnel on Monday and then again today. It is now the only way of speaking to someone as there is no over the counter service. I was told the wait for it to be reinstated could be up to 18 working days. Am I being unreasonable to think that a due date means just that. The necessary information was all there. I have nothing to hide and no recent changes in income etc Advice would be appreciated. I am desperate.

Sorry that might come across as judgemental, it isn't. just a little shocked at the housing costs per week compared to my area, could understand it if you were in London however.

But you said earlier your reciept was for the day before the due date?

Anyway, just copy the receipt and reply in writing pointing out their error.

1. Speak to your landlord. As a landlord I would understand if my tenant was suffering a massive cock-up by bureaucrats who has no wriggle room to help with anything aside from following procedure.

1. I cant understand how so many are confused by your financial conundrum. It is fairly obvious.

Say you have an income of £100 per month, and £50 of those are HB, and the other £50 is your wages. Rent is £50, and you have other bills amounting to a total of £50, then surely when rent of £50 is paid without the HB, that means that the other bills wont be paid. It does not matter exactly what particular coin or note goes to paying what. There is a total pool, and total expenses. Rent must be paid, and whether she pays from her wages or HB is not the issue. It means finding the funds to pay the rest is a problem.

Those of you who does not understand this, what do YOU do in a situation if money earmarked the vitally important A does not come in? Do you prioritize and use money for B to pay A, or do you sit there stumped and not pay A? Do you say "Oh, I cant pay A, because I dont have the right money for it, I only have money for B and that is not meant for A"

Brilliant couldn't have explained it any better!

Actually when I called HB I try to resolve the issue I spoke to a woman. In the course of the conversation I foolishly mentioned I had happened to have arranged a birthday party for my child prior to my housing benefit being cancelled. Her response "Housing Benefit is not for birthday parties". I had already sent out birthday invitations to 5-6 year olds and paid a hefty deposit.

So, if you get HB you dont have the right to arrange a birthday party to celebrate your child. .... You would not have to chose between rent and your childs birthday if they did their jobs properly.

They're been sending us demanding letters asking us to update them re our daughter 'Tia' and her apprenticeship. I don't have a daughter. Only sons. And none of them do apprenticeships... Am fully expecting our's to be stopped even though we returned the letter, in person, with the whole sorry tale that their Tia is imaginary.

We live on a small street of only 4 houses. No-one here or for 2 miles in any direction, has a daughter called Tia.

Nightmare situation. I have understood that you are using your wages and any top up tax credit to pay the shortfall from the HB. Seems clear to me so cannot understand why anyone else has not understood it.

My hope is that once they sort this out then they will backdate the mine to when you handed the payslip in.

It is a nightmare and I've been in a similar situation where they suspended HB as they'd not received my wage slip. Thankfully I had a receipt from the front desk with a photocopy of the wage slip showing it had been handed in.

Took two weeks to sort out as I recall.

We will leave aside the fact that they miscalculated my claim and overpaid me for seven months.....still repaying the £700 they overpaid me by .

Will my housing benefit be stopped. Got a letter yesterday asking if a person had moved in at my address and could I please inform them within the month. No mention of suspending my hb. If I didn't reply within the month then they would take it I no longer required hb. Do they stop hb during that month.

This thread is over 4 years old. You need to start your own thread to get the relevant help.

If they were received by 23 October, then your award should be re-assessed by 18 November at the latest (using their timescale of 18 working days, which incidentally is pretty rubbish)

Is it rubbish? There have been times in recent years when the HB dept of a council near to me has had a 6-week backlog when it came to processing evidence. I worked for a homeless prevention project then, and they agreed that they would prioritise cases where we assured them that there was a real risk of a S8 notice being issued. The neighbouring council was little better.

I read this thinking that 18 working days was pretty good service, shows how dreadful things are in some areas.

ZOMBIE THREAD

Would your bank let you up your overdraft to fill the gap? It might bail you out temporarily until its reinstated if you are sure it will be reinstated, and give you some time to deal with the complaint.