To find the council tax benefit form intrusive

[lucyellensmum]

I know they have to be thorough to guard against benefit fraud, but it wouldn't surprise me if people just don't bother to claim when faced with one of these forms. They want to know the details of ALL of our bank accounts, including our 2 year old daughters FFS. They basically want every official piece of information about us that exists.

ACtually i know i am being unreasonable, because i am basically begging but we have managed on a ridiculously low income for two years and never claimed a single benefit, i think it is time we had what we are entitled to. Its not like my DP doesnt work himself to death trying to establish his business.

I just find the amount of information they are requesting a violation of my privacy, it is bad enough anyway that i have to suffer the humiliation of thaking this bloody form to the council offices and have the woman look down her nose at me for being yet another benefits scrounger - but for them to basically want my life story - it just makes me really uncomfortable.

I know IABU but i still can;t help feeling this way.

saveme, what she meant was it was a farce and she felt it was demeaning and she was past all that.

and i too find it demeaning! i hate the fact im on benefits, i hate the fact when going for a work based interviewed i was advised to wait a month so i get my HB and CTB paid for a further 4 weeks, unless iv been on for 6 months they wont pay the extra 4 weeks. so much for wanting people to go back to work!

After reading the thread about how someone frittered away £40,000 out of £80,000 she was given as part of a divorce agreement with the purpose of securing accommodation for herself and children (and stashed the other £40,000 in trusts for the kids), I can TOTALLY see why they require to see everything.

And yes, I have filled out these forms lots.

We don't have anything to hide, so they don't bother me. They have to do this and I have to comply to get it - seems a fair trade to me.

Besides, nothing's as bad as that awful DLA form.

Oh right, sorry Lucyellensmum, thought you were knocking claiming benefits.

It's a means tested benefit, so they've got to know what you've got coming in and what you've got saved. There are penalties for councils if they get it wrong and overpay you.

I do sympathise that it feels really wrong to hand over personal details to a stranger but I work for a housing benefit dept and I promise you that no-one is sitting reading through your details for their own entertainment - all they want to do is make sure they pay the right amount of benefit out and move onto the next form. You're just a bunch of figures to assessor and I mean that in the nicest possible way!

Yeah, don't worry about it! If you need it and you're entitled to it, claim it. Please.

I claim Lone Parents benefit in Ireland. I don't care. My father and both my brothers have paid a lot of tax, so I see it as recouping family money.

Now that I'm over the mental hump about claiming benefits, I would happily claim whatever I was entitled to.

I wouldn't put that on friends reunited though. Actually, sod it I might. They're all so up themselves. It'd be funny. I am Denise Royle.

no, definately not knocking claiming benefits, i just didnt like the way it made me feel, how people would pigeon hole me based on that fact. The benefits system is there to help people when they need it. It does get abused though - anyway, hopefully it will all be sorted. Still need to send the bank statements in and thats it. Ive had BAD pmt this week, so apologies for my biligerence

Just re-read my post and thought I'd better say that I am not cheating the Social welfare office. I am a single mother and I don't work at the mometn. I will as soon as what I can earn would be more than the cost of the childcare i would need. I made it look like I was a crim.