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Original poster

Housing benefit reduced from £60 per week to £2. CRAP!

33 replies

juicychops · 04/02/2011 23:14

gotta now find the extra £250. will have to pay the whole rent, council tax, and all bills out of my poxy 16hr per week wage and tax credits.

such a dramatic drop. dont know how i will manage but im sure i will somehow. Decided ive got to give up my car as i wont be able to afford it.

so will be selling it in the next month and buying a bike to get me to work and back.

il have hardly nothing left at the end of the month to actually live on. Not quite sure how this will work

i did however work out that if i gave up work, my house and council tax would be paid for, and after bills i would be £200 better off!!

absolutely crazy.

its tempting to quite my job...

OP posts:
Violethill · 05/02/2011 08:51

Is IS totally crazy that anyone who works is worse off than someone who doesn't, agree.

However, you're only working 16 hours, thats the equivalent of 2 days a week, so the other way of looking at this is that you need to work more. If there isn't the possibility of more hours where you currently work, then look at a second job, or a complete change. Many people wouldn't be able to afford to live on a 16 hr week job, so its nothing to feel ashamed of, you just need a rethink. More hours will give better prospects and security in the long term anyway

Chil1234 · 05/02/2011 10:28

As well as considering increasing your hours, also make sure that you're claiming everything else to which you are entitled. A 16 hour week would make you a low wage-earner so there should be tax credits available, for example.... www.entitledto.co or www.turn3us.org.uk for more information.

Chil1234 · 05/02/2011 10:30

www.turn2us.org.uk that should have been. If you're a single person you should get a 25% discount on your council tax, for example.

gillybean2 · 05/02/2011 11:02

Are you sure you have to pay the whole coucil tax? Make sure they have your full income details including any child care costs which are deducted in their calculation (are you claiming any ofsted registered childcare as an element of your WTC?).

Also check if you can get free school dinners (which you can if you get the max amount of WTC) and a NHS card for free prescriptions, eye test etc.

And yes agree it is a completely crazy system. I too would probably be better off (short term) not working, but am looking at the long term picture and trying to set a good example to my ds...

Bear in mind your tax free allowance is going up in april so if you pay tax on your income you will pay a bit less as of april (may not make a huge amount of difference in reality if you pay as little tax as I do a month ue to low income).

Also if your youngest dc is of school age you will be expected to be looking for work and to sign on for JSA and not be automatically entitled to IS any more. And you'll be expected to take pretty much any job that is going. Better to take one you picked yourself rather than be forced to accept working something you may not want too. One lady I know now works 3evenings in a takeaway and a couple of days in another job to get her 16 hours a week. Her dc are teenagers so she had to accept evening work as a possibility and then they found her a job and she couldn't choose to say no. Well she could of but they'd have stopped her JSA...

HappyMummyOfOne · 05/02/2011 11:19

Violets right, if you choose to work as little as 16 hours a week then of course you will struggle to pay for everything.

Your DS is school age so no reason why you cant up your hours or find a second job.

Quitting work will only earn you a sanction on JSA for upto 6 months so you'd be wven worse off as no salary or WTC.

Original poster
juicychops · 05/02/2011 14:51

hi everyone thanks for all your replies. I am going to do everything i can to stay in work as i have a job i enjoy with flexi time etc and also the bigger picture. Im in my last year of my degree so hoping that will help me get a better job soon. Ive thought about upping my hours but the only problem is childcare in the holidays as its more childcare i have to pay for than i already fork out. Im trying to accept that this is it now supporting myself for the long term but its very scary. Ive not been entitled to council tax benefit for years. I get all the tax credits i can claim Im sure for my wage. They would reduce the more i work too prob. I take home after tax 560 so with my tax credits a housegold income of 1110. Once my car is sold and Im not paying insurance on it i can scrape through. Im also paying out of this 155 on a loan each month

OP posts:
MrsSalvatore · 05/02/2011 15:11

i feel your frustration!! my rent is £595 a month and im ineligible for housing benefit because of the hours i work. I would also be better off giving up work but its my career i simply dont see why I should. We shouldn't be penalised for working when u get slagged off if you dont

grrrrr rant over!!!

bubblerock · 05/02/2011 15:21

You don't get free school dinners on maximum (or any) WFTC as far as I know Gillybean

Hopelesslydisorganised · 05/02/2011 15:48

Happymumofone you really do live in a guilded ivory tower don't you? Not everyone working only 16 hours is CHOOSING to do so - fact is that gthere are many of us who cannot find full time work or cannot DO fulltime work (if we are also carers for example). Typically you are assuming the OP chose to work such few hours. Why are all your posts so dismissive of those earning or working less than others?

gillybean2 · 05/02/2011 20:49

bubblerock you are right. You can get it if you claim CTC but not if you also claim WTC.
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/SchoolLife/DG_4016089

Original poster
juicychops · 06/02/2011 18:00

hi everyone just checking in. Feel a bit better about ever today. Bit more positive. Ive got myself used to the fact that Im prob gunna have to get a second job to up my wage and just try and work something out in the school hols as best i can. The idea of quiting work and claiming benefits does round rather appealing i must admit as id be hugely better off. But my pride is more important to me Ive decided and i think Il find it more difficult in the future to get another job. This will prob be my toughest year ever i think. Hopefully it will be worth it! Im also ringing up the estate agents tomorrow to try and get a flat to sent that i viewed on Saturday. I love it and its in my price range i want it so much. But its persuading them that i CAN afford it which will be the problem. there will probably be couples after the same place who will look better with their nice joint income compared to my part time single parent wage. Please cross your fingers for me...

OP posts:
purpleturtle · 06/02/2011 18:07

I think that if you work more than 30 hours a week, you'll qualify for more WTC than working 16 hours a week. Or WTC at a higher rate, or something.

QuintessentialShadows · 06/02/2011 18:10

juicychops, with this government it would be foolish to look to stop working as a solution. You dont know what they will reduce next. Your best bet will be to be as self sufficient as possible. Can you work more hours?

OADCB · 06/02/2011 18:10

Are you receiving student finance? If not why not?

OADCB · 06/02/2011 18:11

And as a student why are you paying council tax?

QuintessentialShadows · 06/02/2011 18:12

you need to get a certificate from your uni saying you are a student, so you will not have to pay council tax. Same with tv license I think.

OADCB · 06/02/2011 18:14

Lol-I wish no free tv license for students!

gillybean2 · 06/02/2011 18:17

Can you find a second job that fits into term time? Local school may want a lunchtime assistant or class room assistant for 1 or 2 days a week only.

Or can you swap your hours at work around a bit to give you a day you can do another job or tell them you're available to do more hours now if they would like you too. We have a lady who works part time and is happy to cover the receptionists job for annual if it's a day she wouldn't usually work. If she didn't cover they'd pay a temp instead. SO you might find you can do something like that.

Or advertise to do some cleaning jobs perhaps and explain that you have to skip school holidays or bring dc with you (if they are old enough to be left quietly for an hour or two).

Or can you do a weekend/evening job one of the days if you have family support or a childminder who can accomodate the hours?

Or give yourself some kind of time line in which you'll start doing more hours. Mine has been ds going to secondary school which means I can do more hours now.

Also I am working school hours, term time only now but my WTC is worked out on the fact my average hours per week is 30 hrs on the weeks I work. The school holidays work class me as on unpaid leave so I still get my WTC those weeks.

threefeethighandrising · 06/02/2011 18:20

you should speak to your student advice people. For us, they found an extra 1.5k Student Finance were due to us that we had been originally told that we were't entitled to.

threefeethighandrising · 06/02/2011 18:21

Oops, terrible grammar there! Lucky I'm doing a nerdy computer degree!

Original poster
juicychops · 06/02/2011 19:49

i didn't realise i may be able to claim something for council tax as Im a student. I will definately look into that tomorrow. I just assumed as Im only part time i wouldn't qualify for anything. Would be a bit gutted though as this is my 6th year studying! Although if they are gunna charge me for at least 18months overpayment i can argue i should get at least 18 months backdated council tax benefit. at the moment i only work wed Thurs Friday so have Mon and Tues to get a second job. My ds is only 6 so would need an earlier time scale to increase my hours by than secondary school! term time only would be great so good idea trying the local schools for lunch time supervisors or something

OP posts:
Original poster
juicychops · 06/02/2011 19:52

that should have been if they are gunna charge me 18 months housing benefits overpayments

OP posts:
TheOriginalNutcracker · 06/02/2011 19:53

Why has your HB dropped so dramatically ??

TheOriginalNutcracker · 06/02/2011 19:54

Oh, they are saying you have been overpaid ??

Original poster
juicychops · 06/02/2011 20:05

both. Cos of the wage Im now on my housing benefit is being reduced to 11 quid per week. And cos of a mistake THEY MADE i also owe lots of arrears. They can take up to 9 quid per week in arrears so once the reassessment is done Im looking at 2 quid per week - down from 59 quid per week!

OP posts: