Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

Please help RE; benefits

39 replies

LuckySalem · 19/05/2008 17:05

Hi,

Please can someone advise me on benefits.

Currently we get Child Benefit £75pm. My DP works 36.5 hrs a week and gets £14'500 a year.

Please can someone send me in the right direction as we can't cope on this amount. I have spoken to the jobcentre and they've said we don't qualify for any of their benefits.

I'm starting to stress now as my maternity money runs out end of July and we can't cope on just that money, I really don't want to get a job as I don't want to miss out on anything DD does and we can't really afford to put her in childcare anyway.

Without sounding as though I'm spoiling for a fight or anything - how do people survive on just benefits? Is the only way to cope to become a benefit fraud?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 19/05/2008 18:03

after you receive your award notices, read over them very, very well. make sure everything is correct and if it is not, inform the Tax Credits Office by letter immediately and again, keep a copy of what was sent and a receipt.

new rules regarding tax credits put the onus of spotting errors on the receiver AND gives them a tighter time frame in which to get these reported:

taxcredits

keep records, keep records, keep records!

for a long time, too, tax credits office can come back years and years later and say you owe them money.

Original poster
LuckySalem · 19/05/2008 18:04

Ok Dh's salary is £14'500, have 1 child (4 months old) Mat pay is £409 per month.

Anything else?

OP posts:
Original poster
LuckySalem · 19/05/2008 18:05

Right ok - I've got my form so will get a photocopy before I send it. (will have to wait till tomorrow but not big deal as postman already been)

Thanks Expat - Can't believe they can come years after. I think they need to tighten this up.

OP posts:
ingonitoIRbod · 19/05/2008 18:12

Ok mat pay wouldn't count as we disregard first £100pw
Taking everything else, you're overall award would be around £65 per week. Is only an Estimate but shouldn't be too far out

Original poster
LuckySalem · 19/05/2008 18:14

Ok so to keep our current lifestyle I would need to find £140 a month....... BUT that's gonna add to tax credits knocking more off and having to earn more, This is just catch 22!!

OP posts:
Original poster
LuckySalem · 19/05/2008 18:15

Sorry ingonitoIRbod - Meant to say thanks!

OP posts:
fiodyl · 19/05/2008 19:09

Lucky I think thats 65pw now while u are still getting maternity pay once that stops, and u inform tax credits they should recalculate and hopefuly u would get more IIRC this is what happened to me

Incognito I didnt realise u couldnt claim over the phone, hanow they stoped soon afterwards, has it always been the case or a more recent change?
when I first applied for Tax Credits I aplied online, which I know they stoped soon afterwards due to fraud. I wasnt suprised after working for DWP(DSS) for 10 years where we always asked for PROOF of everything by post, and couldnt believe that I could claim quite a large amount of money without having to PROVE anything!

ingonitoIRbod · 19/05/2008 19:52

No I calculated that without taking into acount the mat pay because we disregard the first £100pw of mat pay anyway and thats prob more than she's getting.
I am always amazed at the lack of proof required to claim TC. We pretty much take most peoples words for everything. Tis shocking. As far as I know, initial applications have always needed to be on the form except for the online services when they were available. I claimed mine online too If you separate from a aprtner and you have children, we will take the single claim application over the phone just to get it through faster for people who cant afford to go without the money. But no-one else can do it

Original poster
LuckySalem · 19/05/2008 20:00

Hmmmm - Looks like a job is on the must!! I'll have to see if I can claim childcare as I know we can't afford that.

Thanks again all.

OP posts:
Mummy2TandF · 19/05/2008 20:10

Ingognito - when my husband passed away, they wouldn't let me give them the info and claim as a single person over the phone, they stopped my tc straight away and I had to wait for a form to arrive and to fill it out and for them to get it back before I got any money through .... so about 4 weeks - at the worst possible time

Original poster
LuckySalem · 19/05/2008 20:12

M2T&F - That's horrid. I can't believe they could be that thoughtless.

OP posts:
ingonitoIRbod · 19/05/2008 20:23

Mummy2TandF that's appaling We have very definite procedures for bereaved customers, and you should have been immediately passed over to a specialist team who would have both taken your claim over the telephone and treated you with a lot more respect and understanding than it sounds like you were It's probably the last thing you want to be bothered doing but I'd encourage you to make a complaint about your treatment, that should never have happened.

Original poster
LuckySalem · 19/05/2008 20:28

yeh M2T&F - Do that!!! Tell them you can't beleive what happened and what's more you want it backdated!! (if they haven't already)

OP posts:
Original poster
LuckySalem · 22/05/2008 20:59

Hi, it's me again! haha

DP has been offered a job doing days (which will help alot around here) but its a huge drop in money, do you think it would be wise for him to take it? Will the Tax credits etc make up for it?

The drop will be to about £12k.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page