Hello, Please could I check which day you normally receive your BACS payment of housing benefit (or rather, LHA) into your bank account? Is it usually paid every Monday? I was expecting a payment but it doesn't appear to have gone in yet. Many thanks!

Back to this old chestnut again! After all of your really helpful advice I actually made an appointment with a debt advisor at the CAB and he has now written to all my creditors with a proposed payment plan and I & E sheet. I have also opened up a new bank account and am in the process of moving over my DDs and standing orders etc. One thing I stupidly and completely forgot to ask in the meeting with the CAB is: do I have to sit tight and wait for a response from my creditors until I pay them the new proposed monthly fee, or do I start paying them the proposed fee (i.e. £1 per month) from now onwards? I would hate to make the situation worse by paying them £1 and them saying that I defaulted on my monthly payment, so for the moment I haven't changed my direct debit amounts. Thank you.

Thank you very much for that very clear and concise advice!

Hello, I wondered whether anybody in their pregnancy had had experience of having to go onto Income Support 11 weeks before their due date. Would just like clarification on whether the process was straightforward or not. From what I understand I have to tell the Jobcentre I'm pregnant (but when?) and they will continue to pay me JSA until I am 29 weeks pregnant - then I get signed off and have to apply for Income Support separately. If anybody did this, a) is there a formal interview, and b) was there a big lapse in continuation of payment in doing so? (I guess this really depends on the area you live in?). Thank you in advance for any advice given.

Thanks again for your help. MUCH appreciated. I'm already in the process of contacting Payplan and will also look at CCCs. Thanks!

Andy, Thanks. What is the difference between doing it in conjunction with Payplan and just doing it myself (apart from the clout)? I had a look on the Payplan website. Are there any disadvantages to doing it in conjunction with Payplan? Any hidden things that may bite me on the bum later? Thank you.

Thank you for your feedback folks. I will write my letter tomorrow!

Hope you don't mind but just wanted to bump this, as the post was moved from another area.

Hello, I am currently in-between jobs and claiming income-based JSA. I have one loan and one outstanding credit card debt. Am I correct in thinking that I can write to these companies and propose a reduced monthly payment to them for the time that I am claiming JSA? Further advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi all, Would appreciate a bit of advice from those in the know. I'm living in a shared house (with one other flatmate - we have one bedroom each) and "in between jobs". I am currently claiming JSA and housing benefit (AKA LHA) based on the "shared" rate. My boyfriend and I are talking about moving in together. If he moved in and we shared a room but also had sole use of the living room (the other flatmate would be fine with this arrangement) can anybody confirm whether I would qualify for the "1 bedroom" LHA housing benefit rate, rather than the shared rate? Thanks in advance for your input.

Hi - thanks for your answer regarding JSA Insyder, but I would be grateful to hear if anyone knows whether my housing benefit will be affected? I currently received the "shared room rate" LHA (Local Housing Allowance). Is this likely to be reduced if a third person moves in - or does the shared room rate stay the same regardless of how many joint tenants there are? Thank you.

Thanks for replying. Sorry to sound ignorant, however, but how then does the new employer receive the correct information from you regarding the income you made and tax you paid prior to joining (in order to be put on the correct tax code). Is there another form?

Insyder said: "However, the jobcentre's details are printed on the P45 that they send to you after you sign off, so you don't want to give your new employer that." Do you know how this can be avoided, as wouldn't it be compulsory to send your P45 (which would have this stamp on) to your next employer? Thanks.

Hi, Any advice would be gratefully received. I live in a flat-share with one other friend and I currently receive contributions based JSA and housing and council tax benefit (based on "shared" LHA). We have a bedroom each and we are joint tenants on the tenancy agreement with our private landlord. A new person is going to move into our flat share (the landlord has said he is happy for the living room (which we hardly ever use) to become another bedroom). This person will become a joint tenant on the tenancy agreement. I will of course inform the powers that be of a chance in circumstances, but does anyone know whether this person moving in will affect the benefits that I currently receive? What if she wants to claim benefits? Will this affect me? Thank you.

Hello all, I was made redundant in December 08 and at the beginning of April I applied for JSA and was awarded it (knowing what I know now, I should have claimed earlier but I foolishly thought I would have found a job by then and was living off my savings and redundancy money). I also applied for Housing & Council Tax Benefit at the same time. I live in a flat-share in London with one other person. We have a bedroom each. Both his and my name are on the tenancy agreement. Up until recently, a friend of his from Germany, who was working in London, stayed in the flat for a few months (in our living room on the pull out sofa bed) but he left living with us at the end of March to go back to Germany. So this means that the rent was being split 3 ways for a few months up until March, but from end March onwards it's back to just me and my friend splitting the rent 50/50. (When I first made my claim for JSA I did tell them that I had had a recent change in circumstance, whereby I had been paying a third of the rent and now I was paying half). I received a letter from my council asking me to send them further information in relation to my housing benefit claim (my tenancy agreement and 2 months worth of bank statements). I've sent them the information but now I'm worried that because on the bank statements you can see payments to me from both my flatmate and his friend (for the two months leading up to when he left), the council will think I am trying to be fraudulent and claim for more rent than I am actually paying. (i.e. they might think there are three people in the flat, when there are actually two). Does anyone know what they are actually looking for on the bank statements? I tend to worry about every little thing, and this is driving me crazy. Thanks in advance for anyone's advice. Smiley B