Hi.

I needed to start my own thread so here it is:

My husband had worked for his company for 3 years, then Oct 2006 he had an illness, but it took a while for the Doctors to decide what he actually had had so he stayed in hospital for a while.

He was on SSP for 28 weeks, but then he was sacked on medical grounds as he will not be able to do his job again. Then approx March this year we spent numerous weeks telephoning the Jobcentre etc to sort out benefits.

Having never had to do it before it was unbelieveably time consuming and extremely difficult as people just constantly pass you from pillar to post! You can't ever seem to get a straight answer from anyone.

Even after speaking to CAB we didn't really feel any more knowledgeable. One day my husband spent 5 hours at the Jobcentre, feeling desperately ill, and at the end of it all he came out with was one form! At the time he was waiting for a heart operation so he was supposed to be taking things very easy.

Basically, he has now had his op, it was in June 2007, but the Doctor has signed him off work until at least June 2008.

We have been receiving Incapacity benefit with an added allowance for me. We have had our council tax bill paid for the year until April 2008. Then we receive child tax credit for our children.

I had to leave my employment after my maternity leave ended in November 2006 as my husband was just too unwell for me to return, and I now look after the kids.

We have a mortgage since September 2006, we had made only one payment before my husbands stroke, but due to our FA not taking critical illness cover for us, we were stuck. (It was our first house purchase so we trusted and paid somebody else to set everything up for us). Luckily our payment protection has covered the payments for 1 yr but that expires on September 30th 2007, so as of Oct 1st we will need to cover the mortgage.

We applied to DWP in May 2007 and had to send proof of our mortgage etc but we have not had a reply.

Hi Kerrie and thanks for posting up anew thread

Just to confirm, you receive the following: Incapacty Benefit, Incapacity Benefit Dependants Addition, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits, Council Tax Benefit. If I have missed any or got any wrong please do let me know!

Incapacity Benefit is paid at three rates - short term, long term lower and long term higher. Which does your husband receive?

Does your husband have trouble with getting around outdoors - is his mobility restricted, does he get breathless, is walking painful or dangerous for him?

Does he need other help - does he have trouble with things like washing, or getting dressed, or preparing/eating food, getting into/out of bed, moving about indoors, socialising, interacting with his children? Do you need to keep an eye on him because his condition might get worse without him knowing or being able to ask for help, or because he might be a danger to himself or others?

A few questions about you - do you go to college? If so, full or part-time? Do you get a pension? Do you have any disabilities or health conditions that give you trouble with getting around or other things as detailed above?

With this info I should be able to give you a fuller answer.

David

Hi. So sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I've had to check everything out.

I'm not sure which IB rate he gets, I cant seem to find a breakdown anywhere, but it's £219.10 each fortnight (so £109.55 p/w).

CTC is £104.48 per week for 3 kids.

All other Q's are answered no. He has 40% sight loss but that's the only symptoms left apart from the occasional flashes of light/migranes etc.

I don't work or go to college as I look after the youngest who's only 20 months.

Also, the council tax was paid for this year according to the letter.

Hope this helps.