I was self employed in selling kids clothes online via my own website and ebay - I spent loads on ebay fees so decided to just sell sell online - this just did not happen it cost me a forune in advertising etc with nothing coming back in. I had my daughter then went onto income support - when she was 4 mnth old I rang back up working tax and decided to go back to being self employed - I wrote an ebook on selling online etc but have not even finished it yet let alone has anyone else read it so no have not made nay money from it. It is during this time my partner moved in with me Jan 08 - he due to ill health claimed ESA with me as his partner. They told him that a run on of 4 weeks working tax would be paid - I wrote to working tax office to state that my partner had moved in and we were then in receipt of ESA. I did not follow this up with a phone call which maybe I should have. I no it's no excuse to them but ended up in hospital for over 2 weeks on a transfusion due to kidney failure and heavily pregnant. I was given pethidine evry 4 -6 hrs for the pain and when allowed home was on strong painkillers that made me extremely sick thus making me dehydrated and put me back into hospital for 8 days ( 4 of those hooked up to a drip) I was exremeley ill. I came back home and supposedly on bed rest and drugged up just carried on best I could. Bearing in mind I had a 10 year old - 6 year old and 5 year old and 8 month old baby - I then had a scare at the hospital as my placenta was very low lying and my baby at 32 weeks showed signs of not growing. I had to return to the hospital a week later - to find the placenta had moved thankfully but my iron was dangerously low - I was booked in the following day for an Iron transfusion. 3 weeks later I heamoraged and was taken into hospital yet again - I gave birth to my son 3 weeks early. As you can see I did not delibertly set out not to get in touch with them about partner moving in since Jan it was just a case of never getting round to doing it and having other things on my mind. As for the 07 year my partner was living with his ex partner while seeing and staying the odd few days at mine - all his wages went into that relationship not mine in all honesty I was the bit on the side. This is causing me to become ill with worry. I dare not go to CAB or phone the Tax credits. They may just put me into Jail for fraud.

Thanks for your kind words , at the end of the day I just want my children and my partners children to have a happy and safe enviroment at home.

I have never informed Working Tax about partner ( to be honest I knew I should hve but with circumstances was not convinced we would stay together he moved in and out too many time) I have never told Working Tax that My partner is claiming ESA ( His claim automatically put me on it along with the children - this I assumed working tax and child tax would know via computer) ESA never told my partner to tell me I needed to phone Working Tax so once again thought working tax would cease automatically - they did tell me that a run on from working tax would be paid I never informed them I stopped working - in all honestly I am now writing a book ( not sure if that's classed as self employment) so prob doing that wrong too aggghhhhhh When I phoned to tell them about my son being born they asked for any other changes I said no - she then commented on my mad house due to 2 babies crying in background and hurried up for me so I could get off the phone to see to babies. Security questions asked were - name DOB payment method ie how did i receive my tax credits 9 bank account) and childcare provider OH NO THATS ANOTHER THING - I was also getting £89 chilcare allowance and of course the kids have never been to childcare since JAN !!!!! It just gets worse ...... I have no idea if partner told them I was unemployed or self employed - I was 6 months pregnant and had 8 month old baby so maybe they assumed I was not I honestly do not know. I dare not just phone working tax or ESA to ask .....

Thank you for your kind words , my wishes to the HO is far from me stamping my feet demanding a bigger house ( the choice to have a large family was mine) it's just two 4 bedroomed houses have come up in the last 6 weeks and they were allocated to a couple with 3 kids and a single mum with 3 kids - just a little unfair to me I mean I know I have arrears but does it matter which house I live in the arrears are still being paid.

I do not own a car and nothing in my garden but a few plants and my dustbin. I have a blank levy and walk in possetion form and a few payments slips but no mobile number to text just rossendales 0845 number

Hiya - I phoned the council straight away they were really nice but said as it was in Rossendales hands I had to deal with them but she would note on my file I was not being unco-operative I also told her how nasty he was. I phoned rossendales 5 times but had no reply. My partner claims ESA for himselfe and I am on his claim We have 5 children 10 - 7 - 6 - 13 months and 8 weeks old. I dare not even go to bed terrified he gonna come back while I sleep. He said he would be back in 5 days with a van which would cost £100 and something which I would also have to pay.

Unlocked door ? Does this mean even If I am home and I have the doors not locked he could just come walking in ?

He instructed me that the court gives him right to enter and remove goods ?

I owe £590 in unpaid council tax I stupidly did not get it sorted with the council ( excuse is had the letter came week I gave birth to my son while also having a 10 month old daughter and 3 other young children and suffering kidney failure I was just head on another planet mode) Anyway they took me to court - got letter from court to say I had to pay - next thing I know opened the door today to find a great big guy glaring at me (5ft little me). He was very loud spoken , aggressive tone and very intimidating. He said you owe council tax - I said I knew that. He said well I have to come in and take note of goods - I said no way are you coming in my house - he said he has right - I stood firm and told him no! He then said he would make note that I was unreasonable and was refusing to pay. I said I was not in a position to discudd repayments with him but would happily phone or write with income proof to Rossendales and make arrangements to pay, He said no good and unless paid in 5 days he was coming with a van and more costs and he would enter and take my goods. He also commented that it would be easy to do as my front door has wooden frame! I was bloody terrified! He also insisted the council demanded the payments be made in 20 weeks but I can not find now over £600 with his charges in 4 months! HHHHHEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPP I do not want him back !

I received a letter in post telling me that as part of a routine check my working tax award was being investigated and can I please supply all relevant info to them - they asked for proof of income from my job hrs I worked etc etc - problem is I am self emplyed and have been designing a website and writing an ebook for most of the 6 months so have not any income or outgoings to show - never made anything yet never spent anything neither also I never kept a record of the hours I worked - what with 3 kids and a baby it was when I could grab half an hr spare! Problem is they are asking for all the info from 07-08 - also any other income ie partners income. Now I met my partner in July 07 via the internet he lived 3 hrs from me - after a one night stand this resulted in our daughter being born 9 mnths later - during this time my partner well not partner at time more mates as I did not want relationship visited as often as he could to come to scans etc and help out with housework n decorating etc and my other 3 kids as I developed kidney failure during pregnancy. He lost his job due to taking so much time off because of me. He got friendly with the guy who was manager of little garage near my home and he offered him a part time job 2-3 days per week usually weekends so this was great to me as he was here weekends but went back to his place during week. I was claiming income support then and HD & CT.Partner did not contribute to anything with regards to my home in all honesty it barely covered train tickets. Partner only worked at the garage for 16-18 weeks. We had problems and we didnt speak for a few weeks. We then decided to give a relationship ago when my daughter was born in May 08 and he moved in ( I say moved in but he was still travelling to his parents weekly/fortnightly to stay there as his mum is terminally ill) He never claimed and benefits nor worked. I decided to go self employed but due to not being convinced that our relationship would work I claimed as single parent. This went on me claiming as single parent and in receipt of working tax while partner claimed nothing I provided. OK THAT SEEMS WRONG I KNOW AS I AM WRITING IT BUT .... because he was not working nor claiming benefits did not seem harm for few weeks till we decided if we could have a relationship.(lots of baggage in way) We split and he moved back to stay with family n friends far too many times to count. I fell 6 weeks after having my daughter with my son - partner became mentaly ill and was under care of mental health crisis team. We were struggling with bills etc so partner got in touch with jobcentre - they told him he needed to get ESA.So on 16th Jan 09 he started getting ESA my name and all kids are on that benefit , they knew I was in receipt of working tax and child tax credit.They told me I would get a run on of working tax? I have upon getting this letter to investigate me noticed that my working tax credit has never been stopped - seems it has been greatly reduced but not stopped - I did write to them informing them of the ESA. I had to phone them to add my son onto child tax credit a few weeks ago when he was born and they asked if there were anyother changes which was no. But I did not even realise I was still getting working tax. To be perfectly honest I am in debt (from past relationship) of approx £27k so ther are that many bills and payments coming out my bank I do not have a clue what is paid in each week and what with 2 extra children being added on within 10 months of eachother I just asumed my award for child tax credit had gone up - now I am terrified they are going to say I am commiting fraud as I am still being paid working tax but have been on my partners claim for ESA since 16th Jan thats 5 months? HELP PLEASE !

My partner is in receipt of both contribution based and Income based ESA. As he had not paid enough NI they then look at household income. It was very easy to apply for a 10 phone call. The only annoying thing is always having to provide sick notes from the doctor.

This is the email I sent them - Denise , I have received the housing application form but am a little unsure on where I stand as I have an outstanding amount of rent arrears , not threw my own doing can I add but a mix up with housing benefit, I am paying weekly to reduce these. At the moment I am living with my partner and 5 children in a 3 bed roomed property. I am aware that there are not many 4 bed roomed properties which is why I am asking for my application despite the arrears that I be accepted onto the housing waiting list as I know it could take a long time for a property to become available. I am not sure about the private sector as we are both on benefits we are no way in a position to be able to afford a private rental. We could not even find the funds for a bond or months rent so that would not be advisable for us. We are suffering with greatly with the lack of space . My partner has recently been assessed under the mental health crisis team and as a result is on medication and seeing a counsellor as he is in a very bad mental state , this also affects his physical health as he is type 1 diabetic. His depression and anxiety has been brought on by the lack of contact he is allowed to have with his 3 children from his previous relationship. We have contacted a solicitor to act on his behalf to try to resolve this situation but we have been informed that a CWO Court Welfare Officer will visit us at home to make sure we are suitable to have the children come stay with us. Unfortunately this will go against us for the following reasons - I have 3 children from my previous relationship - Girl aged 10 years - Girl aged 7 years and Boy aged 6 years Matt & I also have 2 children together Girl aged 13 months and Boy aged 2 months All 5 children live with us. But Matt has 1 daughter aged 13 years from one relationship and 2 children girl aged 10 years and boy aged 6 years from another relationship. His 3 children have never met each other nor have ever met my children , so to expect them all to share a bedroom would cause great distress to all concerned. We are hoping to have them each weekend and school holidays and as often as we can but at the moment have no extra space for them to stay , this will of course be noted and go against my partner's fight to access. His mental state is really being affected by this and he is desperate to have his children become part of our family , he was stopped from seeing them due to him moving here with me and having children with me/He moved from s****horpe where his eldest daughter lives and his other 2 children now live in Scotland so we are not in a position to be able to have them just for the day , they would need to stay over. We have enough problems with the house being overcrowded without adding the extra 3 children on. My eldest daughter is struggling with school work due to lack of sleep as her 13 month old sister wakes her 2-3 times per night , this coupled with sharing also with her 7 year old sister gives her no free space to be able to complete her homework in peace and her school work is suffering greatly. She has no privacy and has become argumentative almost resenting her siblings. My daughter is emotionally distressed and the school has informed me she is extremely upset and showing signs of depressive episodes , she has also spoken of suicide , asking if she died could she come back as a different person.She also asks to live with my family and friends , just to have her own space. My 7 year old daughter has become very aggressive to her elder sister and younger brother 6 years ( who sometimes she shares a bed with so her eldest sister can have a friend stay over at weekends). My son aged 6 has become extremely aggressive at home due to lack of sleep when we have to switch bedrooms and sleeping patterns to adjust to everyone getting some form of sleep or a bed for the night and this has now become a problem at school. I have had to have a school educational psychologist assess him in the classroom and the results are sickening. He is well behind with his school work and the teachers are very much concerned , I am at this moment waiting for an appointment to discuss whether counselling for the children with be a benefit to them. I come from a sever domestic violence ex relationship that lasted throughout the children's lives , they were subjected to this daily for all their lives , this has made them extremely sensitive and past issues are destroying their confidence and ability to move forward. The children have since had to move home to where we are now from a large 4 bed roomed house where they each had a room and plenty of space to let off steam and had to change schools and move into a much smaller house , added with the fact that a new man is now part of their lives and they now have 2 added siblings , then 3 others yet to meet. It has become a living nightmare. The 2 girls especially have asked to go and live with their father in the hope they can have their own bedroom , this I can not allow to happen due to his past violence with them , he has supervised access at the moment. An injunction was in place for 12 months this has now run out but I want you to be aware of the seriousness. Also social services advised me if this was allowed to happen they would strongly be involved. But I have to take into account the need my children have. My partner due to his health does not sleep very well and he is up and down all night pacing the floors , this results in myself getting no sleep coupled with him waking our 8 week old baby or 13 month old baby and them then waking and crying which then wakes the older children. We have had to put our 13 month old daughter in with the 2 other girls due to lack of space to fit a cot and the baby waking every 3 hrs for a feed from waking her each time. We spend most of our time swapping and changing rooms around to try and fit everyone in. I am not able to rely on my partner for support as he is mentally unstable and he can not deal with stress at the moment and I am finding it all rather hard. Lack of sleep is proving the biggest issue. I am not able to sleep downstairs very well as I am scared that Matt (my partner) may hypo during the night and need sugar as his diabetes is well out of control due to the mental health issues i.e. - he not eating while he has to inject insulin 3 times per day with food. He talked 4-9 hypos per day and these happen during the night also and if he needs sugar I have to make sure he takes it. If I am downstairs I fear I would not hear him. I also have kidney problems as my right kidney has stopped functioning, which proves extremely painful and trying to get comftable on a sofa is not ideal. This is being investigated and hopefully can be rectified with surgery. I am at my wits end and I know the arrears are going to prove a problem but I can assure you I am trying my hardest to pay them back. I only can advise you of our situation and hope we can be accepted to go onto the housing list. I am not sure how much longer I can go on like this . I am struggling to cope with it all and desperately need to find a larger property so we can all have some breathing space. I myself had a nervous breakdown 2.5 years ago and I am terrified the stress will bring back my own health problems , which as you can see I can not afford to let happen. Can you advise on anything else I can do to enable us to be at least accepted onto the waiting list. Much Thanks

I have tried and failed on 4 occasions now to sort it out with them. Working Tax is for me - child tax for the children and child care allowance for my childcare - my childcare allowance covered 85% of my childcare costs - but they took my childcare award as my income not an outgoing - so they said i had (made up figures) £200 Working tax plus childcare tax £200 plus childcare costs £200 SO HAD INCOME WEEKLY OF £600 WHEREAS REALY i ONLY HAD £400 AS THE £200 WENT STRAIGHT OUT TO CHILDACRE

This is the email I sent to the housing officer - Denise , I have received the housing application form but am a little unsure on where I stand as I have an outstanding amount of rent arrears , not threw my own doing can I add but a mix up with housing benefit, I am paying weekly to reduce these. At the moment I am living with my partner and 5 children in a 3 bed roomed property. I am aware that there are not many 4 bed roomed properties which is why I am asking for my application despite the arrears that I be accepted onto the housing waiting list as I know it could take a long time for a property to become available. I am not sure about the private sector as we are both on benefits we are no way in a position to be able to afford a private rental. We could not even find the funds for a bond or months rent so that would not be advisable for us. We are suffering with greatly with the lack of space . My partner has recently been assessed under the mental health crisis team and as a result is on medication and seeing a counsellor as he is in a very bad mental state , this also affects his physical health as he is type 1 diabetic. His depression and anxiety has been brought on by the lack of contact he is allowed to have with his 3 children from his previous relationship. We have contacted a solicitor to act on his behalf to try to resolve this situation but we have been informed that a CWO Court Welfare Officer will visit us at home to make sure we are suitable to have the children come stay with us. Unfortunately this will go against us for the following reasons - I have 3 children from my previous relationship - Girl aged 10 years - Girl aged 7 years and Boy aged 6 years Matt & I also have 2 children together Girl aged 13 months and Boy aged 2 months All 5 children live with us. But Matt has 1 daughter aged 13 years from one relationship and 2 children girl aged 10 years and boy aged 6 years from another relationship. His 3 children have never met each other nor have ever met my children , so to expect them all to share a bedroom would cause great distress to all concerned. We are hoping to have them each weekend and school holidays and as often as we can but at the moment have no extra space for them to stay , this will of course be noted and go against my partner's fight to access. His mental state is really being affected by this and he is desperate to have his children become part of our family , he was stopped from seeing them due to him moving here with me and having children with me/He moved from s****horpe where his eldest daughter lives and his other 2 children now live in Scotland so we are not in a position to be able to have them just for the day , they would need to stay over. We have enough problems with the house being overcrowded without adding the extra 3 children on. My eldest daughter is struggling with school work due to lack of sleep as her 13 month old sister wakes her 2-3 times per night , this coupled with sharing also with her 7 year old sister gives her no free space to be able to complete her homework in peace and her school work is suffering greatly. She has no privacy and has become argumentative almost resenting her siblings. My daughter is emotionally distressed and the school has informed me she is extremely upset and showing signs of depressive episodes , she has also spoken of suicide , asking if she died could she come back as a different person.She also asks to live with my family and friends , just to have her own space. My 7 year old daughter has become very aggressive to her elder sister and younger brother 6 years ( who sometimes she shares a bed with so her eldest sister can have a friend stay over at weekends). My son aged 6 has become extremely aggressive at home due to lack of sleep when we have to switch bedrooms and sleeping patterns to adjust to everyone getting some form of sleep or a bed for the night and this has now become a problem at school. I have had to have a school educational psychologist assess him in the classroom and the results are sickening. He is well behind with his school work and the teachers are very much concerned , I am at this moment waiting for an appointment to discuss whether counselling for the children with be a benefit to them. I come from a sever domestic violence ex relationship that lasted throughout the children's lives , they were subjected to this daily for all their lives , this has made them extremely sensitive and past issues are destroying their confidence and ability to move forward. The children have since had to move home to where we are now from a large 4 bed roomed house where they each had a room and plenty of space to let off steam and had to change schools and move into a much smaller house , added with the fact that a new man is now part of their lives and they now have 2 added siblings , then 3 others yet to meet. It has become a living nightmare. The 2 girls especially have asked to go and live with their father in the hope they can have their own bedroom , this I can not allow to happen due to his past violence with them , he has supervised access at the moment. An injunction was in place for 12 months this has now run out but I want you to be aware of the seriousness. Also social services advised me if this was allowed to happen they would strongly be involved. But I have to take into account the need my children have. My partner due to his health does not sleep very well and he is up and down all night pacing the floors , this results in myself getting no sleep coupled with him waking our 8 week old baby or 13 month old baby and them then waking and crying which then wakes the older children. We have had to put our 13 month old daughter in with the 2 other girls due to lack of space to fit a cot and the baby waking every 3 hrs for a feed from waking her each time. We spend most of our time swapping and changing rooms around to try and fit everyone in. I am not able to rely on my partner for support as he is mentally unstable and he can not deal with stress at the moment and I am finding it all rather hard. Lack of sleep is proving the biggest issue. I am not able to sleep downstairs very well as I am scared that Matt (my partner) may hypo during the night and need sugar as his diabetes is well out of control due to the mental health issues i.e. - he not eating while he has to inject insulin 3 times per day with food. He talked 4-9 hypos per day and these happen during the night also and if he needs sugar I have to make sure he takes it. If I am downstairs I fear I would not hear him. I also have kidney problems as my right kidney has stopped functioning, which proves extremely painful and trying to get comftable on a sofa is not ideal. This is being investigated and hopefully can be rectified with surgery. I am at my wits end and I know the arrears are going to prove a problem but I can assure you I am trying my hardest to pay them back. I only can advise you of our situation and hope we can be accepted to go onto the housing list. I am not sure how much longer I can go on like this . I am struggling to cope with it all and desperately need to find a larger property so we can all have some breathing space. I myself had a nervous breakdown 2.5 years ago and I am terrified the stress will bring back my own health problems , which as you can see I can not afford to let happen. Can you advise on anything else I can do to enable us to be at least accepted onto the waiting list. Much Thanks

with much thanks x