This is one of the new rule changes. cbESA is now limited to a year only. After that one would need to qualify for irESA (income related). You could well be excluded from that by household income.

£307 would bring the WTC down to around £13 a week. If your friend wants to do his own calculation then tell him to try http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx which is much better than the direct gov calculator.

Oh and one more thing, if he has an overdraft tell him to open a basic bank account with another bank to get the benefits paid into.

Great, so make sure your friend has made a joint claim for tax credits and tell him to try for Housing Benefit. If in doubt, claim, is always a good rule.

WTC ~ working tax credit CTC ~ child tax credit

n.b. Your friend's right to claim Housing Benefit could also be affected by immigration status.

OK, no reply, so I've estimated the gross at £297.90 and assumed the pay was the same as last year. Based on the figures you've given a JOINT CLAIM for tax credits would roughly amount to an award of ~£76 per week made up of WTC ~£17 and CTC ~£59 there might also be an entitlement to housing benefit unless there is some capital you haven't mentioned.

What's the wife's gross income? Tax credits are calculated on gross, not net.

OK, If you have over £16,000 in capital assets, you will not qualify for Council Tax Benefit. My link above give info on bailiffs and walking possession. If you haven't let them in that is good. Lots of good advice re: concentrating on this priority debt in preference to non-priority.

Did you let them in last time? Do they have a walking possession agreement? Do you have a right to council tax benefit or any other benefits for that matter?

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/d_bailiffs.pdf

You don't say which benefits are involved or who has invited your mother to the interview. 'Must attend'? hmm! I suggest a reading of the following:

http://www.advicenow.org.uk/advicenow-guides/problems-with-benefits/how-to-handle-an-interview-under-caution/

Here's what the decision maker's guide says on the subject: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch11.pdf

They are investigating her based on information that has come to their notice. It sounds as though they will be looking at whether they were living together. There are a number of factors to consider. You say his main address is with his parents ~ is that where he receives all his mail? is that his address for voting? One can't live in two households at the same time. Where does / did he spend the majority of his time? Having a sexual relationship is not proof in itself although it will be an indicator. Their financial arrangements will also be considered, as will the stability of the relationship. The link I have provided gives lots of information on interviews under caution, but Mary really does need to get specialist advice concerning challenging a 'living together' decision and ought to be represented if she chooses to attend the interview.

An interview under caution should be considered in the same way as an interview in a police cell. Tell "Mary" to find a solicitor to represent her. This applies irrespective of how likely it is that co-habitation can be proved. More here: http://www.advicenow.org.uk/advicenow-guides/problems-with-benefits/how-to-handle-an-interview-under-caution/

Are you aware of THE OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING v ASHBOURNE MANAGEMENT SERVICES LTD ~ worth reading, if not.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2011/1237.html

OFT press release here:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2011/92-11

and Q&A here:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/consumer-enforcement/consumer-enforcement-completed/ashbourne/ams-qanda

Directgov is good on this one: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/UntaxedVehicle/DG_4022072

Had the MOT run out? It is an offence to drive a vehicle which should have an MOT certificate but does not have one unless you are:-

taking the vehicle to a testing station for a pre-arranged test

or driving the vehicle away after the vehicle has failed its test.

It is also the driver's responsibility for ensuring a vehicle is roadworthy ~ you state that it isn't.

It's likely that there will be time limiting on cbESA from April 2012 for those not in the support group, so if put into Work Related Activity Group it is likely that one will need to be able to claim irESA after 12 months and the capital limit would apply at that point.

They're counting on you winning the lottery

Person by whom a penalty charge is to be paid

5.—(1) Where a parking contravention occurs, the person by whom the penalty charge for the

contravention is to be paid shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions of this

regulation.

(2) In a case not falling within paragraph (3), the penalty charge shall be payable by the person

who was the owner of the vehicle involved in the contravention at the material time.

(3) Where—

(a) the vehicle is a mechanically propelled vehicle which was, at the material time, hired

from a vehicle-hire firm under a hiring agreement;

(b) the person hiring it had signed a statement of liability acknowledging his liability in

respect of any penalty charge notice served in respect of any parking contravention

involving the vehicle during the currency of the hiring agreement; and

© in response to a notice to owner served on him, the owner of the vehicle made

representations on the ground specified regulation 4(4)(d) of the Representations and

Appeals Regulations and the enforcement authority accepted those representations,

the penalty charge shall be payable by the person by whom the vehicle was hired and that person

shall be treated as if he were the owner of the vehicle at the material time for the purposes of these

Regulations.

(4) In this regulation—

(a) “hiring agreement” and “vehicle-hire firm” have the same meanings as in section 66 of

the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988(a); and

(b) “the material time” means the time when the contravention giving rise to the penalty

charge is said to have occurred.

The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England)

General Regulations 2007

Yes low income, but there are also capital limits. I would suggest going through benefit calculator on turn2us website to ascertain eligibility.

Don't know enough about your circumstances to say that you'll definitely get housing benefit. As already stated, sanctioning of JSA doesn't stop you getting Housing Benefit but you will need to provide proof to the LA that you qualify.

If you lose your job through misconduct, your JSA may be sanctioned for up to 26 weeks. If you lose your job through misconduct, it does not necessarily lead to a sanction. Your ex-employer will be asked why you were dismissed. If a sanction is applied you should appeal. Even if the decision is not overturned an appeal may reduce the length of the sanction. If you are sanctioned you can apply for hardship payments. Housing benefit is means tested. If your JSA is sanctioned then the local authority will be notified by the DWP. At that point you will need to prove to the local authority that your household income and circumstances meet the conditions to qualify for housing benefit / council tax benefit. You should notify HMRC of the change of circumstances if you are claiming Working Tax Credit.

Take a look at litrg.org's section on overpayments of tax credits via the low income workers tab > tax credits for advisers > overpayments and underpayments. Lots of information on the subject and some good links. There should have been a lot of attempted contact before threat of distraint. According to TaxAid training video for advisers TC overpayments are crown debt, but I note that HMRC does say different on its website. Hansard mentions proposed changes to the act in May of this year, so wonder if that has an effect. Suggest that you also read the latest version of COP26 on HMRC website for an overview of their code of practice.

Tax Credits cannot be statute barred as they are classed as Crown debt. The most likely scenario is that you have come to the end of an ongoing claim from which deductions were made regarding the overpayment. HMRC will then chase the full amount. Did you get a renewal notice in the summer? Did you renew? If no renewal then that would be the trigger. Wouldn't expect them to go for distraint as the first method of collection. Have you been ignoring recent requests for payment? If you are no longer eligible for Tax Credits then I would suggest negotiation backed up by an income and expenditure sheet. There are new rules for Tax Credit debt recovery, and repayment can be made over up to 10 years and at the end of that time if money is still outstanding it might be written off.