Erm, can you run by me the arguments for "logical separation" or would you prefer first to go back and read posts from all resident experts and frequent posters who all, without a fail, see nothing "logical" in separating the forum. Alternatively, please feel free to say nothing .... FOR A CHANGE.

PS Weird Al; I am getting a distinct impression that you like to hone your discussing skills very often. On many posts. Just my womanly instinct. In other words; aren't you just a cute little wind up merchant? Huh? Or maybe a "point of principle" bore? Can't make my mind up. Eh, nevermind, all in good spirits, no offence, yah?

Amen to that. Can all offended individuals now get a grip, for Lord's sake?

cluck cluck cluuuuck...... hehehe o c'mon, this is ridiculous

demon, darling, thank you for translation. Drink on me in Locos on Monday? Please!!!

Damn, I was just trying to be polite, MB, trust you to call spade a spade,

Oh no Medusa, I hope you did not take my post as a criticism. It was just an involuntary expression of wonder, lol Similarly, I suppose I could leave others gawking were I to start talking my speciality jargon.... which kind of makes me feel better... sorry for dragging this so off topic

My self-esteem has just disappeared into a great yawning black hole.....I don't get nearly any of the above... :-?

Of course- you can claim! But remember: it is not something that you are entitled to, but something that you may be awarded for a period and amount entirely at your council's discretion. Definitely worth trying though. Search the forum for "DHP" - I have posted about it before. To secure best chance of award it would be really great if you could see an adviser to proof read your personal statement. Focus (in an nutshell) about financial hardship and it's effect on you and your family, your inability to find enough for basic necessities, possibilities of rent arrears, importance of the children visiting. Good luck, yeah?

pebs- there are no deductions. Instead, your assessment will be done on a basis of "eligible" rent for a standard property for your family. You need to call your council's Housing Benefit department to ask what they would consider reasonable for your family, claim DHP on basis that you need the extra room for visiting children, that's why your house is bigger then the recommended size that's why rent is higher, which is not reflected in HB calculations. Let me know if you need further help with this.

I just want to understand it well: you have information, in writing, from your local authority that the rent amount are capped at a certain level for assessment. Do you belong to Pathfinders /the Second Wave Group (2WG) ? Are you using Local Housing Allowance? If not, what are the reasons for you LA to cap rents? Because you ? This is extremely peculiar and something that Local Government Ombudsman would be very interested in.

Oh, I do not doubt that you have correspondence from the council with regards to your case because your rent may have been capped to an eligible level, which is lower then actual level- exactly as robin was trying to explain. CTB can also be capped for many reasons. And now comes big warning , a warning which I have posted before, some time ago and which I would like to be posted as a sticky, because this is not going to go away: PLEASE REFRAIN FROM POSTING SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN EXAMPLES. THE BENEFIT RULES ARE COMPLEX. MOST ASSESSMENTS ARE CONDUCTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. YOU ARE RISKING SERIOUSLY MISLEADING OTHER POSTERS. ADVISE ONLY IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL- ALL OTHER POSTERS: PLEASE RESTRICT YOURSELF TO SUGGESTIONS AT BEST. I AM SERIOUS. It is exactly the same as with medications- you should always get yourself checked, because each of our circumstances are different. You should never take someone else's tablets no matter how similar you think their conditions is. This is not to discourage posters; but caution need to be exercised when you advise people. You can lead people to make virtually life-changing WRONG decisions. You can be a cause of fraudulent application or financial hardship. Advise only if you know your stuff WELL.

Of course, there is a huge amount of discretion when it comes to how the local authorities assess people, how much they award and for how long. That's why there should never be a blanket statement as in "If you are receiving working tax credit you wont qualify for the DHP" because there are thousands of local authorities and i, despite working in welfare for many years, have never encountered restrictions like this or that DHP would only be paid to people who are receiving IS/JSA. That's why I reacted so strongly.

No, it does not. The only exception are Local Allowance areas but they would not apply to CTB anyway. The way the HB is assessed (LA excepted) is standard nationwide.

The website, on which I have admittedly spent only about 10 minutes, looks like a veritable mine of information. It is the layout that gives me headache. Messy, too colorful, links all over the place; I nearly had a panic attack because there are obviously goodies scattered everywhere but it was kind of....overwhelming. I must say that links like that: A "tiny piece of Logic with the matrix truth table" scarred me but hey, I am no genius so I backed away. All in all- great site......probably! It would be great if it was easy to navigate though.

Valid point, yet the people in your examples are a exceptionally rare internet forum posters and we are (I think?) mainly talking about laziness and lack of good social manners, akin to people who eat with their mouths open or spit on a pavement or cut their nails on public transport. I would never refuse to help those who are genuinely unable to express themselves clearly and thank God it is very easy to establish who is a slob and who is not. Even on the internet.

Bloody brilliant!

Whilst I am aware that under the "Fuel Direct" scheme, the utility payments can be deducted from some benefits (but not DLA) it seems that water is NOT one of these utilities. This is because under the Water Industry Act 1999, water companies cannot disconnect a domestic customer for non-payment of water charges. Water charges are therefore no longer a priority debt. Please see what ofwat says about water rates arrears: Payment options Each company in England and Wales must have a code of practice on dealing with customers in arrears, and all companies must provide information about the code on their bills. The code of practice should be used when negotiating with the company. And the negotiating is the main tool here. If your sister is in receipt of disability benefits, she may be entitled to one the "vulnerable group" schemes- see the ofwat link, the right hand side menu "Having problems paying your bill" Many water companies in England and Wales have internal hardship schemes or fund independent charitable trusts which can help with water and/or sewerage debts. If your sister's water company is awkward- contactConsumer Council for Water : Consumer Council for Water regional committee as CCW is independent of the water industry.

You can also try calling the Community Legal Advice They will conduct a telephone interview where you can describe the situation properly. Beware of automatic calculators; they are indicators rather then "gold-plated" assurance of entitlement or amount

Technically- wrong, unless it is some kind of informal local policy. Eligibility for DHP is only restricted to whether client is in receipt of HB- nothing else.

Posters who write badly spelled, badly formatted posts hurt only themselves as nobody will want to read an incoherent post so no help will be forthcoming. I am a bloody foreigner too, came here to steal your jobs and your men, live in a run down area of London, receive some benefits and wouldn't dare to use this as an excuse for poor quality of writing. At work letters are firmly sent back to clients asking for bullet points, chronological formatting and use of spell checker. I will not indulge anyone in this matter because it is not beyond reach of anybody. I will make allowances for people whose English is not a first language, as it is usually obvious. As for lack of education? Puuuhlease, you'd need to miss all your primary schooling to get it wrong. Oh, yeah, I am also loved by certain gentelmen who love spanking and being told off....occupational hazard, I am told

thanks God for homophobes, heh? they have their uses after all, lol good luck to your brothers!

never a serious problem though- this bickering. If I was a landlord, I'd my take my chances in order to get a free, high standard advice.

Ant; thanks very much. I think that as long as businesses like yours are totally upfront and clear about the way they operate- people can make informed decisions. The problem lies with companies which, in order to secure the deal, are not honest with their customers, i.e. "yeah, you can stay there forever" etc. I think that's what needs to be regulated; so companies are obliged by law to give detailed information and make sure that crucial terms are highlighted.

Lee and Kasia; prosze bardzo. Powodzenia