You may find this of interest:

 

Guidance Notes on Housing Benefit Overpayment

 

What makes an overpayment recoverable?

 

Under the Housing Benefit Regulations, all

overpayments of Housing Benefits are legally recoverable,

unless,

The overpayment was caused by an official error - this means the overpayment was due to something done, or not done, by us (the Council) or the DWP (Department of Works and Pensions)

and, You, or someone acting on your behalf, (E.g. An appointee), or someone to whom the

payment was made, (E.g. Your landlord), could not have reasonably been expected to know that an overpayment was being made, at the time that the payment was notified or received.

and,

You, or someone acting on your behalf, (E.g. An appointee), or someone to whom the payment was made, (E.g. Your landlord), did not contribute to the error's being made.

From whom may we recover?

Under the Housing Benefit Regulations, we may recover an overpayment from every person who had a -duty to inform us of the change in the claimant's circumstances that caused the overpayment, but failed to do so, or any person, who deliberate misrepresents the facts on which we have based our calculation of benefit.

Where no one has failed to notify, or has misrepresented we may recover from the person who received the overpayment.

Where the overpayment has been caused by an official error, then we may recover it from anyone who could reasonably be expected to know they were being overpaid, either at the time they received the payment, or any notification of it.

Under these rules, we may be able to recover from the landlord, and the claimant and their partner. Who we actually recover from is a further decision, and we will tell the person, or people, of this, in a separate letter.

Or more importantly:

The Housing Benefit Regulations 2006

Recoverable overpayments

And the Council Tax Regulations 2006

Recoverable excess benefit

Wouldn't make any difference as to who's name it was under.

Had the bit about SMI been there when I posted....

The rules were changed late last year to take into account the drastic downturn in the economy and the increase in unemployment, especially seen in "middle income and professional earners"

The rules for both JSA and ESA are that where the income related element is at the same rate as the contributory element then the contributory element takes precedence.

JSA© is only payable for 26 weeks, after which you will get the JSA(IB) provided your circumstances haven't change.

JSA(IB) provides automatic entitlement to HB/CTB, as well as free NHS dental treatment, NHS eyecare and free prescriptions.

You are still able to claim HB/CTB based on your income, although you will have to fill in the whole form!!!! So long as you income and any income from capital or other sources capital does not exceed the applicable amount,in your case £64.30, for HB/CTB then you will get full HB/CTB. For income above the applicable amount then the HB will be reduced by 65% of the excess income and CTB by 20% of the excess income.

For NHS treatment purposes you will need to complete a HC11 form on grounds of income.

For IB, other contributory benefits and DLA the amount of capital is ignored. The only deduction that will be made from IB is if you are in receipt of an occupational pension of more than £85 per week.

For all income related benefits, including Pension Credits, if your capital is less than £6000 this is disregarded. For capital above £6000 you are deemed to have an income of £1 per week for every additional £250 held up to a limit of £16000. Any capital above £16000 will automatically disallow income related benefits.

Capital is treated as being savings, amounts held in bank accounts, property but not including your sole residence, stocks, shares and land.

I claimed JSA last week as I work on a 32 week contract basis,and do not get paid from June until I go back to work until september.

Today I got a letter saying that I would not be getting JSA because I did not have enough NI contributions and I had too much income coming in.

My weekly income is £75 made upfrom Child Tax Credit, Child Benefit and Child maintance. I have a 12 year old child.

I applied for Housing and Council Tax benefit and they seem to think I will get it.

Can anyone tell me if this is correct? Before when I was unemployed for the summer I got Income Support and with CTC and CB I got about £117 per week.

The applicable amount (the amount the law says you need to live on) for JSA© or JSA(IB) is £64.30 per week. CTC and CB are disregarded, but your child maintenance will be taken into account and used to reduce, or zero, your JSA(IB). If your weekly income is above the personal allowance rate you will not get JSA(IB). As you state that your weekly income is £75 and is made up of CTC, CB and maintenance, I would ask your BDC for a full explanation as to how they came to the decision to disallow JSA(IB). you have the right to appeal against the decision.

In relation to HB/CTB the LA will use the personal allowance and add premiums to reach their applicable amount this will be £120.41 as they will add on a premium for your child. Unless you are in receipt of an income related benefit such as JSA(IB) your LA will take into account the CTC, CB and maintenance you receive. If this figure is greater than the applicable amount then the LA will reduce the HB by 65% of the excess income and CTB by 20% of the excess income.

Glossary:

• JSA© - contribution based JSA
  
• JSA(IB) - income based JSA
  
• CTC - Child Tax Credit
  
• CB - Child Benefit
  
• BDC - Benefit Delivery Centre
  
• LA - Local Authority
  
• HB - Housing Benefit
  
• CTB - Council Tax Benefit
  

Antone is correct, "I forgot" unlikely to be classed by a DM (Decision Maker) as good cause, the caveat to that is that your friend was used to signing fortnightly over the past 26 weeks and did attend on what would have been previously their normal signing day.

There are 2 ways to get the decision reconsidered:

1. Ask the BDC who deal with the claim to do a reconsideration. THis will be completed by a different DM to that who made the original decision.
   
2. Make a written appeal. This must be done within one month of the date of decision. A different DM will then look at the claim and the reasons for the original decision. If they cannot come to a different decision then it will be passed to the Tribunal Service for an independent appeal. This can take at least 8 weeks.
   

It would be quicker for your friend to make a Rapid Reclaim as this will link to the previous claim at the same stage, i.e weekly signing.

One other thing.... You need to ensure that you still send in the med certs whilst waiting for your appeal otherwise payments will stop.

It has come to light recently that there are a lot of GP's who will no longer supply an ESA patient with a med cert after the GP has been notified that their patient has failed the WCA. This is incorrect.

You will get JSA(CB) full council tax benefit, help with the interest on your mortgage free dental free presceptions

CTB is not guaranteed if you only get JSA© (contribution based), also JSA© is only paid for 26 weeks. Your LA (Local Authority) will need you to declare all income including tax credits. Also for JSA© you need to satisfy both the FCC (First Contribution Condition) and the SCC (Second Contribution Condition).

The first contribution condition.

In order to qualify for contribution based JSA you must have:

• actually paid Class 1 contributions in one of the three last complete tax years on earnings of 25 times the lower earnings limit for that particular year; or
  
• 25 Class 2 contributions in any of the three last complete tax years; or
  
• a mixture of Class 1 and Class 2 totalling 25 in any of the three last complete tax years.
  

The lower earnings limit for the last three tax years are-

2006-2007 = £84

2007-2008 = £87

2008-2009 = £89

Class 1 National Insurance contributions are paid by employed people as a percentage of their earnings. Class 2 NI contributions are paid by self-employed people at a standard weekly rate.

The second contribution condition.

In addition to meeting the first condition you must also have paid (or have been treated as having paid) Class 1 or Class 2 contributions amounting to at least 50 times the lower earnings limit in each of the two relevant tax years.

The relevant tax years are those that precede the benefit year in which the claim is made. To make things a little more complex, the benefit year runs from the first Sunday in January whereas the tax year starts on April 6th.

Contribution credits count as Class 1 credits and can be used to help you meet the second contribution condition. You are credited for each full week that you receive-

• incapacity benefit or
  
• statutory sick pay or
  
• severe disablement allowance or
  
• income support due to incapacity for work or
  
• maternity allowance or
  
• jobseeker's allowance or
  
• carer's allowance or
  
• adoption pay
  

In your case the benefit year will be 2009, so the RITY's used, for the FCC, are 05/06, 06/07 and 07/08; you only need to satisfy the FCC in any one of those years. For the SCC the RITY's will be 06/07 and 07/08. If your employer has not informed HMRC of your NI contributions, or the contributions are missing, you could fail to satisfy the FCC and SCC. This does happen.

You are best to claim both JSA© and JSA(IB) (Income Based) as you have a partner. Because your children are under 10 your partner will not be required to attend a WFI (Work Focused Interview) as part of your claim.

If you receive WTC currently, you will need to inform HMRC so that they can stop paying this element and pay you the 4 week run on of WTC. This is important as any WTC will be classed as income and deducted from the JSA(IB) element of the claim. This could potentially zero the JSA(IB). CTC and Child Benefit are fully disregarded.

In relation to CTB the receipt of JSA(IB), so long as the payment exceeds 10p per week, automatically entitles you to full benefit. The JCP contact centre will ask you if you want to claim CTB/HB during the claim process and the BDC (Benefit Delivery Centre) will notify your LA of the receipt of JSA once the claim has been processed. This notification can take up to a month your LA and it is advisable, and most LA's make it a requirement, that you complete their CTB application form.

The applicable amount in terms of JSA© is £64.30 per week. Four your circumstances the applicable amount for JSA(IB) is £100.95 per week. If you get both JSA© and JSA(IB) you will get £100.95 per week, this is comprised of the JSA© element topped up by JSA(IB).

You mortgage interest payments will commence from week 14 of the JSA claim although they will have been calculated at the time of processing.

Hopefully you will not be layed off.

They should only be looking at the Relevant Income Tax Years (RITY's) preceeding your benefit year. It is likely that you didn't satisfy either the First Contribution condition or Second Contribution Condition, both these have to be satisfied to receive contribution based benefit.

The first contribution condition.

In order to qualify for contribution based JSA you must have:

• actually paid Class 1 contributions in one of the three last complete tax years on earnings of 25 times the lower earnings limit for that particular year; or
  
• 25 Class 2 contributions in any of the three last complete tax years; or
  
• a mixture of Class 1 and Class 2 totalling 25 in any of the three last complete tax years.
  

The lower earnings limit for the last three tax years are-

2006-2007 = £84

2007-2008 = £87

2008-2009 = £89

Class 1 National Insurance contributions are paid by employed people as a percentage of their earnings. Class 2 NI contributions are paid by self-employed people at a standard weekly rate.

The second contribution condition.

In addition to meeting the first condition you must also have paid (or have been treated as having paid) Class 1 or Class 2 contributions amounting to at least 50 times the lower earnings limit in each of the two relevant tax years.

The relevant tax years are those that precede the benefit year in which the claim is made. To make things a little more complex, the benefit year runs from the first Sunday in January whereas the tax year starts on April 6th.

Contribution credits count as Class 1 credits and can be used to help you meet the second contribution condition. You are credited for each full week that you receive-

• incapacity benefit or
  
• statutory sick pay or
  
• severe disablement allowance or
  
• income support due to incapacity for work or
  
• maternity allowance or
  
• jobseeker's allowance or
  
• carer's allowance or
  
• adoption pay
  

In your case the benefit year is 2009, so the RITY's used should be 05/06, 06/07 and 07/08.

Don't think so as the page shows it was last updated in 2003.

One definite way of finding out why the payment has stopped is to send a subject access request to tax credits. This does not cost you anything - all HMRC and DWP subject access requests are not charged for.

The form for this can be found here

Expect to receive half a forest back within 40 days Mine was 6 inches thick!!!!!!

Mine went in OK this morning.

Some bank runs don't complete until 8am so check again then, failing that you'll have to contact tax credits.

so any idea if they will allow me to dj in ibiza and still claim or will i have to stop and restart again.

 

thanks

You will have to sign off and then reapply when you come back.

A few useful links for you:

Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008

Employment And Support Allowance ESA214 – The Work Capability Assessment

Technical Factsheets

The focus for the WCA's is not on how ill a customer is but on what work they are capable of doing taking into consideration the effect of their illness. Unfortunately there are a number of cases where people are being "failed" on the WCA that should not necessarily be so.

If you appeal against the decision to disallow ESA on the grounds of the WCA score it is in your interest to include as much supporting evidence/information as possible. Whilst a claim is going through the revision/supersession/appeal phase ESA should be continue to be paid at a reduced rate. Upon a sucessful outcome, the difference will be backdated together with any work or support group components.

It has now been over two weeks since I first applied (and one week since my first sign on date) and I had not heard anything so I called my advisor who then told me to call a main number to ask for a payment.

 

They agreed to make payment of £51 which made little sense to me as I thought it was £60 per week (I am over 25) this will not clear into my account until next wednesday

 

my main problem is that they have disallowed my backdated claim on the griounds that I "didn't not meet the requirements" i'm so upset, I really need the money and I can't see why they would disallow it when I even provided evidence of my job search.

 

What can I do? Can I appeal? How do they make their decisions?

I delberately didn't sign on straight away as I thought I would find a job quicker and so I lived off what little money I had until I had literally none left (which in hindsight I now know was a mistake)

Backdating of JSA is possible and is usually allowed in certain circumstances only, the list is not exhaustive:

• Administrative error - backdated for 1 month
  
• Incorrect advice from JCP/DWP - backdated up to 3 months
  
• Difficulty in communicating - backdated up to 3 months
  
• Disability - backdated up to 3 months
  

You can appeal against the decision to disallow your backdating, however as you have already stated you made the decision not to claim JSA as soon as you became unemployed, it is unlikely that the decision would be superseded or an appeal tribunal upheld in your favour.

In terms of the amount paid to you, is this a JSA payment, crisis loan or interim payment?

JSA is paid fortnightly in arrears according to your benefit cycle to the date of signing. The amount you will get on your first payment will depend upon the date your claim was made, and your signing date. If the payment was for JSA then it would appear that you made your claim approx 5 days before your normal signing date. You will receive a fulll fortnight's monies on your next payday after signing.

An interim payment is made on grounds of hardship and is 90% of the normal rate. This will be taken into account when you receive your first payment of benefit, and the payment reduced accordingly.

A crisis loan is made where there is immeadiate hardship. The amount paid is to cover essentials only and is decided by a decision maker dependant upon your circumstances. This is recovered at a set weekly rate from your benefit payments.

The PA is not a medical doctor, nor will a medical doctor be present. The PA will rely upon the report from your medical and what you say to them during the WFI.

It is likely that the doctor who performed your medical has stated on the report that there could be a return to work possible at some date in the future and the WFI done by the PA will be looking at as to when you are fit to return would there be any support that the JCP can give in assisting you back into work and whether there would be a requirement for you to attend further WFI's. The PA will usually tell you the outcome of the WFI on the day and confirm this in writing soon after.

It is unlikely that the PA will state that you must go on JSA as it would appear that you have passed the medical. Failing the medical auotomatically results in IB being terminated and a notification is sent.

Sadly it is, the charge is for the locksmith's time and materials. The cost of the warrant will have been added to the debt.

For it to have got to this stage the OP's daughter will have been either ignoring the demands for payment or not coming to a payment arrangement.

Essentially it is what you have done to look for work since your last signing date. This can include

• where you have looked for vacancies eg internet, papers, JCP
  
• details of vacancies applied for eg method of application, invite to interview.
  

Some PA's do not ask you for proof of seeking work, some will have a quick glance and others will want to know what colour the bus was

Depending on how active you are in seeking work you can quickly fill up the agreement sheet. I would advise that you keep any emails confirming applications made, copies of application forms and invites to interview as you will need hard proof should you be unfortunate to have to go back for your 13 week interview.

Your advisor should have all the details for when you go to the interview. WFI's for IB focus more how your condition limits what work you can do, they generally tend to last 40 mins and the PA has the option at the end to decide that no more are required unlike with an ESA WFI.

So long as the company had a warrant then this is legal.

To have got to this stage, your daughter would have been in serious arrears with the utility company and have failed to make either a payment arrangement or voluntarily agree to have prepayment meters. A warrant to gain entry is the last stage of the debt collection process and will occur 114 days after the last bill was due if a customer has been ignoring demands for payment.

Also you can send your P45 to your employers Tax Office if you do not want them to see that you were on JSA.

Either way expect to be on an emergency tax code for a month or two whilst your tax coding is sorted out. This will either appear on your payslips as:

• 647L W1 (week 1 basis)
  
• 647L M1 (month 1 basis)
  
• BR (month 1 basis)
  

The first 2 codes will give you your personal allowance spread over the year on a non cumulative basis. BR means that you will receive no personal allowance and all of your taxable pay is taxed at 20%, this is also non cumulative.

On a 647L emergency tax code the amount of tax you pay will be near enough correct with little under or overpayment at the end of the tax year. With BR you can easily build up a substantial overpayment of tax. Any overpayment will be made to you via your pay (once the correct tax coding notification has been received by your employer) on PAYE or at the end of the tax year.

Is it Incapacity Benefit (IB) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) you are receiving??

On ESA, if you have been placed into the Work group, you are required to attend up to a further 5 WFI's (Work Focused Interviews), this will be determined by the WFHRA (Work Focused Health Related Assessment) report done after the WCA (Work Capability Assessment) and your PA (Personal Advisor).

On IB you are only required to attend a WFI within the first 8 weeks of the claim, any subsequent WFI attendance will be determined by your PA and medical assessment report.

What is a Work-focused interview?

The first work-focused interview will take place with a customer’s personal adviser at their local Jobcentre Plus office. The purpose of a work-focused interview is to discuss the customer’s views on moving into work and the package of support that may be required. Personal advisers will discuss the type of work that might be most suitable with the customer and can refer them for employment, training or condition management support, to help them manage and cope with their health condition or disability in a work context. During these discussions the customer and personal adviser might explore the customer’s:

●

Job goals.

●

Skills, strengths and abilities.

●

Factors preventing them from finding work or limiting the work they can do, then helping them to overcome these barriers.

●

Ideas, problems and issues.

Customers in the Work-Related Activity Group may attend up to five further work-focused interviews as they prepare to move into work. These will be at approximately monthly intervals, to be confirmed by the customer and their personal adviser.

With WFI's on either IB or ESA you have to attend as failure to attend without good cause will result in your benefit being sanctioned, as will attending and not taking part in the interview. However the WFI will have no affect on the benefit being paid. With ESA the focus is not on how ill you are and how that limits the work you used to do, but on what work you may be able to do and what support you would need in finding this work and to keep you in the workplace.

.......but the roaming issue is being dictated by the EU, and the charges are coming DOWN......

The EU legistation, June 2007 actually states that there is to be a "Eurotariff" and that from August 2009 the maximum charges for receiving and making a call are to be 0.19 Euro and 0.43 Euro (ex VAT) respectively. T-Mobile have been forced by EU legislation to introduce the "Eurotariff". Given the weakness of the pound against the Euro this means, that for the foreseeable future, the charges will increase for UK customers; once the pound strengthens against the Euro the charges will come down.

Mobile Phones -

Cost of using your mobile abroad (international roaming)

 

European Union Legislation June 2007

 

In 2007, the European Union introduced a law – called a Regulation - that has significantly reduced the amount we pay for using our mobile phones abroad.

The last thing we want when we return from holiday or a business trip is a nasty surprise in our phone bill, so this decision by European policy makers was a good thing for all UK consumers.

What it means

 

The European Regulation says that all mobile phone companies must provide a standard ‘Eurotariff’. This means a charge of no more than 46 Euro cents per minute to make a call and 22 cents per minute to receive a call before August 2009, and then no more than 43 Euro cents per minute to make a call and 19 Euro cents per minute to receive a call before August 2010 (excluding VAT). Depending on the exchange rate, that means no more than around 40p per minute to make a call and around 20p per minute to receive a call, including VAT.

Compared to prices before the Regulation came into effect, the Regulation has meant an average reduction in retail prices of more than 50% for most users.

Cost of using your mobile abroad - Ofcom

do i have any choice, can i not accept these changes?

i`m ready to send them complain, i spend about 4 weeks a year outside UK so these charges will rise my bill if i make any phone calls(usully i don`t use that sim card abroad but if i will have to?)another thing is, do we have any rights against them, or we have to agree everything they say, any time they do that?

 

any one will be able to write for me complain to them, bassicly i want say to them i do not accept changes in new t&c and changes to roaming charges, if they like to they can live me on old roaming charges, or if they don`t like, or they can`t do that i will terminate contract using 7.2.5.2 t&c.

it`s worth try

7.2.5.2 of the T&C would give you a get out clause. However the change in the T&C would have to be of material detriment to you - see 2.11.2.

In your case spending only 4 weeks abroad is unlikely to be viewed as being materially detrimental; had you spent 2 weeks out of every month abroad, then this change would have been of material detriment. You will need to be able to prove that you make and receive a lot of calls whilst roaming abroad for this 4 week period to stand any chance of using 7.2.5.2 and 2.11.2 of the T&C to terminate your contract early without penalty.

For example, I terminated my contract 6 months into a renewed 18 month contract when T-Mobile increased the call charges to 08xx numbers (in some cases by 400%) as I could prove from previous usage history that calls to these numbers were made frequently on my account, and the increase was to my material detriment i.e I spent in the region of £15 per month on these calls.

As for T-Mobile changing their pricing as and when they wish, this is written into the T&C and forms part of your contract, see 7.1.1 to 7.1.4 of the T&C.

Housing benefit would only pay the LHA for the number of bedrooms you require for your circumstances, in this case a 2 bedroom property. There is nothing to stop you from renting a 5 bedroom property and paying the difference between the rent and HB received.

There are two types of help available:

Community Care Grant

Budgeting Loans

To be eligible for a Community Care Grant you need to be either

• already getting Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Pension Credit, or payment on account of one of these benefits
  
• likely to start getting one of these benefits within the next six weeks because you're moving out of care
  

and any one of the following applies:

• you're moving out of residential or institutional care to live independently
  
• you're moving to a new home which will be more suitable for you following an unsettled period in your life and are being resettled by an organisation like a local council or voluntary organisation
  
• you need help to stay in your home and not go into residential care or hospital
  
• you need help because you or your family face exceptional pressure, such as family breakdown or because one of you has a long-term illness
  
• you look after someone who is ill or disabled, or has been released from custody on temporary licence
  
• you need help with expenses such as visiting someone who is ill, or to attend a relative's funeral
  

For a Budgeting Loan you will have needed to have been claiming JSA (IB) for at least 26 weeks.

More details can be found here:

Community Care Grants

Budgeting Loans