Hi, After a long time, on a different subject. We have been overpaid about £1500 during June 2015 till May 2016 which is not disputable, also there was an discretionary payment of 2000 maid to us in 2014 of which £700 was aid back and further about £500 has duly been recovered by weekly deductions. In the meantime, in July 2014 we entered into n IVA which was duly notified to the council , still they continued to recover ignoring the letter from IVA company. both the recoveries/deductions are coming together to almost £100 pm. However, my IVA is about to be failed because of affordability and exploring possibilities of DRO or BK. What are the options available for me to prevent from paying the remaining of almost £2500 towards overpayment of the hB CT Please help

HA have done things i believe are a breach of data protection and it is bascially to turn everyone against me, it is two particular housing officers who are starting this hate campaign because they have lied and claimed the tenant upstairs is allowed laminated flooring and he is not. 1) I asked the HO not to speak to police about my case, she did this anyway and she also used my "block" on her speaking with police against me (even though i found out she did) 2) HO has told tenant above me I am getting an eviction notice. I was informed this information via the mediator. I spoke to the mediator today who claimed the HO only "said if there are any more complaints" funny he knew I was being served one though 3) HO has told mediator I had issues with another neighbour, she also told mediator i am from a domestic violence background which is why i had to move out my last property and the criminal is from "said area" 4) HO has told tenant upstairs i have other ASB against me, she said "loads" (from who?) the only thing i have written proof on is her saying she hasnt spoken to police due to my block but an email from police to confirm she is and that "several neighbours" apparently have a problem with me what can i do about this? I dont know if the mediator will admit to anything maybe if she was interviewed or required by court

Hi, hope someone can help please. To start with I must point out I have mental health problems and and have just been put in the support group for esa for 18 months due to my problems.for 5 years on and off I have tried to get on housing register and it has been so hard to get on it the council have never accepted me being homeless they have put me in emergency accommodation and then they say I've intentionally made myself homeless because I don't get on well with people so it's my fault I had 90 points and then 5 years ago they took all most all my points away left me 2 points. recently I've tried again to apply for homeless again they said that I wasn't on enough mental health meds!! So I wasn't a priority they said, even my doctor sent a letter saying I was vulnerable adult with mental health and needed help they said they needed to know exactly how vulnerable I was they decided I wasn't priority they had no duty to me, even shelter said that they were discriminating against me I appealed and they said I had arrears for 2 weeks stay in temporary accommodation in 2011 or 2012 but I had applied for benefits to cover the stay they said I owed fifty pounds for a one night b n b stay but I had phoned council to say a friend was going to put me up so wasn't need . last November council said I can't go on register because I have 700 debt from 2 weeks temp accommodation and the bnb thing. My mum and I went to council and said prove the debt please because in all these years since I have never had anything from housing to say we have debt please. she said perhaps we couldn't find you or your lying. they said we can't help I said I'm homeless they said nothing I found a room in a house because I panicked and the room is a plaster board wall put up to cut up half kitchen off I have no door I have sheet up to block it off to give some privacy people are in kitchen at all times cooker doesn't work hob doesn't work. My anxieties and stress and mental health is really bad at moment I can't cope with not knowing whose coming into this property I have ptsd which I'm on high alert at all times. So council have not responded to my prove debt. Doctor has written another letter to say I need help with housing so I can be in control of my own front door so council have finally awarded me 30 points today but suspended it due to arrears now council have known where I am since last year still not arrears letters . I would like to know do I have any rights because they left it so long I know they hate me there because I'm not easy person to get on with I get very agitated building up to speak to them I'm stressed but I want and need help with housing. Sorry it's long winded this. TIA.

Good afternoon all, I'm hoping someone can help with regard to a housing benefit issue. I am currently employed by the NHS but have been off sick with a serious condition for quite some time. I believed I would get sick pay for 6 months and until recently I did get a flat wage. However, when I checked my pay last month I had only received £41. I called payroll to investigate. They advised that due to an audit, they had discovered they had been overpaying me and that my sick pay should have stopped in January! (My length of service meant I should have got full pay for 2 months and then half pay for 2 months) Also that SSP should have stopped in April. They said they would send me a form SSP1 to enable me to claim ESA. This they did and I've made my claim successfully. A week or so later I got a letter from payroll advising the details of the overpayment (£2500)which they want paid back within 18 months following my return to work. My question is this....If they hadn't overpaid me, I would undoubtedly have claimed and received housing/council tax benefit for that period. Since I have to repay the overpayment, is there any way I can claim this 'lost' housing/council tax benefit back? If not, do I have any claim against my payroll dept? To my mind they've cost me 4 months rent and council tax! Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated. Paul

got turned down by private landlord recently regarding private house rent, son in law has stated he will pay 6 months up front to the agents, but we will have to pay him back, we currently receive some housing benefit because of our low income, how will this effect our h/b I haven't got a clue rang l/a they weren't much help either any ideas . thanks

Hi all, Long story short - I'm living with my partner and have been for some years now. However, the local housing trust (my parents' house), has received letters saying their rent is in arrears. I think it was around £13-15 per week. When my father questioned it, they said that new information had come to light that I had been living there (which obviously I wasn't). They said (verbally) that unless they provided them with an address for me that they would keep putting the charge on and evict them. To my mind, this is wrong. Whichever way you slice it, to do that to pensioners is shocking behaviour. The vitriolic thing is, is that, there is no reasoning on any of the letters, no explanation as to why the charges - it is all word-of-mouth upto now. I'm appalled if I am honest at this and before I act, would like to gather some advice if possible.

Basically, I am self-employed and have been for the last 2 years, When I first started I had to take my books in every three month and a new calculation was done. that was fine I had no problems with that at all. Towards the last three months of 2014 and the first 2-3 months of 2015 my income went up considerably and so my housing benefit entitlement dropped to the point I was only getting maybe £10.00 per week and virtually nothing on Council Tax. No problems with that as the money I was earning covered the increase and I was happy with it. The problem started at the end of March 2015 when the income from SE started dropping (knew it would during the Spring/Summer Months). I took my books in as normal but they said they where not going to do a re calculation again until August and then every 12 Months after that. This of course left me paying high rent at a time I could barely afford it (I managed but it was tough going). Anyway August came and I took all the books in again but because they were now basing it on twelve months books which included the very good months the HB only came down by £23.00 per week likewise CT had only a £5.00 pw reduction. This caused severe financial hardship and I basically had to scrape the barrel in order to get to now. To give you an indication of the income reduction, February 2015 was £2200.00 but February 2016 was only just over £1200.00. Most other months since September 2015 have been down between 200 to 700 pounds. I still have 2 months to go before they will do a re calculation but as I said to the Council I can see me quitting SE and going unemployed before August comes in. Right now my last three months are running at about 40% of the previous years income and I cannot see any improvement at all in income until November 2016 So basically is there anyway that I can get the council to return to the three month recalculation that we were originally doing or is it going to be a question of grin and bear it until August. If thats going to be the case I can see the income support people are going to have at least one more customer and I will then also claim care allowance as I would qualify for it based on my wife's PIP. On a side note, I know there are benefit calculators but for some unknown reason I end up with some stupid figures which do not make any sense when I use them. FYI, Current income based on wife's PIP (standard rate both care and moto) Child Ben for a 16 year old who is going to go college this year. WTC (around £92.00) due to working 40+ hours a week and lowish income, CTC for the same child mentioned above. + £65.00 drawings a week (makes up the difference between what I used to get on the dole and what I get from WTC) If I go unemployed income would come from Child Ben for the 16 year old CTC for the same 16 year old, Wife's PIP as per above Income Support (what that would be I don't know so if you could enlighten me then thanks) Carer's Allowance (about £62.00 I believe) and a larger reduction in HB and CT I think. So whats better for me ???? Any help with any the questions is appreciated. neword.

I have been in my current flat for 9 years and currently I get all my rent covered by housing benefit. However this year the landlord decided to make things difficult and my terms are changing. Extra £20 a week rent. New guarantor required even tho I dont have arrears or ever had arrears. Without this 3 months rent paid in advance. Early termination fee payable in advance So to renew I need this amount of money. £1245+£495 up front and extra £20 month rent. Council and charities have confirmed housing benefit will not cover extra rent, in fact I actually already get more than the allowance which I think has only been allowed as I was getting it anyway before the rates got revised. My only income is ESA SG. Given the situation I have put in a claim for PIP although I think I will only be rewarded lower rate mobility. It seems most councils will allow people to get on their choice schemes for needing more affordable housing, but my council seems very strict, unable to afford rent is not a valid reason and they wont let me register. They told me I can only register when I am actually homeless and only then if not intentional homelessness. Shelter have advised me I am in a very tough situation, I can be deemed intentional homeless if I refuse to sign the new tenancy terms, but also likewise if I sign knowing I cannot fulfill the terms. My landlord has said if I dont sign I will get a section 21. My council just kept refusing to acknowledge the private rental market is completely out of touch with local housing allowance rates and refusing me access to the housing association property market. Bedsits in my area cost more than the 1 bed flat LHA rates, thats how much of a difference there is. I found one housing association property on housefinder thats the same rent as LHA rates but sadly they already got a tenant, they said they got 200 available on choice website, but just this one available outside of it. It does seem a bit of a [problem] to be honest, one has to be homeless to get access to affordable housing. My sister's council choice scheme doesnt have such requirements, one can register simply for 'affordability' reasons. But I do require a 'local connection', my sister however has only lived there 2 years (didnt tell them this), and they want 5 years as a minimum term for a relation. Is there any advice on how to get housing association properties outside of choice schemes? or low priced benefit friendly places? I did wonder why these places never seem advertised and now I know why, they all seem locked away by the councils. I have registered on all the housing associations on my councils website, none of them have any properties available, but have been told I have to do this and keep checking them or I risk been deemed intentionally homeless. I dread to think what happens then, do they literally chuck me on the street? What a society. Since I have mobility issues and where I live now I currently cannot have a scooter, I am going to ask my GP this week if i get on the scheme for medical reasons, but I dont know if she will support me on that.

Strictly, speaking this is not a subject that would normally feature on the 'bailiff discussion' section of the forum. However, with the subject matter regularly featuring on the popular TV series; Can't Pay We'll Take it Away' it may well assist some viewers. Anyone watching the TV series would have seen the many instances of a tenant is being evicted. Routinely, the tenants had been advised by their local authorities that in order to gain assistance with emergency housing, that they must remain in the property until the actual eviction. It would seem that this practice must stop. The following is taken from a recent article from the Sheriffs Office: Housing minister, Brandon Lewis has told all local authorities to stop routinely advising tenants to stay put until the enforcement agent arrives before they can be accepted as homeless. Mr Lewis has written to all the chief executives of local councils saying that households should not be put in this position, and clarifying the guidance about homelessness. In his letter he says, “Authorities should not routinely be advising tenants to stay until the bailiffs arrive; there is no barrier to them assisting the tenant before this. By doing this, local authorities miss a valuable opportunity to prevent homelessness.” Mr Lewis writes that the statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance, which local authorities are required by law to have regard to, is clear on this matter and contains guidance on how they should treat homelessness applications where a tenant has received a valid S21 notice. This is what Mr Lewis’s letter highlights about what the guidance states: -Housing authorities should not, in every case, insist upon a court order for possession and that no local authority should adopt a blanket policy in this respect. -If the landlord intends to seek possession and there would be no defence to an application for a possession order, then it is unlikely that it would be reasonable for the applicant to continue to occupy the accommodation. -Unless a local authority has very good reason to depart from the statutory guidance, then they should not be placing households in this position.

Hi, Just wanted some advice please my son has Rent arrears form 2012/2013 when he was in a hostel for 3 weeks the debt is 580 pounds we have only just recently found out about the debt he has been put on the housing register as he is homeless but he's been suspended from bidding. we have asked how much to pay to be released from the suspension & 3 people have said different things we have said if we pay all off will he be able to bid they said its down to the housing managers to say whether he can bid. one person said 10 weeks someone else said 10 months. my thing is they have had 3 years to find him and they said they don't have the resources to look for him. I don't want to pay all off in one go and they come up with something else for why he cant bid! they say they want to see he pays his bills! can anyone help and let me know what the normal practice is with arrears just want some one to be straight he's been given 30 points for medical & social now he's homeless not because of his doing and he's priority due to mental health so waiting for those points and that process. If anyone can let me know the process would be much appreciated. Thanks

Hi everyone, Any help or advise on where to go on this would be most welcome please as it's a battle I've been fighting for just over 6 years, without a break, and I NEED to get the Pension Service to put right the ultra vires decision (on the wrong legislation) and recieve the back pay owed. I am 110% correct in my findings from both DMG and legislation, the Pension Service are completely wrong and no-one will look at it. I list below a copy of the letter I have last sent, a brief outline of events leading to the wrongful withdrawal, by the Pension Service (PS), of allowable housing costs, with evidence. Brief Background History As a result of a divorce and Court proceedings an order was issued for me to acquire my ex-husband’s share in the house within a specified time limit of the Divorce. We had a joint mortgage for £30000 on our home. I had to remortgage (i) to redeem the original mortgage balance of £27108 and (ii) add £22500 equity acquisition to be paid to my ex-husband’s solicitors within a Court-specified time limit and (iii) to cover legal aid and other acquisition costs involved. However the costs amount was not only unknown but unexpectedly delayed until late 2008 because of solicitor errors. There was absolutely no problem with IS and they let me know that acquiring my ex-husband’s equity share in the house was an allowable housing cost. I received housing costs as Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI), paid direct to lender, as part of IS. The relevant letter from Wendy Steele, IS Decision Maker dated 02.06.06 quoted: “The Income Support (General) Regulations 1987, No. 1967, Sch 3, para 4(6)(a), 15(1), 16(2), DMG 29825”. After my having to involve the Law Society regarding solicitor error and resulting Legal Services Commission (LSC) error, they were resolved in my favour and as a result the LSC wrote and apologised for their error and issued the amount of legal costs to be paid back for legal aid of £5875. There was also a £500 arrangement fee and £350 broker’s fee which had to be added to the legal aid bill of £5875 making basic acquisition costs of £6725. In August 2007, on reaching age 60, I was transferred from Income Support to Pension Credit and housing costs, including the equity acquisition of my ex-husband’s share of the home, remained the same without question, as confirmed in writing by the Pension Service (PS) State Pension Credit Regs, Schedule 2, para 11, DMG 78407 – 78410. However they failed to allow the full original mortgage redemption of £27,108 because evidence had been burned by my ex-husband so I had no proof of full allowable costs, e.g. conservatory (est) £4200). Only £17776.66 was allowed as per receipt evidence. Since the beginning of the re-mortgage IS (and later the PS) were advised of the delay in submitting legal costs because of solicitor and LSC errors but after the acquisition costs were established, late 2008, I requested that the PS added these costs to my SMI now that the matter was resolved and the amount was known. I repeated the request for acquisition costs to be added several times between late 2008 and July 2009 because each request was ignored. In response to yet another request to add costs, in July 2009 “Abdul” (no surname given), instead of adding acquisition costs to SMI, informed me that I was not allowed to acquire an interest in my home and that SMI for it was stopped! The reason given was that the PS had made a mistake. This error of one lone PS employee caused the whole fiasco from which I have suffered very badly. His error opposed all correctly decided housing costs by IS and PS Decision Makers and all other current Government information whether written or online and Case Law and this miscarriage of justice to my very great detriment has not been addressed or corrected! I appealed which was denied. I telephoned IS who were at a loss as to know why the PS had stopped SMI because acquiring an interest in my home was an allowable housing cost. Buying out an ex-partner (my case) is even exampled in detail in Decision Makers Guides (DMGs) (78405, 78407, 78409) and clearly specified in other Government information and Case law. I have struggled without ceasing to get this miscarriage of justice corrected whilst my financial situation has become more and more extremely serious. This goes against the very reason for the legislation being passed in the first place. I repeatedly requested specific responses to the following because these were all correctly applicable to my case as initially determined by both IS and the PS: (i) the relevant legislation (SPC Regs 2002, Schedule 2, para 11), (ii) the relevant DMGs 78405, 78407, 78409, (iii) all current online and documented Government information and (iv) all relevant Case Law The specific responses were not addressed and, because of my persistence in trying to get the PS unlawful disallowance of legislated housing costs reversed, I was told by the PS that I would no longer be responded to except by way of acknowledgement of my correspondence. I have been disgracefully treated, dismissed and ignored over a long period of time. I have been denied any opportunity to represent myself at any interview, local or otherwise despite repeatedly explaining the extremely severe financial difficulties and anxiety/distress caused to me by the PSby the refusal to address the specific issues raised which would have resulted in reinstatement of my housing costs. Would you very kindly urgently look at the simple and uncomplicated facts relevant to my claimant category (residential homeowner acquiring an interest in my home) and the applicable legislation relevant to it, SPC Regs 2002, Schedule 2, para 11, the DMGs that apply to Schedule 2, para 11, 78405, 78407, 78409 and if necessary confirmatory Government information and Case Law and reinstate my housing costs from the unlawful disallowance. I am happy to supply any information and/or documents should they be required. To avoid any complication in looking at the above request, I would add that I am not and never have been a renter and therefore I have never been in receipt of housing benefit via the local council. I have only re-mortgaged once to acquire my ex-husband’s share in my home by Court Order. My case is very simple and straightforward: I am a residential homeowner acquiring an interest in my home which is an allowable housing cost as per: State Pension Credit Regs 2002, Schedule 2, para 11: Loans on residential property 11.—(1) A loan qualifies under this paragraph where the loan was taken out to defray monies applied for any of the following purposes— (a)acquiring an interest in the dwelling occupied as the home; or (b)paying off another loan to the extent that the other loan would have qualified under head (a) above had the loan not been paid off. (2) For the purposes of this paragraph, references to a loan include also a reference to money borrowed under a hire purchase agreement for any purpose specified in heads (a) and (b) of sub-paragraph (l). (3) Where a loan is applied only in part for the purposes specified in heads (a) and (b) of sub-paragraph (1), only that portion of the loan which is applied for that purpose shall qualify under this paragraph. The mandatory guidance referenced to the legislation above and which Decision Makers are obliged to follow is DMGs, 78405 – 78409 as copied below. Note: The suspension of IS from 6th March 2006 to 10th May 2006 referred to above (on the screenshot from the Pension Service dated 2010) was due to the remortgage funds being released through my bank to pay my ex-husbands solicitors for the acquisition. This is normal banking procedure and the money was paid out immediately. A decision maker decided that the remortgage funds constituted savings and therefore I wasn’t entitled to any Income Support or housing costs. This inappropriate decision was readily acknowledged by the people I spoke to at the IS department but I still had to go through the process of Tribunal to get this folly reversed by 10th May. None of the above circumstances (screen-shot) relates to a residential homeowner acquiring an interest in the home. That legislation is found in SPC Regs 2002, Schedule 2, para 11 and DMGs 78405, 78407, 78409. None of the DMG in the PS screenshot refer to acquiring an interest in the home or to Schedule 2, para 11. The DMGs which reference para 11 have been omitted by the PS and the PS Decision Maker has justified his error with irrelevant and unreferenced DMGs and faulty reasoning based on legislation totally inapplicable and irrelevant to my case. This Decision Maker’s faulty reasoning can be seen on examination. He stated above that increases are only allowable in points 1-5 listed. This is an error and the descriptions of points 1 and 2 above especially shows no understanding of the legislation. In point 1 above there is no increase in housing costs in a relevant period (1994/5 legislation brought in to prevent up-marketing by a full homeowner taking out a loan (e.g. change of lender, equity release) to either stay in the same home or move to a different one. The housing costs payable currently will not be increased. There is no relevance to acquiring an interest in the home in this provision of Schedule 2, para 5(7)(a)(b). This legislation is not interchangeable with Schedule 2, para 11 and cannot be applied to para 11. DMGs clearly reference each one and neither is interchangeable. In point 2 above there is no increase in housing costs in a relevant period (1994/5 legislation brought in to prevent up-marketing by changing from renting to buying in a relevant period. If a renter acquires an interest (becomes owner/co-owner Rent to Buy Scheme especially) then he must qualify by being in receipt of housing benefit payable to renters via the local council the week before the acquisition and the amount of SMI payable direct to lender will not exceed the amount of housing benefit previously paid via the local council. There will not be an increase in housing costs allowable. This legislation is not interchangeable with Schedule 2, para 11 and cannot be applied to para 11. DMGs clearly reference each one and neither is interchangeable. In points 3 and 4 above the circumstances have to be individually determined by the Decision Makers and some increase in housing costs can be allowable. In point 5 above other housing costs specifically exclude involvement of para 11 (residential homeowners acquiring an interest in the home) and there is no reference to para 11 in the relevant DMG. Many thanks and I would be so grateful for any help on how to get this sorted as I'm just hitting my head on a brick wall with every letter written. TPP x

Daughter is expecting to receive an overpayment bill of approx. 2k for housing benefit Approx.. 12 months ago she was Made homeless L.A. (were very good with her) appointed her a homeless officer she was allocated homeless housing and her and her homeless officer filled in her housing benefit form she had to pay some rent as homeless property's come with a higher rent as they ate part furnished After 6 weeks in homeless accommodation she was allocated a house she was at work the day she was due to pick up the keys and the homeless officer took the keys to her work daughter asked her about her new claim for housing benefit for her new house homeless officer said she would deal with it as everything was the same and send her a receipt she was granted full housing and council tax benefit she didn't think this was right and phoned her homeless officer who went through it with her on there system everything was right income .tax credits ect . so it must be correct Not happy with that a few days later she phoned the benefits section and went through it with them again told everything is correct This yrs housing benefit came in and she has to pay rent she always had this little niggle in the back of her mind that something wasn't right and nothing had changed from the previous yr she phoned them they have asked her to take all her paper work to the local office so they can scan them and send them to housing benefit (and theirs a lot 100+ pages ) anyway she was going through them and one housing benefit rebate form has her working tax credit's on it but the one that was done by her housing officer hasn't (thence the 100% rebate) This is a lot of money and if she has to pay it back then that fine she will pay it however I would like her to go down the appeal root any thoughts on this

we have been bidding on properties for over 3 years with this housing association, but in band d, after having shelter involved as environmental health say out property is not safe to live in. Shelter sent the reports and our sons report about his disabilities, we have been bidding with no problems for 3 years, then all of a sudden i couldn't log on to there system, after calling them, i was told the application was deleted due to rent arrears on a old property, of which we had paid off, but still want 1500 in charges from us!! i not happy, Environmental health have said this house is not safe, but the local housing is run by this housing association, who have now told us we can no longer bid or be with us. I've asked why they have done this after shelter got involved! they are refusing to answer us.

Please could someone inform me if carers allowance is taken into consideration for housing benefit and council tax? I have been receiving carers allowance for around three years for my disabled wife, at the time I contacted my local authority to inform them that I had been awarded Carers Allowance to see if it would affect my housing benefit and council tax and I was informed no it does not affect these benefits. I received an ESA2 form this week, which is a renewal for ESA asking for information on savings and benefits etc. I checked the benefits that are being received on the entitledto website and it appears that carers allowance is taken into consideration when working out housing benefit and council tax, and it appears that I should have been paying around £12 a week towards HB & CT for the last three years.

Quick question that I think I know the answer to but it's always good to check right? I understand that you can have upto £6000 in savings and still claim HB. Anything over that will affect the amount of HB you are entitled to. So my question is - Does this relate to household savings or per individual in respect of a HB claim? For instance my wife gets a student loan which the benefits department consider to be savings (currently at about £4500 in the bank). So if I came into some money such as compensation, inheritence or something of that nature would anything over £1500 then directly affect the HB (£6000 - £4500) or would it be £6000 I could have saved up seperately from what my wife has in her bank?

I wanted to know what the new rules are with regards to withdrawing consent for the WP to share your info/contact people on your behalf/claim their fat payment for my hard work when I get a job .. as I am sure I read it had changed since last year, also coincidentally each time I attend a review meeting I get loads of spammy job/credit emails in the weeks after which seems a little timely!! Am getting increasingly fed up with the WP provider, by and large I have had a year of having to attend weekly job clubs with slow computers and the like but since I hit the year mark it seems to have ramped up big time, I have a good work history with good companies and a degree and the minute my latest advisor saw it his eyes lit up and I have been pestered left right and centre. I was upped to two job clubs a week and also appointments/training sessions/interview techniques etc on one or more additional days a week and it was getting silly and made me ill so I had two weeks off with stress symptoms. I then had more blinking appointments and changes to my job clubs and was told a few weeks back at 1pm on a Monday that I was to stay after job club that day for extra sessions looking into agencies and applying for more jobs for 2 hours each day that week (mysteriously my letter had 'got lost in the post' telling me this), I kicked up a bit of a stink as I am a single parent and said I had to pick my son up from school at 3 so those times were unsuitable, so with a bit of looking at bus timetables he relented to sessions from 1-2.30 each afternoon that week which was still pushing it as am reliant on public transport which is never the best, I attended the first and then had enough, got upset (I am on antidepressants and suffering severe anxiety at the moment relating to a thyroid condition I have just been diagnosed with) and I decided to get another doctors note for 2 weeks. During this two weeks I had a letter from them saying I had to come in during that time and I politely told him NO, the day my sick period ended there arrived a letter saying I had to attend a review appointment in 2 days time and I just knew he was going to mess me about, sure enough on the Friday afternoon at the appt he says I need to up my attendance to daily sessions of 4 hours, which means dropping my son at school, a 45 min bus journey there, then getting back in just enough time to pick him up, I protested that I had a PC at home and why did I need to do all this on their premises and he said I might 'get distracted' at home (as opposed to their noisy office of course!!), that I had appts to arrange and so on which were being neglected due to them calling me in all the time willy nilly saying they are mandatory and have to attend, and he said as I was a jobseeker I should jobseek during those hours, I have no prob doing this, my JSA agreement says 5 jobs a week and they say 10 which I do easily and have never not done, he is also pressurising me to do full time work/get a better off calculation for FT work, which my JSA flexibilities say I don't have to pursue due to being a lone parent, there is no mention of any beneficial training, and any suggestions for that or clothing for interviews have been shot down in flames, its just flaming jobsearching in their offices every day, presumably so I can't attend any interviews without them knowing and that I get fed up with the arrangement. Its not as if I am not trying to get a job, I have had about 6 interviews in the last few months but none successful, am really fed up with the situation with the WP and its making me feel worse, we are reviewing the situation tomorrow after my session and I know he is prob going to suggest the same again next week when I have 2 inset days at my sons school, I really just resent the fact that they think they can pressure me like this and assume I have no plans for the week or anything else to do, and then get a nice big payment for MY efforts at the end of it all so want to know what my rights are, unfortunately at the beginning I signed all their docs as I was being too blinking nice!! PS. Sorry this is a bit of a rant having looked at it, but felt good to vent!!

Well a quick start to a thread.I had no intention this morning to start another thread.But will,how can i resist. Maybe a touch rushed but will build on this.Got to go out to try to make a bob or two shortly So i hope it makes a little sense. Would rather hang round the Bear Garden but needs must. Want to know really wherever you are in the UK how you feel about housing in your areas,whether renting,mortgage,condition,evictions,pressures,landlords,rent deposits anything you want to say. Have you memories of times gone by,can you see into the future.Perhaps you have a crystal ball Why am i mentioning London,well got to start somewhere.And grabs some attention as well.Usually. Also i was reading King12345 post about Hounslow and had a look around his area and found a article that interested me and set me off. Within a minute or two i was looking all over London. I must answer the post on another thread.And remember starting in London perhaps but let us move round the UK.Just what it it like for you.Stressful,blissful anything you want to say,feel free. So without further ado,let me start.Got a busy day,first i have to let the pigeons out and feed the ferrets. Street-chart: London's housing crisis illustrated – in pictures A London renter has created street graphs throughout the capital to highlight fast-rising rents, evictions and homelessness, the chronic shortage of affordable housing and the decline in homeownership-in a different way. Street graphs in Hackney show how the average rent in London has increased since 2005 http://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/gallery/2015/may/14/london-street-chart-illustrate-housing-crisis

I have been looking into entitlements all day and I am just going round in circles. I could really do with some advice. The abolishment of the family element in housing benefit is my main worry. I don't know if it will affect me or not? I have a 2.5 year old and our second baby is due in May, and according to 'entitledto' we will be entitled to some housing benefit in 16/17. But I don't know if this will start after I have the baby, or when I go on maternity leave in April. Also, as mentioned above, I don't know whether the abolishment will affect the result I am getting. I know it only affects new claims after 1st May, so if I submit my claim in April when my maternity leave starts- will I be entitled to the family element? I am thinking I will still get it, because I already have a child and my circumstances are changing prior to 1st May. Now, it seems I will be entitled to more help (around an extra £70 a month) if I do not continue with my childcare vouchers through my employer. But I don't want to opt out of the scheme to find that the calculations were all wrong and I would have been better off with continuing with the childcare vouchers. Would it be possible to cancel the childcare vouchers once I've heard back regarding my claims? Anything else I need to consider? Thank you in advance!

I bet it don't mean according to one's needs..

Hi, I moved into a one-bedroom rented flat at the end of December and got my first electricity bill toward the end of January, totaled at approx £180. I knew I had used the heating a bit excessively over the past month as January was cold, however I was still surprised to see that I am charged £140 for heating only (at around 10p per kilowatt). The other thing was that I am charged with two standing charges - 25p/day for electricity and 75p/day for "Band 5", which I found goes to the developer of the building and is based on the size of the property. This means that I have to pay £30 a month in standing charges even if I don't use any electricity or heating at all. I switched everything off immediately and had an engineer coming over to check the meter, which he tested and found it is working okay. The meter readings are transmitted electronically to the supplier so when I got the bill I compared it with the current instant reading and it was about right. However, I only have the first reading at the start of the tenancy for the electricity only and not the one for the heating, which were provided to me by the agency, so I wonder if there is a way to check if the one for the heating is also correct? I watched the meter for a while and noticed that with thermostat set to 18-19 degrees and heaters open at max, it rolls 1 kilowatt per about 10 minutes. Some quick calculations later and I found that if I use the heating for 2.5h per day it will cost me around £40 without the standing charges, which will nearly double my bill. I have spoken with an advisor at another supplying company and checked with them if there is any way to switch, however they couldn't help much. I understand that if I switch suppliers, the whole building will have to switch too as part of the scheme. I also understand that I have little control over leaving the scheme (if this is even possible), as I am only a tenant and not the owner of the property. Is there anything I can do to reduce this bill or fight this before it takes me to bankrupt? My tenancy is on a 12-month basis and leaving the flat earlier is hardly an option. Thanks in advance, L

I live in a sheltered housing property and I am currently in receipt of housing benefit. My landlord is a social housing association, this year the weekly rent has been reduced, but the service charge has risen dramatically. Currently the service charge is paid for by housing benefit but what happens when Universal Credit comes into force? I believe when UC is introduced the rent is then paid directly to myself and that I am responsible for paying the weekly rent to the landlord. The question is the "service charge" still included through housing benefit when UC is in force? The housing association does appear to be very keen lately in adding these additional services and increasing the service charges with no improvements to the services.

Hi I have found out that someone i Know is getting full Pension Credit his wife also works 40+ hours a week and they get FULL Housing and Council Tax Benefit. Surely this cant be right. Anyone know if this is right, or are they committing Benefit Fraud? Thanks in Advance

Read More HERE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35515993

It seems this is being snuck in under the radar from 1st April while we are watching Cameron and his EU antics. Previously you could be absent from Great Britain for a period of 13 weeks for example on holiday and still receive benefits such as Pension credit etc. However this has changed from 13 weeks to 4 weeks and does create a problem as many people go to Spain for the winter especially if you suffer from arthritis as the UK winter can be a killer. See here for more information

Gotten some great help on here with other unrelated problems so hope you guys can help me out with this too or at least point me in the right direction. Long story short I am married with 2 kids aged 6 and 8 with a third due in April. I have been unemployed since November 2012 and do not recieve any form of unemployment benefit. We have as a family been in receipt of housing benefit of about £120 per week which has been extremely helpful in paying our rent (we rent privately in Birmingham at a rate of £625 per month). There was no issue until my wife decided to change her working hours so that she could sign on for a fulltime university course in order to get her degree so that she could if she so desired become a teacher (she is currently a teaching assistant). So she went from working full time and earning £15,000 per year to working 16 hours per week and earning £6500 per year. She was also eligible for a student grant which is to be paid back once she starts earning a certain amount (£26,000 i believe) and this is where our problems began. You see the loan is worth £11,000 per year and is considered by the benefits people as income so they now consider her as earning £17,500 per year. Now we checked with them before she signed on for the course as we had read that her loan may cause problems with the payment of housing benefit, and there may also be issues with her status as a student despite the fact that she was to remain in work, and we were told that there would be no problem and that we should still be entitled to housing benefit. At the end of November last year however they froze our claim and have spent the last two months asking us to provide a variety of documentation in order that they can ascertain as to whether or not we are still entitled to the benefit or not. Today we rang to check the status of our claim as money that we had put aside for emergencies is running increasingly low as it has been used to pay the shortfall that we are feeling from not getting the benefit. Anyway we were told that our claim has in fact been cancelled (Im guessing a letter will be forthcoming) because they consider that we have an excess of income so we are no longer entitled to receive housing benefit. I really do not see how they have reached this conclusion as it is not like we are suddenly rolling in cash, especially with a new baby on the way. Is there any point in contesting their decision, will they overturn it or is it a simple case of we are not going to get it so we need to suck it up and look at other options such as move to a cheaper property? I am of course looking for work and hope that getting a job will help though of course that may have a detrimental effect on child tax credits and the like (we dont get any working tax credits). Any advice greatly appreciated.