Showing results for tags 'child'.
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Hey CAG, Posting on behalf of a friend. In short she doesn't have a tv licence as doesn't watch live tv only netflix. However her young daughter downloaded BBC iplayer on her tablet and signed up and gave her mums post code etc and obviously must of said she had a TV licence. Fast forward a few weeks and my friend gets an email that says "Our records show you've used BBC iplayer on a number of occasions in recent weeks. As your no licence need status is now invalid you need to buy a TV licence" and gives her a link to buy. Does she need to buy one, her daughter being on early teens did not know her mum needed a TV licence. Anything she can do? -
UK first: Parents who lose a child entitled to bereavement leave READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-first-parents-who-lose-a-child-entitled-to-bereavement-leave -
Hi just wondering if anyone can help. I am hugely embarrassed to admit that I have claimed child tax credits for 2 years but 8 mnths ago moved in with my new partner and did not notify HMRC. I know that I have done wrong, but at the time was struggling financially and my partner had his own debt issues, so kept our finances separately and was determined to be able to continue to support my son on my own. However as we are more established as couple now, and my son has settled here well, we would like to make our relationship more official, and I would like to 'confess' and pay back those mnths that I shouldn't have claimed, but am so scared of the consequences. Having used their online calculator I don't think we would be eligible as a joint claim as I have had a modest but significant pay rise and my partner, who is self employed, has had things pick up for him too. I have tried calling their help line today but not yet managed to get through so was wondering if appropriate to write a hugely apologetic letter explaining the situation, and ask for an overpayment balance? If my calculations are right it is not a huge amount and could hopefully pay it straight off, but am worried about having a fine on top. I know honesty is the best policy, and have never even had a parking ticket, so am struggling to know how to deal with a. my deceipt and b. the consequences...... Thanks in advance for any advice.
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I am a single mum working part-time and receiving a some housing benefit. Recently my 17 old daughter who is a full-time college student has started a part-time job. Will her earnings affect my Housing Benefit?
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I am currently unemployed and receive full housing benefit, my 19yr old son left school in June (repeated a yr due to disability) and starts college full time in August. Over the summer period he has not claimed for any benefits or worked. I received a letter from the council saying that I have been overpaid housing benefit since June as my son is now a non-dependant and are asking for £126 to cover overpayment, they are also asking for £12pw towards rent. They also wish to see his student loan payments confirmation letter. I'm at a loss here as everything I have read about housing benefit states that non dependants students living at home would not pay rent, I have even competed the council's online benefit calculator which shows we should not be paying rent. Are the council right?
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Hi guys, Story goes, Back in December 2016 I called up the body which were dealing with the transaction move from CSA to the the 'Child Maintenance Service' questions, what they told me then led me to call the CSA From 21 Oct 2015 I was officially out of the UK and not contributing to the Tax system as I was now working in Denmark. I was still paying the same assessed money as I was told to until I called up about the above proceeding move between the 2 companies. The agent from the CSA told me because I was now working out of the UK and getting paid from Guernsey there would be a NIL assessment because they could not assess what payments I should making. So in theory I was still paying their calculation for around 14 months, which I didn't need to do, but this doesn't bother me, I was still contributing to my child and taking the responsible thing to do. Now during all these years I have always, when calling CSA, asked them to clearly check and confirm what I was paying was correct and everything was up to date, I never missed one payment and always kept to the agreed standing order for all the years. I also received a few statements of what I had paid and my future payments dates. There was a time previous that they did an assessment on me as I returned back into the UK a good few years ago and I had arrears to pay off which I did at £410 and then once they were paid off I then started to pay £310. This was all calculated out for me and I have the documents in my folder of all the breakdowns and payment structure When I called up in December she told me that as of December I would not have to pay anything due to the Nil assessment (working in DK) but I told her I would still like to keep paying, which I am doing straight into her account, the mother agreed and sent her bank details to the CSA which were then fwd onto me, payments are still going smooth. (I also have a letter from the Child Support which stating I am due £0.00 from December) Until yesterday, I came home to a letter from the CSA demanding over £1000, they state in the letter (attached) "we transferred the money to the Secretary of State, rather than the parent with care" Has anyone else experienced this and due to their blunder (I presume), they don't even send a break down of where this money is due from dates etc, it's like someone coming to my front door and saying, "Sorry buy you're due me £1000, pay up now!" Please can anyone help? I'm thinking of writing a letter back explaining all the conversations I had with previous agents asking for a confirmation of balance and the fact I have have it in B&W I was due £0 from December, how can they now go back? I am also thinking of visiting my Solicitor regarding this, just mad that this should have all been taken care of CSA just makes my head boil !! CSA DEMAND 2.pdf -
Hello, I've been over the HMRC guidance and related sites lots of times but still unsure. Apparently nowadays you can show 'exceptional and relevant' reasons for late Appeals (Mandatory Reconsiderations) - examples given are being in hospital or out of the country. The longer it goes on, the better the reason needs to be. What about when the person was around but they have chronic language/cultural barriers that led to a delay, combined with the fact that the HMRC Compliance Office phone was and is apparently set to permanently engaged (not sure if the notorious Concentrix). The person did send a letter a little past the 30 days deadline but the Compliance Office decided it didn't have quite the exact required wording to trigger a Mandatory Reconsideration, so they simply ignored it. There's then been several further months of inaction until now. Alternatively, 'Official Error' review can be requested for a long time afterwards. But can anyone explain what counts in laymans terms? In this case it would be the Compliance Office phone number never answering (acknowledged as a 'recurring issue' by an HMRC official); the stated reason for the original query appears invalid (their own website specifically says child benefit cannot be considered in deciding main responsibility - at least if there's a dispute which there wasn't here); a decision to remove a child without specific evidence (only lack of reply to a confirmation question - this strategy has been criticised in tribunals before); not contacting the other responsible parent (logically one had to be responsible if the other wasn't according to them). Thanks in advance for anything. -
Hello. I am a single mother with a just turned 18 son. I have been notified that my Housing Benefit will be stopped as my child is now 18. He is still at sixth form college until the summer, then hopefully will go to University near home. I received a form from the Council now saying because he is 18 we are not entitled to housing benefit and he has been assessed as earning £9999 a week. Yes you read that right. In fact he earns nothing and is still studying his A level equivalents. I have produced evidence to show this but they say it doesn't matter as he is not a dependent now. Has anybody else encountered such a problem and what do I do? I work part time on minimum wage and will still get child benefit and tax credits to make up, but without the housing benefit and council tax rebate will be difficult to survive. Hopefully someone can help here as Croydon Council have been extremely unhelpful. Thank you in advance. -
I have 3 children (3,5, and 7 y/o) with my ex partner, and we share care for them (they stay with me about 3 days/nights per week). Until now, we'd agreed to split the child tax credit, so I claim for one child (the youngest), and she claims for the other two. Now she's saying that doesn't work for her any more, and she needs to claim the tax credits for all three. Does the new legislation allow her to add our third child onto her existing claim, or will she come up against the 2 child limit? From what I've read, it applies to children born after 6th April this year, or to any new claims for tax credits. But it isn't a completely new claim in her case, so not sure if that makes it ok?
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Hello Dont really know where to start here but a little back story: I had a little girl in 2003 with an ex partner, she didnt work and literally sat at home all day from morning to night in her pyjamas (and so did my little girl!) while i was out working.I was always the one doing the bottles, changing her and playing with her while a mountain of mess filled the house! (she literally didnt do anything) One day I came home and her bags were packed, her mum and dad arrived and they all left (she took my little girl away). After that happened she made it very difficult to see my daughter she said I could only have supervised visits, when I saw my little girl I wasnt allowed to hold her and speak to her. It got to a stage where I just wanted to give up and instead had to move away for my own health which meant leaving my little one behind Now in the last few days the mother and her friends have been spamming my facebook and business page with comments saying my girl wants to see me. I have agreed to this and started talking with her which I have been very happy about. We arranged a meeting for Sunday (but her auntie HAS to be present I am not allowed to see her on my own) - now her mother is again making things difficult accusing me of this and that and they are trying to force me to meet somewhere else further away (I live 100 miles away from where they live and we agreed a location around half way) She is trying to make it difficult to see me again rather than helping her daughter see her dad. It really shouldnt be this difficult. I know there have been lots of lies told about me (to my knowledge she has always been in council accomodation and I believe this was the reason she wanted a baby and took her away from me as it was a fast way to a free house etc) I really want to see my daughter , it has been ripping my heart out for 14 years and I have never spoken about it to anyone. Now when I speak to my daughter on facebook I dont believe its her theres lots of nasty comments and i believe its her mum talking on there. I know my daughter was so excited to be finally seeing me now its seems like its all gone I would really appreciate any help. I want to see my daughter I dont want it to be a group activity or supervised (i understand she may want someone there the first time as I am someone new and thats fine with me) It all seems to be their way or no way and I really dont want to get involved in these games again. It took me many years to recover and get my life on track. I have a little boy now whos 2 1/2 and I love him very much and he deserves to know and see his sister FYI my name was on the Birth Certificate which gives me 50% parental responsibility. She is using her mothers name, not sure if my name has been removed from the cert without my permission (I have ordered a copy to check!) Would really appreciate any help you can give me in getting the access i am entitled to and not on her unfair terms but equal terms
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Hello All A friend of ours mother passed away last year. She sent our friend for adoption when he was 9 months old. His mother then had a daughter, who was fostered out. After this, the mother moved to the USA and had 3 further children, which she raised herself. The family in the USA have distributed the cash and other belongings between them, however there is a mortgage free house in the USA, which the family want to dispose of. Would my friend, as the eldest child have a claim for a share of the house, despite being sent out for adoption many thanks in advance EOS-5D
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Hi, I'm trying to help a friend. Child is three years old, mother was common law wife of the child's father. Father has been killed in a work related accident. The employer has made a payment (from Avia) through a solicitor engaged by the mother. The child is the beneficiary of the very small estate. The solicitor will only pay the monies into a the Child's account which has to be a trust account with two signatories and flatly refuses to pay into a simple Child's account. We have been unable to find an High Street bank that offers such an account. The solicitor is pushing the mother to go to a company that specialises in Trust accounts but this would be a big hit on the very small amount of money involved, less than £20K. 1) Does she have to have a trust account? 2) If yes, where can we setup such account ourselves to save taking a kit on the funds?
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Hi all, first off I would just like to say, I hope I have posted in the correct place! Second I would like to say; I am somewhat clueless with these benefits matters so please excuse me if I sound daft… Ok, so, I have a buddy who has recently (Aug 1st 2016) has had his son (12 years old) living with him (he was with him before this date but this is the ‘official’ date after the child’s mother conceded it was probably a good thing he lived with his dad) as he was unhappy living with his mother and was struggling at school and socially, he was suffering from severe social anxiety and bullying at home and some bullying at school, so asked his dad if he could come live with him. His mother threw up a stink (understandable) and basically would not easily let go (again understandable). However, this has cause some issues for my buddy with child tax credits and benefits like housing and council tax. Basically, he made a claim for the benefits mentioned above (and other related benefits, not sure of the full list but can check if folks need more info?) and was supporting his son on his own benefits and support from friends and family, also he had a food bank voucher and had some food credits from a local charity, and his mother had paid the rent and council tax. Also, he is currently and has been prior to this looking for work and is attending interviews but he has had trouble with this as he could not afford to pay for the travel upfront to attend some of the interviews because he had these sudden extra outgoings to attend to and was short some weeks. In this time his family have helped with other things such as helping get his son to school and back, paid for school uniforms and other related items. He has received this letter (see attached) a couple of weeks ago citing that his ex-partner was entitled to up to 56 days’ worth of the benefits back payment as this is the law. The problem I see here and the problem he is obviously somewhat upset about, is that his son was not with his mother and has not been for some time now, she had no additional expense whilst he did and yet she has somehow been granted benefits, for a child she has had no hand in caring for in this period. In this time he has had no child related benefits and little support from the authorities (apart from his own personal benefits payments and food vouchers) such as housing benefits, council tax benefit etc… So, my question(s) to the forum are these. In your opinion(s) Is there any mileage in pursuing this matter? Personally, though I wholeheartedly believe this is wrong of them to have come to this conclusion, I do feel like he is probably going to get stonewalled, despite the fact there is irrefutable proof that his son was with him and not his mother? How can this be right? If forum-ites believe it is worth pursuing the matter, can any of you folks in the know, throw any advice our way, that may be able to help me to help him tackle this? I am lost on this subject matter and feel that the authorities have made a poor decision here and cannot see how the mother is entitled to anything from when the child was officially with his father. We have downloaded the SSCS5/A but have not begun to fill it in yet. I look forward to responses from you all and thank you all in advance for even taking the time to look at this for me as I know many of the folks here are busy themselves. Thanks and kind regards mrbrooks Pages from Benefits_Credits_Letter_20161021_P1_Redacted.pdf
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Child maintenance calculator READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-child-maintenance
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I must be getting old. Child Care costs can cost upto 164.00 a week. People borrowing off payday lenders and using credit cards to pay for this. Can you believe this.It must be like a nightmare for many. How do you manage for you out there who have to pay this charge. 2 kids more than some earn i feel.328.00. I am feeling quite sorry for those that have no choice but to pay this. You may have a decent job,studied for years,even have perhaps degrees but wiped out with these costs. It has truly shocked me how times have changed and changing now day to day across the UK As the cost of a childcare place hits £164 a week, one in four of Northern Ireland parents say they have to use credit cards or payday loans to pay for it http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/as-the-cost-of-a-childcare-place-hits-164-a-week-one-in-four-of-northern-ireland-parents-say-they-have-to-use-credit-cards-or-payday-loans-to-pay-for-it-34180903.html -
Hello all, this is my first time posting so please be gentle. The long and short of it is my daughter has been extremely hard work from birth and only when she reached 9 did we get some answers and diagnosis or her problems. These include hypermobility, attention deficit disorder, sensory processing disorder, dyspraxia and sleep disorders. Her primary school were very restrictive and actively prevented us gaining outside help for her but we applied for dla (my dates are very rough so please excuse me!) around 2011 when she was around 9/10 and were refused, we eventually went to appeal in around 2012 (yes it really took that long!) the appeal was informal and not too stressful and we were awarded middle rate care which was awarded for 2 years but about 20 months of that was backdated so it ran out within 4 months and we reapplied in 2014 and again were refused, again we went to appeal which took until May this year (her now being 13)... the appeal was highly distressing so say the least, it took place in the magistrates court 2/3 of the panel were very aggressive in their questioning .. constantly almost trying to catch me out ... I felt like i was on trial for murder rather than just trying to get what my daughter is entitled too! We were awarded lower rate care backdated and in place until feb 2016 (2 years again with only a few months left until reclaiming), but were told there was more recent information that they couldn't take into consideration but we should submit that information to a super cession for care. So we did this and last week received a no for care and the reclaim pack for her mobility/dla claim ........ I am now in a predicament .... they already said no for care and the mobility is up for renewal. I categorically know they will not award it and I know for a fact I will need to return to tribunal which I honestly do not think I can cope with, the stress of the situation has put me on higher dose antidepressants for anxiety and stress! Yet I feel an injustice that I am having to go through all this? The money massively helps replace items such as clothing my child eats/bedding she ruins and carpets and such like, it also allows her to partake in activities during the holidays especially for her, so it is important. I even had input from somebody from the disablement action group with the tribunals but they appear to be very busy and I cant think about doing through all this again, does anyone have any advice? Thank you x
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hi Our child was involved in an accident and the case has got a date in the county court.the other driver crashed into our car when he was drunk,then got out and seen the damage he had caused,jumped back in his car and drove off. Now the drunk was never charged for been drunk or leaving the scene,even though the police were called.the drunk river now says it was only 2mph crash,even though damage to our car was £3000. Will our child have to give evidence or what actually happens in the county court??? will the judge look t the evidence himself and make a decision? is the court room going to be full of people or just the parties involved? -
Hi. My 15y old child is banned from an M&S store for swearing at a member of staff. Is the company allowed to throw us out of the store 6 months later when I decide to go in there together with my child to buy clothes? Thank you
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Can you remember Christmas Day as a child.-Your presents. What memories do you have of this day.
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hi. HMRC have send me a letter claiming that I own them money which was overpaid to me over the period of last two years. I don't dispute the overpayment amount yet as I did't go through my paperwork yet. Letter they send me was dated 10/08/2015 and in the letter they stated that they giving me time until 10/08/2015 to appeal (yes, I had only day to appeal their decision). Is there any way I can dispute the overpayment on the basis that HMRC did' give me no time to appeal their decision? Thanks
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Hi Looking for some advice for a friend. Mother earns £60,000 per year and father around £30,000. 2 children. Now parents going through divorce. Can father who has joint custody now claim child benefit and tax credits as he below the threshold for both benefits. Thanks
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My daughter is 17, almost 18 (November 2015).....When she started her 6th form years in 2014, ie years 12/13, I guess, she started at college but due to ill health she had to leave. She is on her way to recovery and has with any luck been given the opportunity to do an apprenticeship at a shop near where we live. Does she qualify for Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit? The Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit ended some time ago, as she was not in education, not by choice, but that didn't seem to matter. She gets PIP for herself, which I take no money from her, as thats for her condition....The problem is, I get ESA and DLA for myself and no money for her. so my benefit for one person is now split into 2, for myself and my daughter and has been for some time now. Do only "some" apprenticeships warrant Child Benefit and/or Child Tax Credit? Or do apprenticeships not count as education? ( I know you need to be in receipt of child benefit to get child tax credit) but I don't really know what to do. I'm hit by the bedroom tax, £15.55 pw, I have to pay £72pw towards my care, I just wondered if there was any shimmering light of hope at the end of a tunnel, where I might get some help? Anyone got any ideas?
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Child Identity Theft – How Safe is Your Child’s Identity ID theft is not just limited to adults. Children are just as much at risk of having their identity stolen. Unfortunately theft of a child’s identity can go undetected for years, which is why children can be a tempting target for identity thieves. In America, the Federal Trade Commission found children make up the fastest growing segment of identity theft victims.* The UK does not experience this crime to the same degree as our personal data is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998, however with the rise of social media children are increasingly susceptible in cyberspace. What is child identity theft? Child identity theft occurs when an identity thief steals a child’s personal details to commit fraud and other types of crimes. It is easy for criminals to set up new accounts as children tend to have clean credit records. This type of identity theft is not usually reported because parents have no suspicion their child’s identity has been taken let alone the child themselves which allows the criminal to use the information for many years. How do I know if my child’s identity has been compromised? Your child gets a bill for something they haven’t ordered. They get emails from an organisation they don’t recognise. They receive letters regarding government benefits or tax payments. They begin receiving credit applications and credit card and bank offers under his or her name. Your application to open a bank account for your child is denied due to poor credit history. What can my child do to protect him/herself when going online? Make sure you teach your child about privacy and that they aware of the information they must not reveal, such as name, address, phone number or school. Be careful of what they share online and with whom. Ensure they don’t accept friend requests from strangers on popular sites like Facebook and Twitter. If your child goes on chatrooms encourage them to stay anonymous as they may find themselves to talking to people they don’t know. What can I do to protect my child’s identity online? Check the privacy settings on any online social networking sites your child’s is signed up to and don’t forget to also check the device settings on smartphones or tablets that they may use. Monitor what information is being shared and made public through simply checking search engines for your child’s name. Be vigilant and monitor their social media and chatroom use, such as only allowing them to use it your presence and looking over the chat room before your child joins it. Block pop ups, to prevent your child being tempted to click on them and potentially release malicious software. If your child’s identity has been stolen they must change their passwords to any online sites immediately as well as any security questions. If they have become a victim of fraud report it to Action Fraud. http://www.blog.noddle.co.uk/child-identity-theft-how-safe-is-your-childs-identity/?utm_campaign=Noddle+Newsletter+100815&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content= -
Hi i have had a similar experience with a child minder She took me via MCOL to a county court over a debt the claim was struck out but now she has instructed bailiffs.(correction -a dca - DX) What I need to know is if the claim was struck out how come she can instruct bailiffs , has she broken any laws in doing so and can i now counter claim? -
I've just read a letter addressed to my partner. unknown to me, she has had a single person claim ongoing despite us moving in together in May 2012. she has been overpaid by over £8000 and we are more than worried by this. I have asked why this hadn't been sorted, she couldn't really say, besides arguing wont solve this. according to calculators the amount of tax credits we WOULD have had is very close to what she has received. She is naive with money I believe and has buried her head somewhat to this , now we're up the creek so to speak. I don't believe her intentions were fraudulent or deliberate more silly. however I have told her she needs to get on the phone and sort this out tomorrow. some information about our household: Living as a couple since may 2012 Parents to two children whom live at our address our income from May 2012 - July 2015 was as follows: Income support - £160 odd fortnightly (for both) Child Benefit - £34 per week Carers allowance ( paid to myself looking after a relative ) - £62 per week. Child Tax Credit ( claimed as a single person ) - £117 per week appx: £1170 per month. I have read about a potential for offsetting the overpayment against the correct claim amounts had it been done. which would likely drop this overpayment bill to below £500. I am trying to sort this out as I have just started a new full time job and want everything to be above board. £8000+ of tax debt will cripple us a family. I fully accept this is a significant mistake on our behalf and had I known , I would have acted sooner. any advice would be greatly appreciated. many thanks.
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