Its Not A Crime! - BR 28 Feb

[The GodMother]

yep it sounds it.

 

Hopefully sister will get lucky with one place if not i would advise a Postoffice account and money gets paid to sister and bills etc come out of a acc on daughters behalf.

 

l know it sounds bad having to do it this way but at least bills are being paid.

 

with the postoffice account u can aslo name someone else to be able to withdraw your benefits so if she is to ill or in hospital at least stuff can be paid.

 

Chrissi

[sisternumber1]

Thanks every one, have sorted some things the rest will have to wait till Monday. Still have to find a way to get the HB, daughter needs that money now that she has paid the rent by using her other benefits, she now has not a penny until another payment comes through, towards end of next week, provided the various benefits agencies dont take forever to move her over to GIRO payments while we wait for a bank account to be sorted. There is about £500 owing by HB. Any sugestions from any one of how to approach this? I will plead with them on Monday to see if there is anything that can be done - need to pay her utilities next week - she cannot afford to be without heat. Now I know that people have said about the post office bank account - can HB go into that? I have worked out how to pay her rent without DD, can go to the Bank and pay in cash, and as long as we make sure that the relevent reference is on it they seem not to mind.

 

Its so difficult getting things sorted for some one who only feels well enough occassionaly to go out and do things, and the pavements in this town are a disgrace - pity every one who has children in prams as well as people in wheelchairs, my daughter ended up in extra pain as I wheeled her around town last Wednesday - she now doesnt want to go out again in a hurry!

[The GodMother]

the basic post office account that i am thinking of is for benefits only which would include HB. You will be able to prove it is HB any way as it will have a special code and it will say council housing benefit or something like that.

 

the only other thing is that other benefits like SF loans can be piad into here as well.

 

They are not allowed to accept checks for this account but maybe you could look up more infor on the postoffice accoun buy looking on there website.

 

www.postoffice.co.uk.

 

It should give more info and you may be able to find a application form on there as well.

[sisternumber1]

OK just got home, before I go to take daughter to Addenbrookes for Dialysis. Letter addressed to my daughter at my address. From HB Office they have suspended her Housing and Council tax benefit because her Income support address is different to her HB address. But it isnt, she still lives in her rented house. This letter should have gone there, but I am glad it didnt. They have my address becasue I am down as the person they can talk to regarding her HB and council Tax benefit. How can they do that and it says on the letter there is no appeal - they have got this so wrong - and we can do nothing until Monday - How can so much keep going wrong? How can they do this to her? and to send the letter so that it arrives on a Saturday so that they know there is nothing that can be done for two days, its just so very unfair

[The GodMother]

I am thinking they have made a mistake here.

 

You are acting as her appointee which means the case can be discussed with you if needs to be, like your daughter is in hospital or something.

 

This does not mean your daughter lives at the same addy as you.

 

Just speak to them on monday every decision can be appealed especially if they have mixed the info up like they have on this case.

 

I would also formally complain about this aswell. Make sure you get the name of the person who all complaints go to when you call them on monday.

 

Shout if you need anything.

 

Chrissi

[tiglet]

Or go down and ask to speak to a manager and explain everything - you may get things sorted quicker that way.

[sisternumber1]

I will be going down first thing Monday mornng armed with tenancy agreement, HB award and Income support award, all of which are for the same address. Having a son in law who used to be a local councillor and who still has contacts at the council will get me the name of the person who to complain to, and I will be writing to our MP again about this - this at least he can do something about - I am not letting him of the hook as far as my daughter is concerned - I am going to shout and scream about this one and I am going to the local press this time - think its about time that I use some of the networks that I have been reluctant to do so far. Maybe its as well that I had time to cool off, if that letter had arrived yesterday morning I hate to think what I might have done to the person at the desk of the HB office, whos fault it probably wasnt.

[The GodMother]

well we sound very alike then sister when this sort of thing happens. My partner usually lets me deal with it as i cause them a problem and l cause them lots of embarrsment.

 

I also talk very loudly about there in abilitys.

[tiglet]

Have you thought about approaching your local councillor as well as your MP? they can often help at a local level as they seem to have more time to spare to deal with this sort of thing.

[sisternumber1]

Well the HB has been sorted - it was apparently the Job Centres fault, they gave her address as c/o me! no idea why as nowhere on any form has that address been written down, and her Income Support letter doesnt have it on either - the only people who have my address is the HB Office on the letter saying that they have to speak to me.

 

Opening Post office account has to wait till Wednesday, daughter not at all well (its too cold to push her round town today) and Tuesday is Dialysis day.

 

Nothing from OR, have left a message this morning reminding him that she exists, hope that everything that I am doing is not out of order. All the creditors should have had their copies today, inlcuding the Local Council, for the Council tax that that dreadful woman left for my daughter to pay, I hand delivered it and have a receipt.

 

I am sure there is more to do, but seasonal bug has got the better of my head, living in cotton wool.

[The GodMother]

have your self a nice whiskey that will help with the seasonal bug. It does with me. Make sure you have no ice or coke with it as it wont work.

 

Well done for sorting this out and getting them to admitt there failure. Now you need to tackle a compalint to Job Centre due to the fact they gave out faulse info.

 

If you are feeling up to it of course.

 

Chrissi

[sisternumber1]

Well just spoken to the OR - what a nice chappie - loads of forms coming out in the post to be filled. They will not be taking any money from her - and she will be discharged as soon as all the paperwork is sorted and the creditors agree, could be about 8 months. He did warn me though about banks selling on blocks of debts without the banks warning the people who buy the debts that they are as a result of bankruptcy - surely that should be illegal?

 

Oh well back to work for a little longer before I go home and put my feet up for a few hours

[fermi]

That all sounds a lot better.

 

I'm afraid the debts can quite often be sold on.:o

 

However, when she is discharged you can get all the entries on the Credit Reference Files sorted out so that all the former debts are marked in some way to show that they have been settled/satisfied. That is a big help in preventing anyone trying to sell/collect them when they shouldn't be.

 

When that time comes, the instructions in the link below should help get this done. In that there are further links to the letters to send, and to the correct complaints procedures with the Information Commissioner to follow if any refuse.

 

CREDIT REFERENCE FILE CLEAN UP – POST BANKRUPTCY

 

But that's a while in the future.

 

Glad the examiner you spoke to was friendly and helpful.

 

Assuming the forms they are sending you are the normal standard set, then there isn't very much to them.

[The GodMother]

well at least you have spoken to the OR. I did u ask why it took so long.

[sisternumber1]

well at least you have spoken to the OR. I did u ask why it took so long.

 

his work load has increased significantly since the start of the year!

 

Daughter in hospital again! Monday night in intensive care at local hospital, now back at Addenbrookes. few hours to sort things at work then back to the hospital - she will probably be out again by the w/e

[The GodMother]

let us know how she is doing.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Chrissi

[sisternumber1]

she ended up in Addenbrookes intensive care unit for most of last week, since yesterday back on a ward. I slept at the hospital for most of last week. Everything on hold right now. First look at a computer since I last wrote here.

[fermi]

she ended up in Addenbrookes intensive care unit for most of last week, since yesterday back on a ward. I slept at the hospital for most of last week. Everything on hold right now. First look at a computer since I last wrote here.

 

Sorry to hear that.

 

I hope things improve, and you know where we are if there's anything we can help with.

 

Best wishes.

 

fermi

[Hopeful1]

she ended up in Addenbrookes intensive care unit for most of last week, since yesterday back on a ward. I slept at the hospital for most of last week. Everything on hold right now. First look at a computer since I last wrote here.

 

Best wishes Sisternumber1.

[The GodMother]

Were here if you need anything even a chat.

 

Glad she id doing better now.

[sisternumber1]

Daughter Back home.

 

Today filled in the forms that arrived from the OR - very simple in our case as he only wanted one piece of additional information.

 

Barclays have offered her a cash account. She has accepted the offer as this is the better solution as some of her bills have to be paid by DD or SO, and there will be a nice lot of HB due as soon as we have the account number. Actually the bank has been amazingly nice to my daughter, the OR seems to have sent a copy of the reasons for my daughters bankruptcy to all concerned, which has certainly made life a little easier.

 

A couple of other things still need sorting, but we think we are on top of it all now, or at least I hope so.

[Goldlady]

Glad to hear things are getting sorted out sister. Have a restful weekend after all you have been through.

[fermi]

Things seem to be settling out a little now.

 

In a case like this it's unlikely that the OR will have many issues to trouble you with. So with little to concern her there, and hassle from the creditors a thing of the past, I hope she can relax a bit and concentrate on getting as well as is possible.

 

fermi

[The GodMother]

Glad your daughter is home now sister.

 

Hope you both have a nice relaxing W/e.

 

Chrissi

[sisternumber1]

Well, Barclays say 14 days till she will have details of her new bank account, that was last Wednesday. MBNA/Virgin, have already sold the debt on and we have had a letter from the solicitors of whom the debt has been sold to (Eversheds) saying that they will be dealing with the OR and we should not hear from them again! for the new financial year my daughter has just been awarded 100% council tax and Housing Benefit, HB really does seem to be an ongoing lottery. Virgin Media are being on the one hand very nice and on the other hand very tardy, still trying to sort out the new account, that dreadful woman from Belfast is trying to pass the bill that she is responsible for on to my daughter! But we have a friendly and helpful person in the CEOs dept sorting it all out.

 

My daughter was last week told that there is nothing that can be done about her non-mending bones - the surgery would 1. not work and 2. might kill her. She is till very poorly, and just wants her family around her, is refusing even to let friends in at the moment, she says she does not want the mental hassle of working out who to trust; isnt that so sad? We are sorting out all her possessions so that she knows where everything is.

 

Oh, and the job centre have called her in for interview - I think that I will be talking to them on Tuesday - they want to help her get back to work - It may be vary difficult to get her to the Job Centre for the interview - is there any way we can circumvent this - suggestions and pointers greatly appreciated.