Serious benefit issues

[thegct]

Hi there, i'm new to the forums so i shall introduce myself, I'm Tom.

 

I've been having problems since october last year whilst claiming benefits, this is made even harder by the fact I am only 17 (for another 20 days).

 

I have been living away from my parents since I was 14, and suffer from Agoraphobia and Depression, I was advised to claim incapacity benefit to cover my living costs.

However, under the rules for claiming Incapacity Benefit in youth, I need 28 weeks worth of sick notes, and only have them for 14 weeks, leaving me unable to claim for another 14 weeks.

My housing benefit was also paid for 2 months, but this was stopped as I could not provide proof of income (something hard to do when you have no income).

I have called the benefits on numerous occasions only to be passed from pillar to post, as nobody seems to know what else there is that I can do.

 

As it stands, I owe 3 months rent, 2 months utility charges and am only eating thanks to friends lending me the odd £20 here and there.

 

So what I was getting to is, has anybody been in a similar situation, or known of anybody in a similar situation? If so could anybody offer any advice on what I should do for the next 14 weeks, I'm trying to scrape together some money just to pay at least a month of my arrears so as not to be evicted.

 

I'm so lost with what to do, the system doesn't seem to have any contingency for people stuck in waiting periods.

Nobody at the JCP has given me a straight answer, and I'm at my wits end.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Tom

[Zamzara]

If you have no income you are entitled to maximum housing benefit. You really should have appealed at the time, but make another claim straight away and ask for a late appeal on the grounds you are ill and have been waiting for advice. If you were not told of your right to appeal then add this to your grounds. Councils sometimes try to dodge appeals by claiming the claim has been 'closed' or something similar, but case law has established that 'closing' a case counts as a decision on entitlement with a right of appeal and a written decsion telling you this must be supplied.

 

While you are waiting the 6 months for incapacity benefit under youth rules to kick in, you should have been getting income support, so claim this as well. This has been made more complex by the change from incapacity benefit/income support to the new benefit called ESA, but if you have to claim ESA instead you may even be better off.

[thegct]

Typical!

I put in a claim for Income Support, only to recieve a letter saying I was not entitled to it as I am under 18 and not in education or in reciept of other benefits.

 

As for housing benefit, how would I go about the appeal process?

I was made aware that I could appeal, but the letter was worded well and clearly stated that they NEEDED proof of income, which I do not have.

I did state in my letters that I am being hounded constantly by my live-in landlord for the rent I haven't paid and that I'm living off hand outs from friends, to which they asked for letters from said friends confirming this.

 

Do I just need to send one letter from a friend who has lent me money, or do I need to make them all write a letter EVERY time i ask for a fiver for some dinner?

[Zamzara]

Typical!

I put in a claim for Income Support, only to recieve a letter saying I was not entitled to it as I am under 18 and not in education or in reciept of other benefits.

 

This doesn't sound right. If you are incapable of work you can get IS at the age of 16 if you claimed before 27th October. If you make a new claim now it will probably be for ESA, but your ongoing incapacity benefit claim complicates things.

 

As for housing benefit, how would I go about the appeal process?

I was made aware that I could appeal, but the letter was worded well and clearly stated that they NEEDED proof of income, which I do not have.

I did state in my letters that I am being hounded constantly by my live-in landlord for the rent I haven't paid and that I'm living off hand outs from friends, to which they asked for letters from said friends confirming this.

 

Do I just need to send one letter from a friend who has lent me money, or do I need to make them all write a letter EVERY time i ask for a fiver for some dinner?

They can state what they like but the law says if you have no income, you get maximum HB. You could prove this with bank statements as well as your own statement of this: this is what an appeal tribunal would look at.

 

You can appeal by asking them for an appeal form. Did the letter clearly state that it is a decision notice that you have no entitlement? If not, you could argue that they did not communicate their decision properly, so that the time limit has not started to run.

[sandra1wilson]

have you contacted your local County Council childrens services? They have a duty of care until you are 18 and there is a fund they can access - I can not remember exact what it is called but I know a friend had a similar situation and they provided the 'basic' food money (that currently your friends are offering) that you need until your claim is resolved which could help (and they put pressure on the benefits staff to process your claim properly so they do not have to pay you any longer than they need to!)

[thegct]

This doesn't sound right. If you are incapable of work you can get IS at the age of 16 if you claimed before 27th October. If you make a new claim now it will probably be for ESA, but your ongoing incapacity benefit claim complicates things.

 

Right, well I attended an appointment at the job center with my connexions advisor back in November, with the U-18 benefit's advisor.

And what you've just said is similar to what she said, only she filled out the form for IS and sent that off, and told me to WAIT, and NOT send the IB form off until i have the full 28 weeks of sick notes.

 

Which I assume from what you've just said was the wrong way round?

I've tried to sort this out with connexions over the last few days, as it's getting a bit desperate here.

 

Should I send my claim for IB in NOW, despite not having the full 28 weeks of sick notes, and then claim IS?

 

(It'd really kill them to make this more simple wouldn't it!)

[emmaf01]

Phone your local council and speak to the welfare rights officer. They will advise you of entitlements, help with any application forms and represent you in any appeals against decisions.

 

They are generally listed under the "Advice and Benefits" section of your local council website.

 

They are a godsend and saved my skin on many occasions when dealing with the (useless) DWP.

 

I hope this helps.