Entitlement help needed.

[crobinson]

I have been sacked from my job pending an apeal (the thread is in the employment section), i have no idea what i am entitled to claim.

 

There is myself, partner and 2 kids (4 & 1), i have a mortgage that is £592 a month plus other obvious bills (water, Electric, council tax, couch repayments, car & house insurance, cable bills etc)

We now have no income apart from child benefit and tax credits and i have no savings and my partner does not work.

Does anybody know what i may be entitled to claim, obviously i will be actively seeking a job once my appeal is rejected.

Went the job centre (first time in about a decade) and its all changed, they basically dont want any stuff done in person, its all computers and phoning for your entitlement....cant even get in 2 speak to anybody without an appointment.

 

Any help to what i may be able to claim wud be great, my mortgage is due to come out in just under a week, i can take a payment holiday for 2 months (i know it will cost me a few quid in the long run) that may be me only option as im not getting a full months pay this month as i was sacked 21 days into the month.....

[scousegeezer]

Hi there,

I was made unemployed in April, never been unemployed before. However, I have learned some things since then Lucky me start a job on 7/9/09. Besides the point.

First of all ring the tax credit people to advise a change of circumstances. Then confirm in writing. Make a note of the name of the person you speak to and the time and date, also refer to that concersation in your letter of confirmation. Dont want them to claim a load of money back from you later when you cant afford to repay it.

Then phone in to start your claim. Make surre you tell them when you want to claim from , if its a few days ago that you were sacked. Tell them you want to claim income based jobseekers allowance. For this you and your partner will have to attend a joint interviewfor your first signing on and you will have to produce evidence of income and savings. Last two months bank statements etc. Whilst at that interview advise them that you also wish to claim housing benefit and council tax benefit. Once finished at the "dole" , go to your local council offices; they usually have a one stop shop and make your housing and council tax benefit applications. Take with you the evidence of registering as unemployed - your signng on card etc. Oh by the way, you will have to take evidence of identity to the dole and council as well. So passport and usual things to prove i.d . Hope this helps you

 

Do it today , dont delay. Dont give them any excuse to delay your payments, as they will if you give them reason..

 

Cheers - Scousegeezer.

[crobinson]

Cheers Scousegeezer

As i am not working now am i no longer entitled to any tax credits?, if i am will it go up or down?? i declared my exepected income for this year, its very likely to be less now.

My partner did not work at all last year, i submitted my earnings a few weeks ago....

 

Do you know if there is anything i can claim in regards to my mortgage??

I dont thnk its protected, or atleast i cant see it anywhere on the paperwork.

 

Congrats on the new job, hope it works out.

[crobinson]

Will just add i dont get ANY working tax credits anyway, i only get family tax credits...

[scousegeezer]

To be honest I dont know how it will affect your tax credits, I just said it because because it is something you are already getting. AND you must report any changes - thats what they will jump on, if you dont tell them. You must tell everything that changes to anyone who may want to know, just to save problems later on. JUST OPINION, but I think thats were some people fall down and then they come on this site to get their problems sorted out.

As far as your mortgage is concerned, see how you go with claiming housing benefit, but just to be on the safe side; research the governments recent fund to assist homeowners. Someone on here will be able to point you in the right direction for that.

Dont know much about it, as being an "older " person , my mortgage is paid off. As stated earlier, I have never been unemployed in my life - 39yrs of working - until April of this year. So just learning about all this really. However, I will be starting a job in Sept and my salary will be so low, that I am eligible for tax credits, for low salary and for age as well. BUT the stupid thing is, I will be working for a Govt. agency - but because of low salary , the Govt will pay me tax credits. WHY DONT THEY JUST GIVE US A LIVEABLE WAGE IN THE FIRST PLACE AND SAVE ALL THE MESSING ABOUT ???? . OH WELL.

 

Good Luck to you. - Cheers , Scousegeezer.

[crobinson]

Cheers for the help scousegeezer.

I have a number given to me by the job centre to call and see what i can get.

May just knock the mortgage on the head for 2 months anyway as im sure there is a wait (as long as 13 weeks) to be able to claim on the mortgage, not ideal as i will be paying bits more when it restarts but i will hopefully be more sorted by then.

[scousegeezer]

Take the mortgage "holiday" by all means, but dont delay with applying for housing benefit or applying for the govts help to homeowners. These things take time to sort out and if you leave them and apply later ypu may find its too late to save your home. I am a great believer in action, not procrastination - DO IT NOW.

 

Cheers - Scousegeezer

[Aviva]

You are not entitled to Housing Benefit. This only covers rental payments not mortgage payments. I don't own my home so not sure of the ins and outs but you will probably be able to get some sort of help with your mortgage. I think you are right that there is a delay in between when you become unemployed and when they start helping with the mortgage so it is best to contact the company and find out what advice (if any) they can give you.

[sandysue103]

As Aviva has said, you cannot claim Housing Benefit as this is for rental payments only. You can make a claim for Council Tax Benefit. If you are fit and actively seeking work then you can make a claim for Jobseekers Allowance and as you and your partner have children, you can claim Jobseekers Allowance as a couple. You must inform the Tax Credit helpline of your change in circumstances immediately as you do not want to incur an overpayment. Your working tax credit will stop. Your child tax credit may continue as this is now the element that pays for children but how much you receive depends on what income you currently have. Ask them to base it on your current income. Claim benefits immediately through the 0800 number. It's not that the DWP will seek to deliberately seek to delay your payments but a claim is only taken as straightforward from the day it is made. If you want to make a claim from a date before your first date of contact then you can apply to have your claim backdated but this is not an automatic entitlement. You may qualify for a run on with tax credits depending on how long you have been working and what you have been receiving and if this is the case then JSA will not be payable for the period you receive tax credits. I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to whether you will receive this so ask the Tax Credit people when you report your change of circumstances. You can ask to claim for help with your mortgage payments through the Jobcentreplus but there are qualifying conditions which have recently changed and I am unsure of them and again wouldn't like to hazard a guess. I am sure someone with more current knowledge than I will come along shortly. If you find you don't qualify for the traditional mortgage help throught the Jobcentreplus then please look on the DirectGov website as I believe there may be government programmes for assistance with mortgages?

 

Hope that is some help. Chin up.

[crobinson]

Thanks for the replys.

 

Can my partner and i make job seekers claim as a couple even if she IS NOT actively seeking work?

 

I will be taking a 2 month break from my mortgage, will have 2 sort that tomorrow, will have to as i was dismissed on the 21st so will only get a proportion of my wage.....and my 1 month notice will be dalyed until my appeal has failed

 

Can you claim JSA and Tax credits at the same time??

 

Its been so long since i claimed anything.

 

I have declared an estimated income to the tax office for this year, if i phoned them and informed them i was out of work im worried this would reduce or even stop...its the only weekly income we have (it and CB are the ONLY income we have at moment) and comes in handy weekley. As i said i dont qualify for any working tax credits as my wage was too high.

 

It really is a minefield and there are so many people mainpulating the benefit system it does tempt you to do the same to ensure we dont struggle, especially building up to xmas, but i dont want to do that.

[jqinfo]

As far as I can recall, you make the claim on behalf of your family unit, ie, partner and children. If you are living together, you are a couple and they assess you that way. Child Tax Credits will still be paid if you are entitled to JSA/IS and have childen. This element used to be included within JSA/IS but is now a separate entity. If your youngest is in his/her first year then an extra premium is payable so make sure you are getting it! JSA does have "housing costs" but as previously stated this has recently changed due to economic climate and I think it is 13 wks to wait. There are other initiatives that have been intorduced by Gov so Google it!

If you have the time and concentration, go to the library and take a look at the Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook (latest edition - May, it is renewed each year) it explains all and is the CAB bible! & of course there is the CAB who can do a Quick Benefits Calculation! You should get max Council Tax Benefit award if on JSA.

 

Good luck and please do not try to manipulate the system, the truth will out and then where will you all be?

 

JQ

[Jack Daniels]

JSA will pay you and your partrner

 

Tax credits will pay you for your children, you need to make a claim for child tax credits, ring them tell them you have finished work and are claiming JSA. You get the extra help off them if your youngest child is under one.

 

Apply for help with your mortgage whilst making you JSA claim, it doesnt matter if you are having a holiday from payments it will help towards your 13 week waiting time

 

Apply for council tax benefit, you should get the full amount.

 

good luck

[crobinson]

Thanks for the help, got a benefits meeting today so hopefully i am not on my arse when it come to paying the bills....no idea how much i will get overall but with my mortgage in (£600 pm) my bills we getting on for £1000 a month....

 

So i need to get myself sorted asap with a job, only had 10 or so days of no work and im ready to crack up already.

 

Cheers again.

[jqinfo]

Thanks for the help, got a benefits meeting today so hopefully i am not on my arse when it come to paying the bills....no idea how much i will get overall but with my mortgage in (£600 pm) my bills we getting on for £1000 a month....

 

So i need to get myself sorted asap with a job, only had 10 or so days of no work and im ready to crack up already.

 

Cheers again.

 

 

Good luck with your meeting, I hope it's with someone independent and impartial, because they can work out what's best for you, rather than the benefits dept deciding what's best in their best interest!!

 

JQ

[antone]

Good luck with your meeting, I hope it's with someone independent and impartial, because they can work out what's best for you, rather than the benefits dept deciding what's best in their best interest!!

 

JQ

 

I think we need to be fair here. The "Benefits Department" doesn't work on the basis of what's in their best interest. It's not like benefits are paid out of our wages or anything like that.

 

Staff are expected to apply the law, in an attempt to protect both those who are in trouble and need help, and the taxpayer. It's a tricky tightrope to walk.

[jqinfo]

Applying the law is one thing, giving you the information that you need or that is sufficient to keep the benefits bill low is another! I know many many people who have not been given the true advice that they need to get the best case scenario for them and even more that have been told blatantly they were not entitled to something that they were entitled to! I speak from experience of dealing with our local offices and working in an advice agency. You obviously live in a much better run, more responsible area. The gov't dictates the targets etc and the various offices have to follow orders, whether they like it or not, unfortunately there are not enough people campaigning for social policy issues to fight this corner!

 

JQ