Me and My benefits saga..

[lottiesnan]

I am a 53 year old woman.live alone, working 20 hours a week on minimum wage. get a small amount of tax credits ..Pay full council tax and only get £19 of my rent........after i then pay all my other bills and monthly bus fares

I know i was definatly better off on benefits...

 

However i need to work for my sanity

Back to the original question

 

I suffer with Restless leg syndrome and take Topamax and Zopiclone... Do i qualify for a perscription excemption certificate and if so how do i apply.. At the end of the month i have barely enough to eat let alone get my percription,but without them i would be in trouble!! And i wear glasses and have a nhs dentist that i am happy with both of which i would be unable to affored were i not helped in some way...

Thankyou for advise.

[Nystagmite]

Do you receive any disability benefits? You may find it cheaper to apply for a pre-payment card - it's £104 per year.

[Life-Goes-On]

Fill out a HC1form.

[Nystagmite]

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Documents/HealthCosts/Tax_Credits_flowchart.pdf explains the criteria for the NHS tax credits help with health costs card.

[lottiesnan]

Thankyou for replies ..I checked today and i dont get any help with nhs. Thankyou again

[flumps1976]

I would still recommend completing form HC1 as that form is processed looking at both your income and expenditure.

[lottiesnan]

Where do i get the form from..??

[flumps1976]

How to claim

 

You'll need to complete form HC1 from a Jobcentre Plus office or NHS hospital. You may also be able to get an HC1 from your doctor, dentist or optician.

You can also get an HC1 form by contacting the Health Cost advice line on 0845 850 1166.

[lottiesnan]

thankyou very much...

[lottiesnan]

Have just been offered a job Hours are

 

tues wed and thurs

 

11am till 3pm

 

and every other weekend

saturday 9am till 5.30 pm

sunday 10 am till 4pm

thats over 14 days 38 hours.

I know im eligable for working tax credit but is that enough hours

Its 12 hoursone week and 26 and half the next.... Confused...I wouldnt be able to accept it if i didnt get help... Thankyou in advance

[tam65]

you should get WTC, just put 19 hours per week on the form, don't bother trying to explain that it is an average to HMRC they don't check claims in that much detail. I used to work for them, good luck in your new job

T65

[ErikaPNP]

To claim WTC, you need to be working 30 hours a week, or 16 if you have children or a disability. You should certainly "bother" to explain it in detail to enable a correct calculation. Initial claims may not be checked but they do perform data matches over the years against tax records amongst other things, and they do have compliance teams who will check - be it two weeks or ten years down the line.

 

We cannot condone fraud or encouragement of it on CAG.

[lottiesnan]

i thought as i am over 50 and will be coming off jsa i had to work 16 hours to get working tax credit?? am i misinformed?

[jadeybags]

i thought as i am over 50 and will be coming off jsa i had to work 16 hours to get working tax credit?? am i misinformed?

 

With the over 50 element?

 

If so, 16 hour week, with over 50 element, earning 400 per month = aprox 62 pounds per week working tax credit.

[lottiesnan]

Great thankyou very much

[ErikaPNP]

Oh, yes of course - the 50 + element! Silly me!

 

Yes it is 16 hours for that, if you are going into work after receiving specific benefits (JSA is counted) for 6 months or more.

 

More detailed info here

[lottiesnan]

moved to new thread

Edited March 9, 2011 by lottiesnan

[lottiesnan]

I have just closed my jsa claim as i start work tomorrow...I will be paid calender monthly so will not receive any money or a wage slip till the 27th of April...

 

I can scrape by ...Just... but i wont be able to pay rent or council tax and i have filled out a change of circumstance form and attached letter that asks for patience while the transistion from benefit to work takes place.. I have also written to my landlord saying the same.......

 

I am not eligible for the 4 week run on or the job grant ...

Now i have a form to take into work tomorrow ( certificate of earnings) that my manager has to fill out but it has a section that says Please provide earnings for the last 5 weekly,3 Fortnightly,or 2 monthly periods.

As i only start tomorrow is that left blank.

With just the

Normal hours and Normal Wages filled in.......??

Its all very confusing and i know by experience niether the housing association or the local council are pleasant when it comes to late payments ,whatever the reason.......

[id6052]

as you are only starting work, it is not possible to complete the earnings certificate

 

however, you could provide your contract of employment or a letter from your employer confirming what your wages are expected to be - hand this evidence into the council and ask them to assess your benefit by estimating your earnings from this information, and agree to provide your payslips once you start to receive them

 

most councils would work on this basis, if they refuse to do so, put in an official complaint

[lottiesnan]

Thankyou i will gather all i can and pass it on to them..

[jadeybags]

I had to supply my work contract as I was the same, no payslips to start with. First job since being on income support for years. I did take in a payslip when I got one, but it wasn't a full months one by the time we all got paid. They didn't ask me for a second one, they just re adjusted my earnings to a lower amount, which I didn't realise, I mean who assumes someone is getting less than their contract says?? Only the council could. And because I had a months run on of full housing benefit, I was none the wiser & went through 2 years of being over paid housing benefit.

So the months run on doesn't help some people anyway tbh! lol

Just make sure you take a second payslip down. Woman at work recently had her benefit stopped because she didn't take a second payslip down. I so wish they had done that with me! But apparently they dont have to ask you for a second payslip, according to my council. Someone that's never claimed whilst working should have known to take another one down, & know how they work it all out. Hmmm...

Would just hate to see someone else go through that.

[lottiesnan]

I think its shocking...This government bleets on about getting people back into work and make it as hard as possible.

I suffer with anxiety and post traumatic stress so it dosnt take a lot for these little hiccups to become hugh problems..

I am just waiting for the housing association letter to drop on the doormat saying im in arrears :0.

[jadeybags]

I think its shocking...This government bleets on about getting people back into work and make it as hard as possible.

I suffer with anxiety and post traumatic stress so it dosnt take a lot for these little hiccups to become hugh problems..

I am just waiting for the housing association letter to drop on the doormat saying im in arrears :0.

 

Exactly. I went through a lone parent advisor at the job centre, I hadn't even been asked to go, I was bored & wanted to get out to work now the kids were getting older, but my youngest wasn't yet 12 & that was when they wanted people to go out to work by the time the youngest was 12. Anyway, I didn't have a clue how I was supposed to go from income support to working, so went & had better off calculations done, was told I would need to pay towards rent, but would be better off, I found my own job, but the lone parent advisor helped me do all the forms bless her.

I thought I was doing the right thing, I even started paying 45 quid a week rent because that's about what I was told I would have to pay.

Then was told I would have the months run on, so was actually in credit with rent.

When I was told on the phone by the council that I was going to get full benefit, I questioned him, but he said the government just decided people could now keep maintenance payments, mine were 45 quid a week at the time, that made sense to me, I now didn't have to pay the 45 a week rent! But little did I know they had me down for a lot less than I was actually earning.

Obviously now I wish I had not bothered going back to work.

Like I said to the lady that did my IUC a couple of weeks ago, when you're on income support it's easy, full benefit, if you work, it doesn't mix basically.

I would be up there every month, most peoples wages vary dont they, bank holiday pay, as I work mondays, works pension, that varies each month, didn't fathom they paid half of that! times when I was off sick.

I wouldn't have thought for a minute I would get more benefit if I hadn't been paid sick, even if they had worked my benefit out right!

So I dont claim it anymore. Just live on beans on toast for now, work may up my hours soon hopefully.

So yes, it's been a nightmare & what should have been a good move, turned out to cost me a lot.

I took a 4k loan out january 2010, which I would never have done if I had known I was supposed to be paying towards my rent.

When they bring in the universal credit eventually at least others will find it all a bit easier.

[lottiesnan]

When i closed my claim down today the lady on the other end of the phone who dealt with it..

Said that the £6 an hour i was getting paid was a joke (her exact words)

She said that it was an unfair system that i wasnt entitled to any help and it didnt encourage people to go back to work.(her exact words)

 

When she worked out my working tax credit ,which i will only get for a year as i only work 27 hours and my wages ,minus rent ,council tax etc..she said, you do know you wont be any better off financially ......In actual fact i will be worse off because of the £12 a week bus fares..

I said to her Like i have a choice...Well she said at least you will feel useful !!

[jadeybags]

When i closed my claim down today the lady on the other end of the phone who dealt with it..

Said that the £6 an hour i was getting paid was a joke (her exact words)

She said that it was an unfair system that i wasnt entitled to any help and it didnt encourage people to go back to work.(her exact words)

 

When she worked out my working tax credit ,which i will only get for a year as i only work 27 hours and my wages ,minus rent ,council tax etc..she said, you do know you wont be any better off financially ......In actual fact i will be worse off because of the £12 a week bus fares..

I said to her Like i have a choice...Well she said at least you will feel useful !!

 

This is where they are saying the universal credit they are going to phase in, in the next few years will make work pay, rather than benefits. The proof will be in the pudding though!

Unfortunately it looks like it'll be about 5 years before people already claiming benefits will get it. About 2 years time for new claimants.