Income Support Claim - Rejected

[leeseylee]

hi everyone,

 

This forum was a god send to me a few weeks back, and they say it doesn't rain but pours I now have a massive problem, that I am hoping someone can help me with:

 

My situation: Newly single mum, with a 2 1/2 yr old, work 15 hours a week, no pay, for my mums business (has not always been no pay but the business is not going good so I agreed to take no wage for a while, not a problem when I was with my ex, and this is a temporary measure until she can afford to pay me again (probs next year)

 

I have a mortagage to pay, and I claim income support and help with mortgage payments 3 months ago, its taken phone call after phone call, to be told today that they wont pay it, as it is unreasonable of my mum to expect me to work for free, therefore no payments for me. I said how am I supposed to feed and house my child for £60 a week tax credits, she said you could try upping your hours and claiming working tax credits. I am so upset, so I gotta work more hours, for free, see my son less, and get less money. I was completely honest with them from the off, and it makes me mad when people fiddle the system and get loads of money, now when I need them I get nothing!

 

So they said I could appeal it, which I fully plan to do, but that could take months, if I up my hours with WTC, I wont get any back payments from IS, if I do finally get it, I could screw my mum over and stop working for her, then I wont get any money for the Iincome support in last 3 months I have been waiting for it, and to top it all off had to borrow money from my friend to see me right, while waiting for my claim, and told her I would pay it back when I get my backdated payments, and now I cant pay her back.

 

Sorry for the long post but am really hoping someone can help.

 

Many thanks.

[Nystagmite]

There is something about working with family not being work experience / voluntary work. Can't remember the exact document; but I think it's a tax credit manual.

[flumps1976]

Volunatry work cannot be accepted if it is for a family member and it is usually only accepted if the voluntary work is for a registered charity or non profit making organisation as well as any companies listed on the do-it website.

As this was a job that you would normally have been paid to do you are being treated as having notional income which is likely to exceed your rate of IS using the national minimum wage.

You have a few options, either consider increasing your hours to be able to claim working tax credits or give up the work and claim the IS in full until your mum is in a position to pay you once again.

[Nystagmite]

There is something about underlying support with mortgage interest - no idea whether that applies here though.

[leeseylee]

hi, thank you so much for replying, I have spoken to my mum who has said she will get her, currently out of work, partner to cover my hours, however there is a slight issue I have, when I first made my claim I claimed as self employed (as I am) they treated the work I do for my mum as my business and seperate from my mums business, so I gave incomings and outgoings as nothing (prob not explaining this well). So what I am saying is, they are now treating me as an employee of my mum, rather than self employed in my own right. So although I am happy to call them tommorow and say im not working for my mum anymore, I am a bit peed off that I will get nothing for the last 3 months cus they were a bit slow, and am now well behind on the mortgage, and owe people money.

 

Once again thank you, there are some very knowledgable people on this forum!

[grumpy101]

Please could someone advise me about NOTIONAL INCOME?

 

The scenario is that I worked for several firms in the past. One firm that I worked for for thirteen years gave me a "frozen pension". I then worked abroad but came back to the UK after about a year. Inundated with bills I cashed-in the frozen pension (which I didn't really understand thinking the value of it would erode with time) and received about £1600. I assumed that this would be the end of story. Unfortunately when I reached the age of sixty a "residual amount" of about £2000 was paid to me. I am 99% certain that this was my Widows Pension contributions. THIS WAS NOT MY PENSION but the DWP say that it is and its opened-up a whole can of worms.

 

Apart from short term jobs I worked for another firm for eleven years. I loathed the job, the management and the hours and eventually told them where to stuff their job. I think I was blacklisted (the management were Freemasons) because I could never get another job again. I had to survive on JSA. At age sixty I became entitled to Early Retirement and signed to accept the increased payment and not needing to look for work. I did not know how to claim the pension from that execrable firm and quite frankly I did not really want their money as I felt it to be tainted dirty money which I did not really wish to accept.

 

At the age of 65 I became entitled to the Old Age Pension. This was extremely stressful as several government departments started nagging and arguing about who was going to be paying my pension. It was patently obvious that they would have vastly preferred for me to have pegged-it and got into my coffin. The firms pension which was only based on eightieths for each year of service was mentioned and I was told that I HAD to claim it.

 

The reason for all this nagging soon became apparent - THEY WANTED MY MONEY! Anyhow with owing several thousands on credit cards it seemed a good idea to claim the pension. I was paid arrears for the six unclaimed years and received a pay slip "Pay this month £31,000 Tax this month £12,500. Already the £31K was down to £18.5K! They then calculated Notional Income of about £17K and of course I then had to pay Council Tax, £750 to the end of the Council Tax year. Its quite amazing how the £31K can dwindle to seven hundred and fifty quid but that seems to be how the system works. Of course now that Pension Credits have been cancelled there will be no free NHS dentistry or spectacles and no free court fees for suing cheats who have swindled me on eBay.

 

This country is fast becoming like Zimbabwe as the "Notional Income" and hence notional debt is basically a tissue of lies based on false accounting.

 

They are now docking forty pounds per week from my Old Age Pension in order to pay-off this notional debt. No doubt they want this money to send to Bongo-Bongo land.

Edited August 19, 2013 by grumpy101
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