Advice needed!!! Housing benefit and council tax benefit refused!!

[pepsi1925]

I sadly lost my mother in 2008 and was left her house which was sold in 2009. The house was sold for £69,000. Basically in a nut shell i have come under hard times,lost my job and had to apply for JSA which was granted,never disputed. I have applied for housing benefit and council tax benefit and was refused as the local authority think i have my thousands stashed away. From 2009 - until now (3years) i have lived on the money,helped my daughter out financially,paid existing debts that i had,yet still they refuse me. Whilst i dispute their decision my rent/council tax is not getting paid and i have just received a court date and possible eviction notice. I am at my wits end,can anybody shed some light,advice please?

 

Bernadette

[Nystagmite]

There's something called deprivation of capital. They may think you've done this in order to claim benefits. They apply notional capital - money they assume you have, which I seem to remember is based on a formula.

[pepsi1925]

I havent got any savings left at all,but trying to explain this to the dwp is proving very difficult,i dont know what else to do.

[pandaspot]

Provide receipts of the debts paid off, and proof of the debts paid for daughter. Depending on how much this comes to, we can then see if you have deprived yourself of money to take advantage of hb/Ctb

 

How much was paid off on debts?

[Nystagmite]

Unless it's got to court, you'll be assumed to have the capital if you paid off the debt in full.

[flumps1976]

Under the deprivation of capital rules unless the companes had put something in writing to state that the full and outstanding balance was repayable immediately you can be treated as still being in posession of thatmoney as it was your choice to pay off the debt in question as opposed to retaining the capital and paying back the minumim/monthly repayments.

With regards to the gifts that you made to your daughter again those are considered as gifts and are treated as you still having that capital.

 

The calculation for deprivation of capital are horrendous and I haven't had to be involved in on e for approx 12 years but I bet they are styill exactly the same calculation.