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Getting my partner to fill in ESA50 form

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Hi,

Because of my poor eyesight, and though I have a large print form, I am getting my partner to fill it in for me, though of course its my "words"

Just wondering though will the powers to be infer anything form this, in other words is it a plus or a negative to get someone to actually hand write the form for you, or doesn't it matter either way?

many thanks for any advice.

National Insurance contributions shortfall

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I am in receipt of State Pension and it is topped up with Pension Credit for myself and my wife who lives with me but does not currently work and is not signing on.

She has nine years of National Insurance contributions, but needs ten to qualify for a State Pension. What options does she have for adding an extra year.

If she became self employed and was entitled to Working Tax Credit, I believe she would get a NIC credit, although I would lose my additional Pension Credit for her which is probably more than WTC.

Any ideas as to the best solution?

ESA: Spending inheritance on disability related needs?

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Hi all,

Wondering if anyone knows what to expect or has been in/knows of a similar situation.

In a nutshell, my Grandfather died. He's split his relatively small estate between his three kids, one of whom is my father, who is registered disabled. He has been in receipt of DLA/PIP for the past thirty five years and also gets ESA. According to the DWP, he's partly contribution based and partly income based, but they classify it as income based for some unexplained reason.

I know any inheritance he gets won't matter to PIP but it will potentially impact on his ESA as it'll be over 16k by a couple of grand.

This leaves me with a couple of questions....

1) Am I correct in saying that ESA may allow the inheritance to be spent on "disability related needs"? And if so, Do the DWP decide what is considered a "disability related need"? If so, is there a list I can find, or is it at their discretion?

2) As my father is aging and his condition is declining, he is desperately in need of downstairs accommodation and bating facilities (which the council won't do as he owns his own home) - Does anyone know if he would he be able to spend some/all of the inheritance on paying to have a small extension put on the rear of his home to improve his quality of life, without losing his ESA?

2) If he can do this without impacting on his ESA payments, would he need to get some kind of permission/confirmation from the DWP before spending this inheritance on it? Or could he just go ahead with it and then justify it later?

3) If the DWP won't allow for any such works, and cut his ESA when getting wind of the inheritance, how does spending the money impact on claiming in the future? For example, if he got, let's say, 20k....ESA stopped, he then spent 18k on an extension, leaving him under the threshold for claiming ESA - what would happen? I assume he'd need to reapply, but is there a waiting period? Would he potentially face rejection for spending the money quickly?

4) Would using any (remaining) inheritance to pay off some small unsecured debts and/or the rest of his mortgage be classified as "deprivation of capital" and thus stop his ESA payments too?

I know I should really ask the DWP directly, but I really would like to avoid getting them on the scent of money possibly coming his way before the will has entered probate. He's completely unaware of any potential issues with spending the money his dad left him, and I haven't got the heart to tell him in the midst of his grief that he might end up worse off for being left something.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

Partner with Son moving in

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Hello,

My girlfriend and her son are moving into my house over the summer and we understand she will loose her tax credits.

She only works 10 hours a week because that's all she can do around the hours needed for school, in moving down they have only allocated her a school half hour away so she cant improve her hours.

Whilst we are in a relationship I am not currently supporting her son financially and we weren't planning to go down this route just yet

It seems a little unfair that her circumstances haven't necessarily changed but she is no longer entitled to help, she will actually be earning slightly less money.

Not really interested in any fiddles but is there anything she/we would be entitled to? even if its child care vouchers so she could work more hours it would all help, its going to be a struggle to raise a child on 10 hours wages, seems odd in this day and age there isn't a situation for a couple to exist with a child from a previous relationship (father is dead beat and doesn't pay)

I'm sure one day we'll get married and the finances will merge but for now this is where we are :)

Working Tax Credit and Self Employment

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If you are working as a self-employed cleaner getting paid in cash, how do you prove you are working 30 hrs a week?

Splitting up from husband. Am I eligible to apply for UC if we still live in the same house?

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OH is refusing to move out of the house (privately rented, lease is in his name). He said that if I want to end the relationship then it's me who has to move out. So I walked out with two kids 3 days ago and am currently at relatives house.

I am terrified, I've no money (my current account is overdrawn). I have been to citizen advice and they told me to get in touch with the council to arrange housing. I phoned my local council's emergency housing dept and the lady gave me an appointment to see her but the appointment is not till Friday 3rd August :eek: She did, however, advise that since we are legally married and despite the fact that the lease is in his sole name I am legally entitled to remain in the property.
So we are heading back today, I can't inconvenience relatives forever.

My question is, am I allowed to claim Universal Credit just in my name if we still live under the same roof but going through separation? Or do I have to officially reside elsewhere?

Sorry it's a bit long, im just so stressed, my head has been spinning for days.

company car or allowance help?

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just found myself another job and i cant work out whats better....

Its either a Car or car allowance of £6k, never having a company car before its all confusing me.

Obviously company car is maintained by company, is it usual to get fuel paid or is that my responsibility for private use?

Option 1) take the car
... looking at BIK value and because the taxman is a robber, its £5,889 so at 45% ill be paying £2,650 pa

Option 2)
or car allowance at £6k will see me pocket £3,300 pa after tax at 45% that would be more than enough to cover my crappy insignia servicing / tax / ins and tyres over the year circa £1500

Plus im not paying the £2650 in tax so actually im £4450 per annum better off to put towards my own car arnt i? or is the BIK on top of my annual salary?
i might be missing something but i dont understand why i would choose the car? help

Calling Alice Holt --- quick question please?

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Me again....


"If you have been claiming ESA from before April 2017, your ESA rates will not vary. If you regain the Support Group at appeal - this will be at the same rate you were receiving previously."


As the timing is such that I have not yet received the routine ESA payment, I am hoping you can clarify this quote from my other thread....
I would take it to mean that I would continue to receive what I have been doing (as my claim is from 2012 - unless they consider a WCA/review to be a new claim, which I don't think is the case) - BUT most other things I have read suggest that from Support Group to WRAG does actually involve a reduction in the amount received.


Can you please help me to understand?
:o

Esa universal credit

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Hello i was on esa support group for 1 year they called me in for an assement after which they said they were closing a claim by which point I had found 16 hours work and was hoping to go on permitted work I put in for a mandatory reconsideration and it was suggested to go on another benefit during this period as I was not receiving any benefit I went on universal credit as it has just rolled out here any way I have just received a letter saying they have changed there decision and will treat me as having limited capability for work and have been placed in the work related activity group for 12 months what does all of this mean

Swapping jobs

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Wondering if anyone could help - I am in employment at the moment, put my notice in on Monday and my last day is friday the 17th August. I wanted to go to see my family for a couple of days before starting new jobs on monday the 3rd of sept. So my question is when do i inform Universal Credits about leaving my old job and starting new ones? We receive universal credits as my husband is ver poorly and doesnt work at the moment. My wages wont change. Can universal credits sanction us for me not working for 9 days? Would they take it as intentional making myself unemployed? Thank you in advance

Does Universal Credit override the Mandatory Reconsideration process?

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Does the receipt of Universal Credit override the Mandatory Reconsideration process?

The facts: I was in receipt of ESA until I had my health assessment. I was found fit for work. I took advice from the CAB, who said that I should request a Mandatory Reconsideration as their decision was unfair.

In the meatime, I applied for Universal Credit. I also had an advancement of this at the job centre. This is in the form of a loan, which I will have to repay.

In the meantime, the job centre want me to log into my journal on the Universal Credit website to set up the rest of my account and confirm my identity, etc. My question is: By doing so, am I running the risk of having the Mandatory Reconsideration cancelled? Will my UC claim override the MR?

Thanks.

John.

UC claiming overpayment

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Hello, has anybody received erroneous letters from UC saying that they'd had an overpayment?

I got a letter today saying they've overpaid £102, because I'd received a payment from a period of time 'when I'd already received a payment'. The only payment I got from them, was the normal payment on my first cycle, then an addition where they'd forgotten childcare (£106). The second two payments have been about right - except for number 3 where again they'd forgotten childcare and added it on later (£60).

Am I entitled to ask for a breakdown of this overpayment? They've not responded, but I've checked my bank and it all adds up.

The only overpayment for those three days, were from Tax Credits where they failed to stop but I think that's about £150. And I'm paying that back already.

Leaving my job without another job

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I am a single parent. I currently earn £30k which sounds reasonable but I am spending over £450 a month on travel and £240 on childcare. I also commute over 4 hours a day for 3 days of the week.

I really want to leave my current job and work more locally. Partly as the travel and childcare as so expensive but also it is having a bad effect on my child. They are out of the house for 12 hours a day on the 3 long days.

Things were more manageable before I was a single parent. And previously I was only doing 2 long days of 11 hours rather than 3 long days of 12 hours.

However, I have 3 month notice period which my employer won't negotiate on. I've already had 2 job offers withdrawn as they can't wait 3 months.

Would it be reckless to hand my notice in without another job? Will I barred from claiming job seekers at all?

Tax Credit overpayment

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I work in a kitchen and my hours can vary quite wildly, however I'm on minimum wage and from the wages I'd earned already they calculated that I'd be under the £13100 threshold. However I've just received a letter saying that I was 1k over and now I have to pay every penny I got back. I used the extra money to put myself through college and the travel to work and back was expensive.

I think it's quite absurd that because I worked a extra shift's my benefits weren't reduced they where taken away completely. Now I'm stuck in the position of paying it all back or working less so I can get tax credits this year to pay off the ones from last.

I wasn't a million miles away from my expected wages so I don't understand how it's fair that I should lose out on so much. Surely it shouldn't be such a drastic change something like a sliding scale would make more sense (I honestly assumed that's what it was)

Any advice would be appreciated.

My flatmate and I both receive ESA and have recently discussed entering into a romantic relationship

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First time poster so apologies if I get this wrong.

Basically I’m really stressed and worried about my financial future and general future security.

I have been living with the same flatmate for 5 years now. We met at uni and both needed a new flatmate (mine was an alcoholic which was causing me stress and theirs was unreliable). We eventually both graduated (me a year ago) but stayed living together as it was convenient and we had nowhere else to go anyway. To cut a long story short we both receive ESA, HB, and PIP (their condition is lifelong though mine is autism and mh issues so I’m hoping to get well enough to work). We very recently talked and realised we would like to try being in a romantic relationship with each other. However instead of this being a happy thing it has resulted in a lot of anxiety. As of yet we haven’t acted on our conversation because we don’t want to break any rules or law! If we go for this we would of course need to inform the DWP of a change in circumstances and make a joint claim. We would also need to move into a one bedroom or find a new flatmate (if the landlord agrees). This is a lot of pressure and extremely stressful but it’s the only option if we want to be together.

The main source of worry however is what if the DWP decides we’ve been a couple the whole time?! I’ve read a lot of horror stories about false accusations. Is that likely to happen and how would we go about proving that it wasn’t the case? The DWP seem to have a guilty until proven innocent approach and from what I can see some of their LTAHAW indicators easily apply to flatmates. Especially those who are friends. There’s also the fact we have no idea what the neighbours think we are to each other and I imagine the DWP would ask them? Also, apart from a few exceptions, neither of us have really dated since we’ve lived together either- being unwell makes that sort of thing rather difficult so it’s not like we led be able to show them a list of exes!

Neither of us feel we could cope with an investigation and we definitely couldn’t cope with a criminal record if we couldn’t convince them of the truth :( because of this we are questioning whether we should just move out rather than risk each other’s lives for a relationship that might not even work out! :( we definitely can’t remain flatmates after everything that’s been said :(

The whole thing is really stressful and any input or advice would be really appreciated. Is this an unusual situation or has it happened before and everything has been fine? Are the DWP likely to question us or will they take us on good faith? I know I’m prone to overthinking but this is causing me so much anxiety.

Job offer...confused about salary/flexible benefits

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Hi all

So I’ve been offered a new job with starting salary £25,500 plus a “discretionary flexible benefits allowance” of 6% which brings it up to £27,030. Can anyone shed some light on what this means?
TIA

Keep claiming tax credits if not entitled to Universal Credit after a change of circumstances?

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I was getting child and working tax credits until bout three months ago when I lost my job. I was left depressed after this and was not up to looking for work so I did not apply for jobseekers allowance. I informed the tax credits people and they proceeded to stop my working tax credits and calculate a new amount for my child tax credits.
Ever since then I have been living off the child tax credits and my ISA savings but from Monday happily I will be starting a new job and as I live in a full UC area, I am wondering what will happen when I report this change of circumstances.
From reading around I expect that I will not be able to claim UC because my savings threshold is over the limit. I have also read that I could be offered an option to keep claiming child tax credits but not working tax credit. Does this sound right?

Severe disablement premium

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I’m in receipt of income related esa support group and have just had backdated pip award for enhanced daily living and standard mobility

Will I receive the enhanced premium to my esa automatically?
Is it backdated
I’d never heard of it before !

Help! PIP review during ongoing appeal

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I've been sent a PIP award review form – the problem is, I'm still appealing the original PIP decision (nearly two years now) and I'm worried that this will complicate matters.

I don't know how long the review will take but it's possible that, if I disagree with the decision and appeal, I will have two PIP appeals running concurrently. Is that even possible? I can't stand the thought of another appeal, it's taking so long.

The DWP told me that any decision made by the tribunal judge in my current appeal will only be effective up until 18 July this year (the date on my form), so if the tribunal finds in my favour and awards me my due (hopefully higher rate mobility and daily living), the DWP can in effect overturn that decision from the 18th and stop my payments all over again. That seems mad, and incredibly unfair.

Has anyone been through something similar? All advice welcome, anything to make me less stressed.

Tax Credits Overpayment and Debt Collection Agency

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Currently we do not get any tax credits however we are repaying an overpayment of £4k caused by a redundancy payment.
So we have had a repayment plan in place since July 2016 - £50 per month, collected by direct debit, no missed payments.
Today out of the blue we both get a letter from Advantis saying they are collecting on behalf of HMRC and we need to make contact to arrange repayment.
To say we are shocked is an understatement.


So I rang Tax Credits and basically they confirmed my plan etc but also said that our details had been passed to collection agency in error. However nothing they can do, he did give me a reference number to use but it is up to us to ring agency and explain we have a plan in place with HMRC and they should cancel any action!


I advised the call handler I was not happy and wanted to speak to a manager, that our details have been passed to a third party debt collection agency without our knowledge or consent. So I have to wait for a call back to deal with my complaint and also contact collection agency to fix their mistake, they close at 1.00 on a saturday, post didn't come til after 1.00.

I fully accept we have an overpayment but we are repaying and this letter was completely out of the blue.
Will this cause us problems with our credit file or future credit applications?
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