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Benefits. PLEASE PLEASE HELP.

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
My boyfriend is in a lot of trouble and he's at his wit's end and beginning to feel suicidal again. Here is what's going on.

He attempted suicide earlier this year and spent a month in hospital. They decided to let him just go because it didn't seem to help him at all.

So two friends let him move in with them. He needed a job to pay rent, but because he moved to Gibraltar when he was 5, he never got a National Insurance Number. About April this year was when he started having the Job Centre search for his National Insurance number. He still has not got one. They keep telling him to fill out form after form and are constantly telling him that they cannot find his number on the system.

He was then almost diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The doctors he's been seeing have been throwing him around all over the place, some telling him everything is wrong, some telling him nothing so he hasn't got anywhere on that front either. His GP, however, has signed him off as being unable to work.
And so he had to apply for income support and also incapacity benefits. He has been doing this for 3-4 months now and still has received nothing. He has filled in forms, been to interviews and done everything in his power and yet has got nowhere.

About a month ago he was kicked out the flat his 'friends' let him stay in because they wanted a study instead. And so, he's been living with a friend in the flat that his father own's. However, this friend has not told his father that my boyfriend is living there. So my boyfriend has been spending a lot of time at my flat (as he would anyway) but also has a lot of his belongings here because there was no space at his friend's flat.
He cannot actually properly live here because this is a 5 bedroom flat and we are renting it from a landlady. He cannot pay us rent because it would be subletting.

However, the people dealing with his claims has told him that they need a permanent address for him. But he doesn't have one. Now they might want to assess my flat to assess how much he should be getting. But it's nothing to do with me because we are not actually living together. He just stays here sometimes and boyfriends and girlfriends do, but this is by no means his flat.

He is homeless, jobless and unfit for work and nothing is happening for him.

What can I do now? Is there no way that things can be sorted in a much more efficient and immediate manner? Is there anyone he can talk to, besides the Job Centre, about this problem?

The only alternative is for him to go back to Gibraltar and stay with his parents. But that won't help him in the long run and will only have very bad effects on his mental health.

Please help.
He is deseperate. Thank you.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Has he been to see teh Citizens Advice Bureau - they can give you free advice on things like money, housing etc. and can help 'order the chaos'.

    It sounds like he has a lot on his plate because there are a lot of individual issues which can add up.

    He has no NI number - surely this must be rectifiable, persistance is usually a prerequisite from getting the government to do anything (oops, did I offend anyone?)

    He has no permenent address - this one is a bit trickier, there is a poster on this website called Blagsta who I believe used to be involved with homeless people (I may be wrong) so he may know more about the avenues open to him there

    He has no job - well obviously it's going to be difficult getting employment without a national insurance number but there are probably jobs about that still do cash in hand, in the meantime it might be the best bet for him to get some money coming in

    About the benefits - see if you can see someone face to face and talk to them. Over the phone seems to just be a blank wall sometimes. Someone asked me to recite the first line of my auntie's address today as a security question but I'll be fecked if I know!!!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Was you boyfriend born in the UK & did his parents claim Child Benefit for him prior to him leaving for Gibraltar? Has he had a change of name from that on his birth certificate? Sounds to me like he has one but it's been lost in the system somewhere. NI numbers are allocated at birth but are not normally given to you until your 16th Birthday - ish. My son is 7 and I have his NI number already because I claim DLA for him.

    Is it not possible for your boyfriend to claim he is of no fixed abode??
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks people! Citizen's Advice people sounds like the next step.

    His parents did claim child benefits and he was in the UK for 5 years before he moved abroad. So I guess maybe yes, his number has just been lost. But surely it doesn't take 7 months to find it?

    He's gone for yet another interview today at the Job Centre. This time he's just gonna put it plain across to them that he's living between 4 addresses, which he is, and that therefore he is homeless and has been for the past 7 odd months.
    Hopefully this'll keep things going. I guess I just have to wait and see when he gets back!!
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    IWishIWas wrote:
    .

    He is homeless, jobless and unfit for work and nothing is happening for him.

    Hey there,
    I really admire the way you are looking out for your boyfriend at the moment. It must be really tough for you both, but there are definitely more avenues than the job centre.

    Aswell as the Citizens advice bureau, your boyfriend can also contact the homeless charity, Shelter. They offer specialist advice and support for young people, and they can be contact for urgent advice on 0808 800 4444.

    You can also write to our expert advisors at askTheSite - explaining what you have here and they can offer further advice and avenues of support.

    I hope this helps ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    NI numbers are allocated at birth but are not normally given to you until your 16th Birthday - ish.

    :yes: Myself, and most people I know got our National Insurance numbers through roughly 2-3 weeks before our birthdays. When I got mine, I got mine 3 weeks before, then a girl who has her birthday a week after mine, recieved hers the next week, and 4 friends of mine who share a birthday all recieved theirs 3 weeks before on the same day. So I'd say there's some sort of system in play there.

    Is it possible the NI number was sent out but has gone to an old address, etc? Obviously it wont be around now, but maybe the old address may be on their system?
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