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benefits stopped
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
i split from my boyfriend 2 years ago and i moved into my own place, we have 2 children and last july we started seeing each other again, 2 months later the police raided my property and found cannibis plants in the back garden, he told me they were tomato plants - he knows how i feel about drugs, he was arrested and told the police he lived at my house as he did'nt want them to go to his house. as a result of this i narrowly escaped eviction and have since been investigated for benefit fraud, i have been really honest with the investigators but it seems they just take everything i say and use it against me, they stopped my benefits on 12/dec and i have been forced to work and put my little one in nursery, they refuse to reconsider and say i have to go to an appeal, my housing benefit has also stopped and i am struggling to pay the rent, i don't know what to do, they don't believe anything i say, and it does'nt help that my boyfriend is as dodgy as the day is long, they list there reasons as: he stays 3 nights a week, occasionally more, we have a joint bank account (which i told them about and hav'nt used since we first split up), he spends time with the children, friends perceive us to be a couple,
he does'nt live with me and i wish i'd lied from the start, what if they don't change there mind at the appeal, how will i live if i lose my job?
he does'nt live with me and i wish i'd lied from the start, what if they don't change there mind at the appeal, how will i live if i lose my job?
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I assume they know that you haven't used the bank account? That would be a pretty easy one to prove.
Is he actually staying with you 3 nights a week?
If you don't qualify for the benefits you were on any more, do you qualify for different ones? Working tax credit maybe, or even Income Support.
i have put in a claim for working families tax credit, but hav'nt received anything yet and i have had to fork out upfront for nursey fees, also i don't get my wages until the end of the month
even on working tax credit i should be entitled to housing benefit and council tax benefit, but thats all stopped,
i hav'nt been this skint for a long time and i'm am literally going hungry so that my children can eat, my bills are all piling up, but i figure my rent and my kids have to be my top priority.
Him having his own place I would have thought should help your case.
Can you speak to a benefits advisor about getting what you're entitled to, or at least what they think you should be entitled to.
Which benefits are you talking about here by the way? Is it income support or another benefit?
I think there must be more to this story that you're letting on.
As for your bills piling up, don't let them! Call or write to the companies concerned telling them of your financial difficulties. If you're not sure how to go about this then go to the CAB where they will give you all the advice you need.
this is an "on the balance of probabilities decision"
background: she has been in an on/off relationship with ***** since 1995, and there are 2 children from the relationship. she says they lived as husband and wife for 6/7 years, but not at her present address which she took in her own name.
mr ***** comes to the house every day, and he stays some nights at the house, he owns a property but she says he doesn't ever stay there, it is let out to tenants, she could not give an address for him and i would expect this of her as she readily admits they are back in a relationship since about july 06.
(i never said he doesn't ever stay there, i said he lives at his house and rents a couple of rooms out to help pay the mortgage - another example of them twisting what i say - which they do alot)
mr ****** gave her address as his address to the police, i feel this suggests he did not want to give the police false information. they have a joint bank account, which she says she doesn't use, but i think this represents strong evidence of a living together relationship, when he is in the house, she does the cooking for him. he helps with the care of the children such as collecting them from school.
(i never said i cooked for him, i said if he's over when i'm doing the kids tea, i will offer him some, twisting my words again - and as for helping with the kids and picking them up from school - if only, thats a complete lie)
they are acknowledged as a couple both by themselves and all who know them.
i have reconsidered and not changed the original decision: there is longevity of this relationship and the children of the relationship, and i believe it is likely he is spending far more time with her than she says.
so thats it, i've tried to be honest with them and i think that was my mistake, i should have lied from the start and said that he never stayed over and i shouldn't have told them about the joint bank account, i just thought that if he wasn't living with me i had nothing to fear - i was wrong.
You definitely need to close the joint account, whether its used or not. It means you have access to his money, and as hes a homeowner and a landlord, then they are going to see that you have an income as a couple.
Its shit really but if youre actully seeing him again, then they will assume youre living together, unless you explain preoperly to the housing beneft and income support people that you arent living with him, youre just trying to slowly build a relationship back up with him again for the sake of the children but dont want to be forced into it finacially, but tbh, they probably wont care.
I think you need to think carefully about whats best though and whether you do want to be with him if hes lying to you about growing cannabis in your garden to the extent that you get the house raided. He obviously REALLY cares about you and the kids, and he has his own income yet youre struggling to pay the rent and they stop your benefits cos of him.
You CAN appeal against housing benefits decision, but they will likely take months and not care about you going into arrears. They are fuckers
From what you have said it does appear even to me that you are a couple (I'm sorry!) who are just going through some hard times.
EDIT: I've kept what I wrote above the same, but I wanted to add that I'm not saying you ARE a couple but that from what you have written that it could be perceived that way by someone investigating your benefit entitlement.
i think its wrong that your not allowed to have a boyfriend and live on your own.
he can't help me out financally as he has his own bills to pay.
i have explained this to them and said that i pay all the bills at my house, buy all the food, take full resposibility for the kids, etc.
i don't do his washing, he does't keep any clothes or anything else at my house, he brings a washbag when he stays & he doesn't have a key,
i'm at my wits end with them, i feel like there trying to make me live with someone i don't want to live with, or split up with someone i don't want to split up with!!
Does he have a council tax bill in his name at his own address? I know this is something the investigators are usually interested in.
You have been given some really good advice, I know the CAB is always fully booked but they might be able to put you onto a Welfare Rights Advisor who would be able to help you.
www.entitledto.com might help you work out what you are entitled to in the meantime.
I guess it can't help your case that he gave your address as his. As Joolyknockers said, I think the easiest way to clear up the whole mess would be for him to prove he lives elesewhere. He can show them recent bills etc perhaps?
All thats happened is youve been caught out sweetheart. You CANT claim as a single person if youre in a relationship because they will stop your benefits when they find out. If he has no income then claim as a couple - you will get more that way obviously.
If youre a couple and he has an income then they will expect him to support you if youre living together. If hes not earning enough for you both to live on, you will probably be entitled to working families tax credits to boost your income.
The benefits system doesnt necessarily make it easy for people who arent quite sure about the status of their relationship and they dont really care if you feel funny about asking him to pay his way etc. All they see is you have two kids together, you eat together and he often stays at your house more often than he doesnt, plus he has an income, so they arent gonna want to give you income support anymore.
does he have a seperate address?
now i'm thinking i need to take the plunge ane move in with him (really don't want to do that as he has let me down quite recently)
or end the relationship completely (although not sure the benefits agency will believe me, they don't believe anything else i say)
this seems a bit harsh - "i'm finishing with you so that i'm entitled to benefits!!
It does, yes. Have you considered trying to manage without all of these benefits? You said earlier you have a job. Can you get more hours or claim any working benefits?
if i'd have known he wasn't allowed to stay over, i wouldn't have let him!
You ARE allowed to have a boyfriend (nice of em eh?) but they would expect you to let them know if it was a regular staying over more than a few times a week, and if it was more than that, then you maybe should have kept that a bit quieter (rightly or wrongly)
The fact that hes the father of your kids and youve lived together before and its been on/off and all your shared history means theyre probably less likely to believe you.
You probably *could* appeal against their decision and fight it, but theres no guarantee youll win. You will probably find that if you get a part time job of 15 hours, youll rake enough in in WFTC that you get as much as if youre working full time, considering you have two kids, and if your youngest is under 5, you can get up to 70% of your childcare paid too.
The WFTC people arent nearly as arseholey and inclined to stop benefits at the drop of a hat as the job centre or housing benefit people, although they will want to still know if you have any change in circumstances.
Are you planning to live together full time again any time soon?
i know it looks dodgy, but i put a stop to him staying over in oct and i thought that would be enough to get them off my back, i thought they had to prove he was living with me, instead i have to prove that he doesn't
how can i do that when i've given them his address - it seems to me they've presumed i'm lying my **** off.
they havn't got any proof he's living with me, if they had followed him every day they would know that he doesn't!
They can be complete cunts tbh, especially housing benefit.