Council tax benefits

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I have to bring this up because yet again the government are persecuting the people who follow some of their advice.

I was made redundant at the end of January following 13 years loyal service. Since I have had the same problems as everyone else ,trying get benefits sorted out for this that and the other.

Family tax credit, could take till May before we get our new statement saying how much we will be entitled to, It took about 2 weeks when we previously notified them of an increase of income.

Council tax benfit, got a letter this morning stating we would not recieve any benefit because I had too much capital. WTF. So I phoned them up.

Was it because I had some redundancy money left? NO

Was it because I had an ISA? NO.

I was refused CT benefit because I have the sense to invest in a pension as the government recommends.

Does this pay my council tax? NO

Can I use money from my pension to council tax? No

I can't touch the pension until I'm 55, so how the hell does this count against me .

What planet are these guys on.This really p****d me off.

Council tax direct debit cancelled.

Ten minutes later I was offered a job I went for last week .

Oh the highs and lows of the unemployed, What a morning.

 

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So is that a good post or a bad post?

 

In the end it was to let off some steam , but getting the job offer straight after sort of stunned me into silence, the Job will get me some customer service experience , but you know what they say about buses, there aren't any for ages and then all of a sudden the're queing up ,I'm hopeful of a couple more offers in the coming weeks, so watch this space.

 

But, it also seems to be a good post at the same time!

 

there was someone on the radio the other day claiming he used to work for the DWP and said it was a complete shower. Apparently the staff (and people) have to work with an over complicated system that doesn't work.
According to the speaker, the £10,000,000 system didn't do what it was designed for so was scrapped.

 

Thats becoming a national trend though ,don't you think. How many major developemnts or changes for that matter have been an absolute balls up from the start or just don't do what they were originally designed to do.

 

I'm in the process of applying for council tax benefit even though I'm working I'm on a low enough wage to qualify, I hope

 

Good luck , hope you don't have a pension like I have.

 

I do but its a company pension scheme which payments stopped as soon as I was made redundant. I cannot transfer that or touch it as it is a final salary based pension, so I have to wait a few years. I haven't declared it though.

Was yours a private pension through the likes of prudential etc?

 

It was originally a company pension but transfered the cash to a personal pension when the company changed pension companies (my personal perfomed alot better), it was just better way to use my money and then started off fresh with the new company pension if you get me.Since being made redundant I have been going through the process of moving the money from that final company pension into my personal pension also , but that hasn't transfered yet . I think your allowed upto £16k capital but don't quote me on that.

 

Mondos, the benefits you're entitled to shouldn't have anything to with your pension or whatever, not until you attain OAP status anyway. If you're on jobseeker allowance then you should be entitled not just the council tax, but your rent as well.

Piece of advice though. And I wish I'd heeded this when I was made redundant a few years back. If you have plans to acquire a few more certs, now is the time to do it. Because right now, you've got all the time in the world. Once you get back into work, study time is gonna much harder to come by.

 

I argued the toss about the pension even though I can't touch a penny of it. I was refered to the supervisor who said that I could write to the assessor but would basically be wasting my time .

Regarding certs, N+ and MCDST are WIP, 70-271 in a months time.

 

Well, maybe their policies have changed recently, otherwise the issue about the pension shouldn't even arise, since you're not currently earning any income from it.

Or maybe it's just the DSS at Stockton-On-Tees being bloody minded.

*shrug*

Maybe you should consider some sort of arbitration. Check with your nearest Citizen's Advice Bureau.

 

The letter I recieved actually recommends C.A.B if I have any issues with their decision , just don't know if it's worth all the hassels now as I start work in a couple of weeks and it wouldn't be sorted out by then.

 

All it takes is a phone call. If whoever answers the phone knows their stuff, they'll tell you instantly what you need to know. I used the C.A.B once when I had tax problems and they refered me to someone who totally set me straight.

If on the other hand you couldn't be bothered, well, it's up to you.