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Tell us once system does not work
dadoovron
Member Posts: 2 Listener
my husband died in February and I followed the tell us once, two weeks ago I received a Phone call informing me that I was in aarrrears with my rent and since my husband was deceased I needed to pay fulll rent.
I am awaiting my benefits claims to be sorted and visited the uncan Center for some support the lady was helpful and told the housing officer that I was waiting a decision on my benefits.. on Friday I reciievd a visit from the housing officer with two letters one for me and one for my late husband both letters adressed to both of us, in them was. A notice to quit my property. I was a carer for my husband and my brother at the same time, I feel so distressed and wanted to end it all I don’t know what to do.
I am awaiting my benefits claims to be sorted and visited the uncan Center for some support the lady was helpful and told the housing officer that I was waiting a decision on my benefits.. on Friday I reciievd a visit from the housing officer with two letters one for me and one for my late husband both letters adressed to both of us, in them was. A notice to quit my property. I was a carer for my husband and my brother at the same time, I feel so distressed and wanted to end it all I don’t know what to do.
Replies
You need to contact DWP to advise of his passing but you need to contact each benefit in turn rather than rely on the left knowing what the right hand is doing (or even that there is a right hand) By all means contact them by phone but follow up in writing and keep a copy. You will also then need to identify what you might qualify for yourself. Don’t talk to DWP about that. Go get some face to face advice.
Your notice to quit has likely been triggered by no more than being 4 weeks in arrears. This (unless there were already arrears) will have been caused by more than the cessation of a DWP benefit like ESA, JSA, RP and do on. DWP tell the local authority and they stop HB and CTR as a precaution to stop you being overpaid. In the meantime the local authority are supposed to invite you to claim HB and CTR in your own right but, in the case of a death, they often simply don’t think about there being a couple and so nothing goes out.
A decent Housing Officer would have identified the issue and advised you to claim benefits in your own right, not least HB and CTR, and you now need to move quickly on this as backdating is limited and if you don’t get enough to civet the arrears then you’ll be digging into your own pocket.
Nothing in the above guarantees that you will get any benefit as I’ve no knowledge of your income, capital, his estate etc. but it does describe the process.