esa and hmrc problem

anubis68

back in april my ex partner moved back in with me with my eldest son. when we spilt a few yrs back my youngest stayed with me. we informed esa and they sorted out the claim. She  contacted hmrc  and told them she was living with me and we were claiming joint esa she was told that we both cant claim CB at the 1st child rate and one will have to claim the 2nd child rate wich i claim. But now a got a letter from hmrc saying they want and interview as they have information that my partner is living with me. They we informed of this when she moved in. is this something i should be worried about even though we have told them all the details since she moved in and was added to my esa.

poppy123456

You mention child benefit but what about tax credits? Did either of you claim this before you moved back in together in April? If so did you report those changes? You wouldn’t have been able to start a new claim as a couple because it no longer exists for new claims.

anubis68

we both claimed child tax and child benefit for each child and when she moved in we called them and said she is moving in and couldn't claim cb  for each child one would have to get the lower rate as the 2nd child and we said is that all we have to do and she said yes so we have both been getting tax and child benefit her the 1st child rate and me the second

poppy123456

You are confusing child tax credits and child benefit. For child benefit there’s a higher amount for the first child of £21.80 for the first child and £14.45 for each additional child. 

Tax credits are different. They are both paid by HMRC but are different benefits. They each have different contact numbers too, although they do sometimes share information.
When you moved in together you should have each rang tax credits as well and reported the changes. Both your tax credits would have ended because as I advised you couldn’t make a new claim as a couple. You would have needed to claim Universal Credit as a couple instead. 

anubis68

Thanks for that looks like im in big trouble. i have never had to do this in all the time i have been on esa i though when we told the hmrc about her moving in they would know as they changed the child benefit and thought that was the end of it this mean i am looing my esa to go on uc 

calcotti

If you were claiming CTC as single parents, when you became a couple your CTC entitlement ended. In the past you would have then needed to make a new CTC claim as a couple. However this is no longer permitted and you needed to claim UC instead.

Any CTC paid to you each separately since becoming a couple has been incorrectly paid.

HMRC have different departments that deal with CB and CTC. Did you speak to both!

anubis68

to be honest i cant remember if we rang both as when she moved in esa said we have to phone hmrc about the change so we rang and sorted out the cb and when we were told thats al we have to do. so i dont think we rang another department 

poppy123456

When you separated previously you would have reported the changes to CB and CTC that you were no longer living together. This time you should have done the same and once you did that your CTC would have ended.

To claim for your children yes you will need to claim UC as a couple. Any Income Related ESA you're claiming will end after 2 weeks. If part of it is contributions based then this will continue and be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. If you're in the Support Group you will be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of your claim.

anubis68

as far as i can remember when she left she went to the local benefits office who sorted it all out for her and put her on jsa and i rang esa and said she had left  then child benefit and that was it . it was all sorted out then yes im in the support group also claim pip

poppy123456

If you moved in together in April, surely you would have each received your tax credits renewal packs after that?

How about change of address for the tax credits claim for the person that moved house, didn't you ring HMRC about that?

All you can do going forward is to tell them exactly what's happened. Has your partner received a letter as well or just yourself? If your partner hasn't then they need to ring HMRC Tax credits and report the changes and tell them what's happened. Any overpayment for both claims will need to be repaid back.

For a UC claim if your PIP includes the daily living part and your partner looks after you for at least 35 hours per week then they can report caring for you and they will be able to claim carers element of UC, which will increase your maximum entitlement by £168.81 per month.

If you're claiming for help with the rent through housing benefit, this will end 2 weeks after you claim UC.

calcotti

anubis68 said:

as far as i can remember when she left she went to the local benefits office who sorted it all out for her and put her on jsa and i rang esa and said she had left  then child benefit and that was it . it was all sorted out then yes im in the support group also claim pip

But the benefits office cannot help with Tax Credits because Tax Credits are administered by HMRC, not DWP.

anubis68

we have been on a tax calculator on gov site and as a couple ctc is £2 less a week than single. we were both at differnt adress when we did renewel pack it was after then she moved in and we did the cb bit and though that was all we had to do as we thought it was linked being hmrc. Cb never told us we need to call a diffent department and as she said its all sorted no we dont need to do anything else. it was a genuine mistake on our part. would we still have to move to uc as i have mental disabilities and that would be a massive thing to happen as i belive you dont get any thing for 5 weeks and you have to get a loan and pay it back at a stupid amount is this right? she cares for me that was the main reason she came back and get full hb and council tax

poppy123456

Both of your child tax credits will now end because you can’t claim as a couple. This means if you want to claim extra money for the children then yes you will need to claim UC.
As I advised previously, any Income Related ESA you’re claiming will continue for 2 weeks when you claim UC. Same applies to housing benefit.
Did you report the changes to your local Authority when she moved in? If you were claiming the single person discount for council tax then you would no longer be entitled to that. 
Once you claim UC your first payment will be 1 month and 6 days later. 

You will both be expected to attend your local Job centre when you first claim as part of the new claims process. You will also need to provide a fit note at first and then your Support Group award will transfer across but it often takes a few weeks to do this. 

anubis68

yes the council know all about her moving in. this is turning into a nightmare as its not going to be good for my merntal heath not having money for a month as im not good with money and i have everything in a routin which hasnt changed for over 10 yrs . as for attending somewhwere is this compulsry as part of my illness is going to places and being confronted by people. a fit note? im classed as not fit for work by my dr and mental team. Thanks for your help but its getting me down at the moment i need to have a time out and see if i can do a cab phone call after the hmrc have been in touch

poppy123456

You will have 2 weeks of ESA money after you’ve claimed UC.
You can have an advance payment but this does need to be repaid back from future UC payments.
As for the fit note, yes I know you’ve already been assessed but as part of the process when you claim UC you will need that fit note. As I advised, it can take a few weeks for your Support Group status to transfer across. 
Your partner also needs to make sure they contact tax credits to report the changes, if they didn’t contact her. 

anubis68

Do you know the reson behind the waiting time ? they know people on benefits do not have much if any spare cash and they make you take out a payment and pay it back with less each week to live off

calcotti

anubis68 said:

Do you know the reson behind the waiting time ? they know people on benefits do not have much if any spare cash and they make you take out a payment and pay it back with less each week to live off

The waiting period on UC is because it is calculated on a monthly basis and then need a week to calculate and pay it, hence the month plus a week.

poppy123456

UC is a monthly benefit, which is paid in arrears. You have an assessment period which lasts for 30 days each month and starts on the first day you submit your claim. At the end of the assessment period you receive a statement and in that statement will be all the elements you're entitled to, plus any deductions. It will then tell you how much will be paid into your bank.

Your payment date will be the same each month and first payment will be 1 month and 6 days after you submit your claim.

You're not forced by anyone to take the advance payment when you claim, that's entirely up to you. As i advised, it won't be as bad as you think because you will receive 1 further payment of your ESA.

If any part of your ESA is contributions based then this will continue (£117.60 per week) but be deducted from your UC.