Recieving Benefits while living on the water???

[...]

Due to being practically forced to move due to mooring price hikes i have had to hand my notice in in work in preparation to move my boat.

 

I have worked all my life being ex forces and have worked on the railways for the last 5 years so am pretty un sure on the procedue to claim benefits or just pay my stamp until i find other employment.

 

The marina i will be going to i cant use as a postal address so am i right in thinking that a PO box is the way ahead? and how would/does this effect claiming? do i have to have a permanent address?

 

Sorry if these are bone questions i just havent a clue!!!

 

Many regards

 

Ollie

[carlt]

You can't get a PO box without a permanent address.

 

You can claim as "no fixed abode" but some benefit offices are funny about it and make you sign on every day.

[...]

You can't get a PO box without a permanent address.

 

You can claim as "no fixed abode" but some benefit offices are funny about it and make you sign on every day.

 

So could i say use a familys address in 1 town and open a po box in another?

 

Thanks for the reply

 

Ollie

[casper ghost]

So could i say use a familys address in 1 town and open a po box in another?

 

Thanks for the reply

 

Ollie

 

I think using a familys address could cause problems as they may not accept that you are then living on the boat. I believe there are websites, possibly dodgy, which will set up a po box for you but have you checked that the council will accept a po box. Travellers don't have trouble making claims so it must be possible. I'd visit a branch of the CIB for help sorting it all out.

[Mitch - Soma]

Dunno where you are Ollie, but if a London postal address would help, we are on a "squat" moorings - complete with post and am my-self on Income Support. Not for much longer if I can help it though! Housing is having a hell of a problem, they don't pay license fees, therefore they can't pay my end-of-garden permit, so they made me a "house-boat", that came back with a few years of back dated council tax, which housing can't pay because they can't pay the license - s'pose you get the drift................

 

2 years later and am looking forward to episode 45...........

 

Have been, and am going through, the mill mate will help if I can.

 

Mitch.

[romarni123]

Due to being practically forced to move due to mooring price hikes i have had to hand my notice in in work in preparation to move my boat.

 

I have worked all my life being ex forces and have worked on the railways for the last 5 years so am pretty un sure on the procedue to claim benefits or just pay my stamp until i find other employment.

 

The marina i will be going to i cant use as a postal address so am i right in thinking that a PO box is the way ahead? and how would/does this effect claiming? do i have to have a permanent address?

 

Sorry if these are bone questions i just havent a clue!!!

 

Many regards

 

Ollie

 

 

I dont think you can claim benifits for a set amount of time if you give up your job

[County4x4]

I dont think you can claim benifits for a set amount of time if you give up your job

 

That's what I thought. As far as I know you'll only get benefit if you're made redundant. I think they consider that if you've purposely removed yourself from the workforce then you can pay your own way, rather than getting said workforce to pay for you.

 

Andy

[...]

I dont think you can claim benifits for a set amount of time if you give up your job

 

 

This is true however you still have to get the ball rolling and registar because they still pay your stamp.

 

 

Thanks for all the replies.

(Im heading north to the shroppie)

[Jim Batty]

Due to being practically forced to move due to mooring price hikes i have had to hand my notice in in work in preparation to move my boat.

 

I have worked all my life being ex forces and have worked on the railways for the last 5 years so am pretty un sure on the procedue to claim benefits or just pay my stamp until i find other employment.

 

The marina i will be going to i cant use as a postal address so am i right in thinking that a PO box is the way ahead? and how would/does this effect claiming? do i have to have a permanent address?

 

Sorry if these are bone questions i just havent a clue!!!

 

Many regards

 

Ollie

 

Not sure where you are. Cities have virtual addresses, such as: http://www.interpostbox.com/contact.htm

 

We don't sign on so don't know how that works.

 

Anyone know how to go about registering to vote with such a post box?

 

Jim

[...]

Dunno where you are Ollie, but if a London postal address would help, we are on a "squat" moorings - complete with post and am my-self on Income Support. Not for much longer if I can help it though! Housing is having a hell of a problem, they don't pay license fees, therefore they can't pay my end-of-garden permit, so they made me a "house-boat", that came back with a few years of back dated council tax, which housing can't pay because they can't pay the license - s'pose you get the drift................

 

2 years later and am looking forward to episode 45...........

 

Have been, and am going through, the mill mate will help if I can.

 

Mitch.

 

 

Good look with that Mitch and thanks for the offer.

 

Im heading north and going to have a look around the Brum/Rugby area and if i cant find anywhere there head onto the Shroppie.

 

Cheers Mate

 

Ollie

[deletedaccount]

Aren't CCers technically classed as travelers rather than homeless now?

 

Not sure what difference this makes, but no need of a permenant address seems reasonable.

[arpeeuk]

Fortunately I've never been in your situation but wish you luck in getting things sorted.

 

From discussions with friends in similar situations I suggest

 

Post

Try speaking to the local post office, many will let you use their address for your post. If one says no try another.

 

Income benefits

I believe you are entitled to these and you shouldn't have any trouble getting them just because you're living on a boat

 

Housing benefit

This is trickier. If you have a mooring, you can get this paid. If you rent a boat you can claim the rent. Licence fees are a grey area, most councils refuse, but I understand that some are looking at ways that will allow them to pay the licence fees. I suspect that they've realised that, with very tight budgets, it's much cheaper for them to pay £70 a month for someone's licence than pay £several hundred for the rent on a bedsit/flat for the same person.

 

I'd also suggest that the RBOA are a good source of help and advise.

 

Good luck

 

Rik

[nbJubilee]

I heard that Councils have to treat Continous Cruisers under the same legislation as gypsies. I believe River Canal rescue also offer a mail forwarding service but it costs. You can also use MBE which are shops servicing mail boxes.

[classicstove]

I heard that Councils have to treat Continous Cruisers under the same legislation as gypsies. I believe River Canal rescue also offer a mail forwarding service but it costs. You can also use MBE which are shops servicing mail boxes.

 

Royal Mail PO Boxes

 

A PO Box can only be provided when it is associated with an address within the same Delivery Office

 

Post Offices used as addresses

 

The majority of Post Offices (the Post Office web site says check first) will accept mail address Name, Post Restante, Address of the PO and is is designed for travellers

 

MBE and others

 

MBE (Mail Box Etc) will supply a Mail Box at one of their 100 stores across the UK and mail can be collected from them. The premises will be shown as a 'business' so using as a street address may not be possible

 

River and Canal Rescue do not provide a mail service directly but work with Waterways Mail to provide a service to boaters. There are 3 providers that service the boating community:

 

www.boatmail.co.uk

www.shiptoshore.co.uk

www.waterwaysmail.co.uk

 

each having a variety of services available - or you can get your granny/auntie to do the same thing

[soldthehouse]

I dont think you can claim benifits for a set amount of time if you give up your job

Its all means tested if you are broke you can claim. the initial application is asessed on the last twoyears contributions, if you fail on that then you qualify for adifferent pot and they take your partners income into account. I gave up like most folk after running around . My friend who has worked for 22yrs in the same job and pays all the stamps and the like also gave up after filling in a 42 page book twice..

[MartinClark]

Due to being practically forced to move due to mooring price hikes i have had to hand my notice in in work in preparation to move my boat.

 

Forgive me for asking, Ollie, but I don't understand why you had to leave your job. Would it not have been possible to travel to work from the new mooring? Would you not have been better off paying the higher mooring charges and remaining in work than ending up on the dole?

 

Sorry to ask, but either of those seems preferable to the uncertainty you now face.

[DaveP]

Made redundant after 23 years....

 

cc'ing and claiming job seekers allowance since last February. Most Jobcentres are fine with no fixed address; many have allowed me to use their address for benefit purposes. However, Congleton and Stoke wanted daily signing. They seem to make a distinction between 'No Fixed Abode' and 'No Permanent Address'; if they decide the boat counts as the latter, then daily signing becomes a likelihood.

 

Most useful is the use of a ES90 form (going away from home to look for work form) which allows, if agreed in advance, you to sign at a different office twice before having to move your claim to a new office (or return to the original). The rules seem to have changed recently and Stratford-on-Avon and Banbury Jobcentres are interpreting the use of these forms as limited to 2 per period of unemployment, rather than limited by signing office.

 

--

Dave

 

Due to being practically forced to move due to mooring price hikes i have had to hand my notice in in work in preparation to move my boat.

 

I have worked all my life being ex forces and have worked on the railways for the last 5 years so am pretty un sure on the procedue to claim benefits or just pay my stamp until i find other employment.

 

The marina i will be going to i cant use as a postal address so am i right in thinking that a PO box is the way ahead? and how would/does this effect claiming? do i have to have a permanent address?

 

Sorry if these are bone questions i just havent a clue!!!

 

Many regards

 

Ollie

[ymu]

This is true however you still have to get the ball rolling and registar because they still pay your stamp.

 

 

Thanks for all the replies.

(Im heading north to the shroppie)

If you get some temp work, you can claim on the basis of that being your last employment.

[...]

Forgive me for asking, Ollie, but I don't understand why you had to leave your job. Would it not have been possible to travel to work from the new mooring? Would you not have been better off paying the higher mooring charges and remaining in work than ending up on the dole?

 

Sorry to ask, but either of those seems preferable to the uncertainty you now face.

 

 

The mooring fee is not just going up a smidge..... i pay around 2k for my mooring now but in april it will go upto around 6k i just cant pay that

 

Plus with the talk of closing where i work in 2-3 years id have to move sooner or later .

(im also looking to do a youth social care course at college) amongst other things i have a few tickets and strings to my bow so fingers x'd i'll get something doing something.

 

Be a perfect time to explore the canal systems while im at it.

 

Thanks for all the replies some very useful info to had. Thank you all

 

Ollie

[County4x4]

Don't want to throw a downer on your travel plans but when I was made redundant the benefits syetm was absolutely no help at all. I didn't qualify for contributions based allowance because for one month out of those two qualifying years I'd been self employed. Although I'd still paid exactly what I should have done in the shape of Class 2 contributions - they don't count - so I wasn't allowed on that basis.

 

The next thing they did was get me to apply for income based allowance instead. At the time my wife was working three nights a week. We have a normal sized mortgage and two kids under the age of ten at school. Nothing doing - the money from the part time job was all we needed according to them. No help with the mortgage either. All I got was NI contributions paid and council tax benefit - and that was it.

 

To be honest, and I'm not being funny with you - but if I'd said my plans were to take off round the country in my van, my guess is that they'd have been even less help than they were. They'd probably see a big difference between "actively seeking work" and "exploring the canal systems"

 

Andy

[soldthehouse]

Don't want to throw a downer on your travel plans but when I was made redundant the benefits syetm was absolutely no help at all. I didn't qualify for contributions based allowance because for one month out of those two qualifying years I'd been self employed. Although I'd still paid exactly what I should have done in the shape of Class 2 contributions - they don't count - so I wasn't allowed on that basis.

 

The next thing they did was get me to apply for income based allowance instead. At the time my wife was working three nights a week. We have a normal sized mortgage and two kids under the age of ten at school. Nothing doing - the money from the part time job was all we needed according to them. No help with the mortgage either. All I got was NI contributions paid and council tax benefit - and that was it.

 

To be honest, and I'm not being funny with you - but if I'd said my plans were to take off round the country in my van, my guess is that they'd have been even less help than they were. They'd probably see a big difference between "actively seeking work" and "exploring the canal systems"

 

Andy

I had your experience to a t, I bet you came away from signing on thinking what a great system until the letter dropped through the door a few days later...

[...]

Don't want to throw a downer on your travel plans but when I was made redundant the benefits syetm was absolutely no help at all. I didn't qualify for contributions based allowance because for one month out of those two qualifying years I'd been self employed. Although I'd still paid exactly what I should have done in the shape of Class 2 contributions - they don't count - so I wasn't allowed on that basis.

 

The next thing they did was get me to apply for income based allowance instead. At the time my wife was working three nights a week. We have a normal sized mortgage and two kids under the age of ten at school. Nothing doing - the money from the part time job was all we needed according to them. No help with the mortgage either. All I got was NI contributions paid and council tax benefit - and that was it.

 

To be honest, and I'm not being funny with you - but if I'd said my plans were to take off round the country in my van, my guess is that they'd have been even less help than they were. They'd probably see a big difference between "actively seeking work" and "exploring the canal systems"

 

Andy

I will be actively seeking work but cruising the canals at the same time. I dont have kids and i have no morgage or debts. With alittle put away for a rainy day should keep me going for a short while.

 

Im not really expecting to get any real help from the system but i dont want to get to pension age and for them to tell me i havent paid enough stamp. Thats the important thing.

 

Ollie

[nbfiresprite]

I dont think you can claim benifits for a set amount of time if you give up your job

 

26 weeks for leaving without good reason. (mooring going up will not count)

 

 

Fivesprite

 

Middle levels

[Rich]

Regardless of whether they like it or not, if you are claiming housing benefit for your moorings you can claim for the licence. Council HB depts. might refuse but keep at it.

 

An interesting point is that if you qualify for Housing Benefit and you don't have a mooring you can claim for the cost of the licence from whichever council area you are travelling through. This is a pain on many occasions but if you are a cc'er you can easily be in the same council area for a month or so while still sticking to the 14 day rule. If you do pursue this you are likely to be told you cannot claim, but believe me you can.

 

Another small point for cc'ers relates to bus passes for us PoS's. If you have your mail delivered to a private house somewhere, such as a family member, you can register with their council as a person of no fixed abode. This has been introduced in law to give the homeless a vote but it can also give you a bus pass if you are lucky and access to an MP. MPs will pass letters on to the relevant government offices who can confirm all the above.

 

The above terminology may be suspect, I'm gettin' old and crotchety, but the basis of all the above is true.

 

Oh, and if you winter moor on the canal side and pay BW a mooring fee you can claim housing benefit for that and give a Post Office post restante address. You may well have an official come down and have a look but you can live with that.

 

The advantage of registering with a council is that when the refusals for the above come through the MP can refer it to the people who actually know the law.

[Smelly]

Sorry I missed this. Skipper check my profile for the intro. Advice about patchy.jobcentres is bang on. Some will want daily signing and it is at the discretion of the adviser who accepts your claim. "2 tax years" is a bit simplistic. It the last two tax years preceding the current benefit year. If you've not been in solid employment since Apr 07 pm and i'll forward my number. At this time of year strategic dates of claim can make all the difference.

 

You need to provide enough info for your claim to be determined,.an address to.collect post be.it post office, mates house etc will do.

 

last time I looked you.were only allowed 2 weeks temp absence courtesy of an es90. Will be happy to che k

 

As to voluntarily leaving.g work there must be .a.sanction but the period starts at 1 day and works up to. 26 weeks depending on the reasons for leaving. The benchmark test is "just cause" that is derived from a case known as "crewe" that dates back to 1947.

 

I can. Look stuff up if reminded before 4 30 most days id there's anything specific you want to ask, I do need reminding though.

 

Sorry for.grammar but I'm on my phone.

 

Mitch i'd be very.interested to discuss your licence with you if you're game for a laugh. I've never been given a coherent explanation of why most councils don't pay it and can put together an argument saying it should be.

 

Btw the boaters and gypsies comparison only stretches as far as housing provision by a local authority. Although housing benefit is.administered at la level it is effectively controlled by dwp.