Customer story: Family awarded thousands in unclaimed benefits
Earlier this year, we carried out a pre-tenancy assessment for a family hoping to move into one of our homes. They had been living on a low income and receiving Universal Credit. The Mum worked part-time, while the Dad was unable to work due to ongoing health conditions and received limited capability for work benefits.
The couple had children with additional needs, both receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA). The family had previously been renting privately and were struggling to cover a monthly shortfall due to Local Housing Allowance.
During an affordability check, our Welfare Benefits Advisor identified that the family were missing key elements in their Universal Credit, including the Child Disability Premium and carer’s element. With our support, they contacted Universal Credit and successfully had these added and backdated.
They received a substantial backdated payment, which will finally help pay for specialist furniture and a holiday that can accommodate their children’s needs. They also received a significant increase to their monthly income, which will help them save for new items as their children grow. The family were overjoyed and said they wouldn't have known about this support without our help.
Be careful who you accept benefit support from
If you or a loved one is offered help with a benefits application, it’s worth being a little cautious. Some companies charge for their services by taking a cut of any back payments awarded or a percentage of your benefits.
You don’t need to pay for this kind of help. We offer free benefits support for all our customers, and you'll get everything you're awarded.
We can help with all types of benefits, check you're getting everything you're entitled to, help with appeals if you've had benefits taken away, and more.
For benefit support:
- If you live in a former CHP home, call 0300 555 0500 or email mb-welfarebenefits@chp.org.uk
- If you live in a former Estuary home, call 0300 304 5000 or email info@estuary.co.uk.