Top Tips To Managing Your Benefits

Benefit claims can be confusing and time consuming. Here are a few tips to prevent problems and to help sort them out quickly if they do crop up.

• Housing and Council Tax Benefit rules are sometimes very complicated and it is easy to miss out on help you are entitled to. Get your benefits entitlement checked by our Benefits Team on 01252 398914, to make sure you are receiving everything you can.

• Different organisations and departments deal with different benefits. For example, Tax Credits and Child Benefit are dealt with by HM Revenue and Customs; Income Support and Job Seekers Allowance by the Department for Work and Pensions; Pension Credit by the Pension Service and Housing and Council Tax Benefit by us.

• If you inform one department or organisation of a change in your circumstances, do not assume they will pass the information on. It is your responsibility to inform all of the departments and organisations that you get benefit from. In some cases it can be done over the phone, but it is best to do so in writing.

• Keep all important letters together in a file. If you receive any letters from us that you don't understand please contact our Benefits Team who will be able to help. If the letter is not from us contact the appropriate organisation for an explanation. If you want independent or confidential advice, you can visit an advice agency like the Citizens Advice Bureau.

• When you contact us or another organisation by phone, always write down the name of the person you spoke to, the date and what was agreed in case the problem is not sorted out.

• Ask for a receipt when you hand in forms or evidence and keep it safe. If you are asked for the same information again you will be able to prove you have already supplied it.

• If you receive a letter asking for information please try to get the information as soon as possible. The sooner you do the sooner your claim will be processed. If you do not provide the information on time you may lose out on benefit and have to start claiming again.

If there is anything you do not understand please ring or email us using the information on the right of this page. A member of our benefits team will be happy to help.