Letter to cancel Housing Benefit

A question about : Letter to cancel Housing Benefit

I'm going to write to cancel my Housing Benefit but I don't want to give a reason. Is it acceptable to just write:

Dear sirs HB ref; xxxxxxx
I'm writing to cancel my claim for Housing Benefit.
Yours faithfulluy, vyvyan

Between you and me I'm fed up with the system, to the point where I've been pushed close to the edge too many times. My HB is worth about Ј30 a week and although finding the extra is going to be very tough I would rather do this on my own. I've done my sums and the budget is going to be tighter than a blah blah, I think the peace of mind is more valuable.

Do I say due to a change in my personal circumstances....(not true btw)?

Dear sirs, on yer bike, love and kisses vyvyan?

I like my first version but is it too brief?

Best answers:

• hi there
  what a pain the system can be. been there although its a fair few years now. if i were you i would be completely honest and tell them you would rather struggle than deal with incompetence and frustration, often to the point of tears. would ringing them not be easier and quicker?
  i would send the the brief draft but i would queue and hand it in person where you will get a receipt of acknowledgement. the amount of these things that go missing!! tsk!!!
• Dear Vyvyan,
  I know what you mean - you probably don't have to give a reason, but if you don't, you're worried that they might assume that you've been doing something shifty and put you through an investigation - more paperwork, more stress, etc.
  How about just saying that you would find it easier to budget on a low, predictable income than have to keep making adjustments because your housing benefit keeps changing or being delayed (assuming that's what has been giving you stress)?
  Hopefully, one of the posters who works in the HB section of a Council will come along and let you know how a 'minimal' letter would be viewed.
• I would just write and say you no longer wish to claim HB.
  I don't see why you have to give them a reason - although you may want to.
• If its going to be a struggle getting the Ј30 per week together to make up the HB you are currently receiving....why sendin a letter to cancel it? If they are paying Ј30pw ATM, then I dont see what the problem is:confused: If you are entitled to the money, why would you write and tell them you no longer want it.
  Sorry, but your not making sense to me!
  PP
  xx
• I understand Vyvyan completely, PP - it's a time-consuming and humiliating process applying for benefit. Then there are delays, requests for further information, letters sent telling you you're entitled to X, then not entitled to anything, then only entitled to Y so must pay back so much per week, etc. etc. It's very unnerving and difficult to budget. There are quite often gaps in payments which are notified to the claimant after they've happened, which can cause you to go overdrawn (if you have that facility), or standing orders & direct debits to bounce, racking up bank charges. I could go on. Sometimes it's preferable to know exactly where you are, even if money is very tight than to be in a constant state of flux.
• Suggest you think again about ceasing to claim HB. The system is designed to frustrate applicants to the point where many say "what the hell" and give up, thus the authority save money. Don't even consider letting them get the better of you!! Persist and claim that to which you are entitled.
  To answer your question,
  Housing Benefit must be claimed. Technically you are proposing to cease claiming benefit from a specific date (which you need to state in your letter). Although you are not obliged to state the reason you can be sure they will write to you seeking the reason. When this happened to me I replied saying simply that I no longer qualified. If you decide to go through with what you propose I would suggest you state the real reason for your action.
• Thank you for all of the constructive replies. I’ve hit a few thanks buttons!
  I have made my decision – it’s just a case of how best to go about it. I think I’ll go with my first, brief draft and add that I would now prefer to be independent etc. (need to think about this (suggestions welcome)) effective from the date on the letter. I’ll also get a receipt of acknowledgment – hadn’t thought of that one!
  As Msmicawber guessed, my problems are due to varying entitlement because I sometimes have the chance to work overtime, and also about twice a year I get a bonus payment which is a portion of tips which are pooled and split between the team I work with. Every time my payslip is different from the basic, I need to send it off and they re-adjust my entitlement. A total nightmare for my own budgeting. My Ј30 per week is roughly the ‘normal’ one. In future, any overtime and bonus will go in my own pot, for my own benefit, peace of mind, blood pressure etc. There is the humiliation and the intrusiveness of it all - although I obviously do know why these measures are all in place to keep the system fair etc. This is not a decision I’ve made lightly or casually as I’ve been considering this since about the time I joined MSE earlier this year. I’ve done a lot of number crunching. I’ve been on HB for almost 10 years but my entitlement has decreased in that time as I’ve changed jobs and gradually increased my hours to full time. I now have the anticipation of personal pride in being independent for the New Year.
• I'm behind you Vyvyan, having recently done the same myself - I feel such a weight off my shoulders, although I'm slightly worse off financially. It was soooo lovely getting a Christmas bonus and not thinking 'Oh God, how long is this going to take the Council to reassess, and how much is it going to cost me' and, for the first time in years, I actually have some money for Christmas.
  One thing I forgot to mention is that you should give them a date from which you wish your claim to cease. I chose the day after my previous payment for ease of calculation.
  Very best wishes.
• i am also considering this! now being self employed i have to send in all my accounts for them to have a nose at and the result: £25pw housing benefit and £9 pwk council tax benefit!
  because i have so many diffrerent bank accounts, it cost me a fortune printing copies of all of them as most are paperless accounts! being self employed i have to do this every THREE months!!!! it just seems such a pointless waste of time and paperwork.
  in januarymy maintenece from ex husband is going up so i expect another long wait for them to sort that out too and i know i will end up with less benefit so i am thinking....whats the point????
• Hi vyvyan,
  a few bits of advice:
  1. technically you cannot just withdraw your claim, although practically they will probably accept it.
  2. Fluctuating earnings are the worst case scenario for the claimant and the HB staff alike. They never know what to do with them and you never know where you stand.
  And a suggestion:
  Rather then lose out on money you are entitled to, why not write a clear letter to the council, stating the situation you find yourself in, and asking if they can find a way to set a consistent rate for a defined period. I would suggest that you ask for your HB to be re-assessed every 13 weeks, based on the previous 13 weeks earnings.
  There are many problems with the HB regs,not least of which is that earnings should technically be taken into account for the period they are paid - i.e if you are paid monthly and start work, you lose (some) HB from the week you start and struggle for the first 4 weeks. Sometimes presenting the HB staff with a solution they can agree to is better for you.
• i know its a different benifit, but last year we had to claim income support, luckily after a few weeks my oh got another job. i rang to tell income support to end the claim but we had to put it in wrighting and also tell them start date, income and place of work
  why they need that information is beyond me but they insisted they needed it.
• It's true, you cannot withdraw a claim unless you can prove you are no longer entitled. That said, it seems to be only Tax Credits where they actually uphold this (I assume because the system is 100% automatic and they'd have to enter incorrect/false information in order to stop a live claim).