So what''s the story?

I was given my daughter by social services on the 4th July last year, the mother was prohibited from contact with her due to abuse issues.

In December the mother admitted in a social services core group meeting that she was still claiming child benefit and was informed that it was fraud.
I didn''t know I was entitled to the benefit (I know absolutely nothing about the benefit system).

I reported the mother and made a claim.I sent them a copy of the residence order I got in December and a covering letter explaining all this.
they sent me an application with a return address which was a Belfast address (the wrong address), in April I called them to esquire bout my claim and was told they never received it so I made another application with a copy of the court order and explanatory letter and asked for back dated payments.

I have received a payment of £121 dated from 20th May 2013.
I asked why they didn''t back date and they say another person was claiming it up to that date.
But I reported her in December.
Do you think they''re decision is wrong?, I do.
should I appeal?, or is it now a civil matter and up to me to try sue her for the money?

Why should she be allowed to keep all that money when it should have been spent on my daughter?
And how come she hasn''t been prosecuted for benefit fraud, she already has a conviction for claiming benefits while working.
Anyone know the right way to go about this?
thanks.

Sounds to me like you need to have the claim re-investigated, Tom.

£121 isn''t even two months CB for an only child.

If I was you I would appeal or at least ask for a written explanation telling you why and how they came to their decision - make an appeal - CB is approx £82 a month - and you could be entitled to child tax credits depending on your income it could be as much as £62 a week.
I think it''s definitely worth appealing and send the proof again explaining everything - send it recorded delivery to ensure it gets there.
Good Luck.

It''s certainly not up to you to reclaim the money from her directly.

They made an overpayment to her due to their error and it''s up them to recover that overpayment. Similarly they can''t hold your daughter to ransom because your ex hasn''t repaid an overpayment, so payments to you should not be withheld based on what your ex is doing.

If you have some evidence of when you disputed the benefit (i.e. December) then send a copy of that too.

Tom - make a tax credit claim immediately as they will only backdate for 4 weeks now (used to be 3 months) so don''t miss out for any longer than you need to. If you have childcare costs and you work at least 16 hours a week, you will be able to claim support towards those costs as well - they will need a weekly cost from you and the Ofstead registration details of your childcare supplier.

You would make an anonymous benefit fraud report via the internet. You''ll never know the outcome (she may have already been prosecuted but they wouldn''t tell you that) but it''s worth doing it and detailing the information that you have - if you''re ultimately happy for her to know it was you, you will be able to provide your details and offer a copy of the residence order. Don''t hold your breath - although if she has ''offended'' before, they may go after her. They may not.

In terms of complaining about it not getting sorted sooner, I would. But be prepared for that to go nowhere. It will do no harm, however, as long as you don''t let it bother you. It is a matter of principle for you (and I don''t blame you for that) but don''t expect any redress. The system is laboured and full of excuses.

Can you provide evidence for the letters you sent? Might be wise to send everything recorded from here on in just so you can prove you sent them when you say you did!

Hi Guys, thank you for the replies,
No I don''t have proof that I sent the initial application, I just stuck all the documents in the provided envelope and sent it off, they gave me a wrongly addressed return envelope.
As for tax credits, I''m not entitled to them as income is way too high.

The child benefit is being banked in my daughters account, hopefully to help pay for future education or as a bit of a nest egg for her, now her mother has stolen a nice chunk of it, the git.
I''m gonna appeal their decision not to backdate the payments at least to the 17th December when I got the residence order.

To be honest the money is not really the big issue for me, it is the principle, I''ve worked hard all my life and never ever claimed benefits, even when I was unemployed for periods.

I have no problem with the benefit system and totally support it''s existence, without it we''d quickly become a third world country. but it seems to give preference to those who are willing to defraud and take the pee out of it.

My daughters mother is an immigrant in this country and will take and take and take.
I have even witnessed her advising friends on how to lie in application forms for benefits.

She was convicted last year of benefit fraud because she was caught working and claiming housing benefit and job seekers allowance, I think the figure came to about £8000, she was ordered to pay it back at £5 a week, even though she works full time.
She was even receiving a tidy sum from me in CSA payments.
No wonder she could throw parties every month.

It seems to me that the more honest I am the more I have the p--s taken outta me.

Thanks for the advice,I appreciate you taking the time.

Tom.