Agencies

Even after practising for the last month or so, going full-time does take it out of you. Yesterday was time-in-lieu 'off work', but that was just catching up on the things that work has prevented me doing, like house-maintenance errands and (far worse) dealing with the benefit agencies.

After filling out new claim forms belatedly and thus reading through the last 3 months' bank statements, I've realised that since the last round of benefit changes (April, when part-time commenced), my child benefit hasn't been paid. Also, I haven't received the mortgage relief benefit that was supposed to run-on for 8 or 12 weeks thereafter (hence the mortgage arrears drama). Also, my working- and child tax-credit (not to be confused with child benefit- a totally different agency) vary wildly by factors of 400% from fortnight to fortnight, with no known rationale.

A phone call to the Child Benefit Agency yesterday illustrated that making changes to any claim is a jeopardous undertaking, not to be undertaken lightly. I transferred the wee wan's child benefit to her dad in April by phone and letter, to reflect our equal care of the two kiddos. The Child Benefit Agency kindly wrote to me to acknowledge that henceforth I'd be receiving child benefit just for the Big Wan. They cancelled the old two-kiddo payment to me, but failed to institute the new one-kiddo payments. The pleasant bloke in Newcastle tells me that I'm right and that payments have gone erroneously unpaid. "It's all sorted now", he says, but why should I trust anything that's said over the phone, the now statutory method of contact with all the Agencies?

Another day of time-in-lieu is due soon; to clear up the old problems from starting at 20 hrs/wk in April, as well as the new ones from going to 40 hrs/wk. Currently I'm staring at an entirely opaque Child Tax Credit form from the Inland Revenue, requiring me to list the benefits received over the last 9 months that I haven't yet understood, named or even received. The best thing about this is that soon I'll be almost benefit free, and thus emancipated from most agencies except Inland Revenue. Arbeit Macht Frei.