Frequently Asked Questions

Please select from one of the following groups or use the search facility

1
All programs
1	Which environments will Ferret programs run on?
2	Do you provide support for your application to run in a Windows 7+ operating system provided within a Citrix environment?
Benefits & Tax Credits
1	Is industrial injuries benefit treated as income?
2	How do I treat Employment Support Allowance (ESA)?
3	What is a family for benefit purposes?
4	Who is a Non-dependant?
5	Why do you need details of my client's Council Tax liability when they get a full rebate?
6	My customer has a "pension pot". Is this capital? If not, what is it?
FerrCalc
1	How do I update the Bank of England current interest rate in the Ferret Calculator (FerrCalc)?
2	I get an error message saying "Licence file is missing or corrupt, aborting (1)" or "Your Licence file has not been found - unable to load Ferrcalc".
3	How do I know if Auto-updating works?
4	There's an error message saying a file is locked, but no-one is using the program. Why?
5	In a Network Installation, how do I add the application to a new user account?
Finance
1	What is the difference between Guarantee Pension Credit (GPC) and Savings Pension Credit (SPC)?
2	How come my client is getting SPC when they have no savings?
3	What is an AIP?
4	If my client is in an AIP, is there any situation where they will need to notify the DWP or local authority of an increase in their income or capital?
5	Are state benefits paid on a monthly basis?
6	Why do you need details of my client's Council Tax liability when they get a full rebate?
7	What figure should I input for Council Tax liability?
8	Which mortgages, or what parts of a mortgage, will be included in PC entitlement?
9	In the FINTAL program how do I access the Capital reckoner and what can I do with it?
10	What is a family for benefit purposes?
11	What effect will there be on means-tested benefit entitlement if a client gives money away to a relative?
12	What effect will there be on means-tested benefit entitlement if my client acquires money via equity release but the money is only ever held by their solicitor and s/he spends it on the client's behalf?
13	How is "drawdown" treated?
14	How is a second house/property treated?
15	How should National Savings Certificates (NSC) be valued?
16	How should War Pensions be treated?
17	Is industrial injuries benefit treated as income?
18	How should annuity income be treated?
19	How are "bonds" treated?
Fintal2
1	How do I know if Auto-updating works?
2	How do I access the configuration mode?
3	When I try to view the Equity release reports, there's an alert message saying "Chart display requires JavaScript ("Active scripting" in Internet Explorer), and this appears to be not enabled in your Browser." How can I stop this warning message?
Housing Grants
1	Can you give me a brief outline of how the DFG means-test works?
2	Where can I read the latest amendments to the Housing Renewal Grants legislation?
3	How does the Qualifying Age for State Pension Credit (QASPC) impact on DFG calculations for over 60s ?
4	What is a child?
5	How do you treat the Income and/or Capital of a Child/Young Person?
6	How should DFG applications including foster children be treated?
7	How do you print a report from Renovator where you've processed a Child's DFG application?
8	How is a second house/property treated?
9	How should National Savings Certificates (NSC) be valued?
10	How should War Pensions be treated?
11	How should payments from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme be treated?
12	My customer lives in a house owned by a family member. Who makes the application?
13	Is industrial injuries benefit treated as income?
14	How should pension credits be treated?
15	How does the DFG means-test treat Universal Credit (UC)?
16	How are working tax credit and child tax credit treated?
17	How do I treat Employment Support Allowance (ESA)?
18	Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – contributory or income-related?
19	How should annuity income be treated?
20	How are loan or mortgage protection insurance payments treated?
21	The relevant person was awarded maintenance, it has not been paid.
22	Trust funds and income from them
23	The relevant person gets a regular amount from a local authority, government or charity source, to pay for a carer. Can it be ignored?
24	The Relevant Person doesn't work because they are sick, but they still get an income from their employer. How is this treated?
25	Over what period should earnings be assessed?
26	Who is eligible to have child care costs taken into account?
27	Who is a Non-dependant?
28	When is Severe Disability Premium awarded?
29	What sort of Council Tax Benefit is a "passport" to a full grant?
30	The Relevant Person receives Concessionary Coal Payments. How is this treated?
31	How do I deal with an application from an "occupier" (someone who lives in a caravan or houseboat)?
32	My client has spent some of their capital, should I treat them as still having it for means-testing purposes?
33	How is Equity Release treated for DFG purposes?
34	How are "bonds" treated?
35	My customer has a "pension pot". Is this capital? If not, what is it?
36	The property is jointly owned by the applicant and a housing association (or similar). Is the applicant considered an owner or tenant?
Renovation Grants Law - CD-ROM
1	What do I need to run the RGL CD-ROM?
2	Will RGL CD-ROM run on Macintosh computers?
3	How regularly is the RGL CD-ROM updated?
4	What is the "evaluation" CD?
5	How do I install / uninstall the RGL?
6	What is the simpler interface?
7	How is access to the RGL controlled?
8	How does Ferret unlock the CD?
9	Help! I get an error message “invalid licence file location”.
10	How do I access the "personalisation options"?
11	Network issues.
12	Help! I get an error message “unable to open the infobase. The license user limit has been exceeded”.
Renovator
1	I get an error message saying "Too many concurrent users"
2	I get an error message saying "Licence file is missing or corrupt, aborting (1)" or "Your Licence file has not been found - unable to load Renovator".
3	I get an error message saying "Failed to obtain lock on concurrency file ..."
4	How do I know if Auto-updating works?
5	Report Problems - Incomplete or No Output
6	How do I access the configuration mode?
7	There's an error message saying a file is locked, but no-one is using the program. Why?
8	In a Network Installation, how do I add the application to a new user account?
Social Security CD-ROM
1	What do I need to run the SSL CD-ROM?
2	Will SSL CD-ROM run on Macintosh computers?
3	How do I install / uninstall the SSL?
4	What is the simpler interface?
5	How is access to the SSL controlled?
6	How do I access the "personalisation options"?
7	Network issues.
8	Help! I get an error message “unable to open the infobase. The license user limit has been exceeded”.
ucForward
1	How do I change the default settings?
2	How do I know if my program is up-to-date?