No Money For presents For The Kids

[Deleted User]

Money_maker wrote: »

Is OP still living with his mother? If this is the case and she is still on IB, she may be able to get some help with electricity etc.
Good luck

yes am still with my mum and she is still on IB. we try to share the costs of food and electric etc But her money wont last the 2 of us. Can you explain how we would get help with electricity if she is still on IB? Thanks

zappster1966

Deleted_User wrote: »

i told the social last week and they said it was too late to put the money to a new bank account as it was already put through or something. i said can i apply for a crisis loan then and they said ok which i did. today got my application turned down.

said something about even though i told them today the whole lot will be taken on bank charges, they didnt see this as a crisis on my behalf and couldnt give me

Jobcentre Plus can recall payments from bank accounts up to midday the day before the payment is due.

If it's true that you contacted Jobcentre Plus last week, the officer you spoke to has failed in their duty to recall that payment. It's their fault that you don't have any money. They now have to contact your bank & recover that payment. While they're doing that you must get paid your entitlement immediately by some other means e.g. counter giro.

That being said, it can hardly have come as a surprise that you were overdrawn. Banks write to customers at least 2 weeks before they apply the charges, what on earth were you thinking about in leaving things to this late date before getting your act together ?

[Deleted User]

well i can swear hands down that alliance and leicest certainly did not contact me atleast 2 weeks before. how about if i told u the couple of charges ive had from them ive received the letter on the day of the charge and also after the charge was taken?

Also u said that payment can be withdrawn right up to mid day? Not sure about this as another person at the jobcentre also said to me that payment is put through days before and can not be withdrawn. if this is the case ill certainly pull them up.

zappster1966

If you're a Monday payday I can assure you that JC+ can recall your payment either via their computer systems - or by telephoning their Bank Liaison team - up to midday last Friday 19th. After that it's too late. If you phoned them last week, explained that you were overdrawn & didn't want your money to go to Alliance & Leicester they should have taken your new account details over the phone and recalled the payment.

Now, when you contact them they'll go into "oh, but it's already been paid ... there's nothing we can do" mode ... that isn't good enough. It's their fault. Their call agents record details of every phone call on their call log systems, so their manager will be able to confirm that you did call them. He'll be able to get the date, time & name of the officer to whom you spoke.

It may be a training issue, the person concerned might well have been rushed off their feet (every chance of that) and simply slipped up. These things happen. But you shouldn't have to go without because someone messed up.

I'd phone them in the morning & explain what's happened. Tell them you called last week, ask why the payment wasn't recalled as a result of your call. If you don't get any joy from the officer you speak to, ask to speak to their manager. If you still don't get anywhere, ask to speak to the Customer Service Manager (he or she is real management, they're basically too busy to speak to "mere" customers & invariably instruct their own staff to "just pay & get rid of it").

Good luck to ya.

margaretclare

For heaven's sake! You haven't enough for food and heating bills but your main worry is not being able to afford presents for nieces and nephews?

The priorities that I learned from my desperately-poor grandparents were: food on the table, warmth, cleanliness, clothing, the roof over your head - for them it was rent, nowadays it would be rent or mortgage plus council tax.

If you go for debt advice to CAB they still talk in these terms, so it's not out of date: priority and non-priority spending. Priority spending means the essentials of life, the same as my grandparents. Non-priority means all other debts: credit cards, all loand except secured loans.

IMHO the whole thing about spending on presents has got completely out of hand. If it was about closer relatives than nieces or nephews, I could possibly understand - children, partner/spouse, parents. Nieces and nephews - nowhere.

zappster1966

The chap's main problem today is that he has no money to prioritise with ! Hopefully he'll get something sorted with his local Benefit Delivery Centre. They're the ones who seem to be at fault here, not the OP.

hm71_2

I personally would go into my bank with the very helpful post by MrsTine. and see if they can help at all. I would also approach the jobcentre with a copy of my bank statement to show what has happened & seeif they be able to assist in some way.
I would definitly open a basic account for my benefits to avoid these situations in the future. & good luck.

dmg24

hm71 wrote: »

I personally would go into my bank with the very helpful post by MrsTine. and see if they can help at all. I would also approach the jobcentre with a copy of my bank statement to show what has happened & seeif they be able to assist in some way.
I would definitly open a basic account for my benefits to avoid these situations in the future. & good luck.

The information provided by MrsTine is very misleading. The right of appropriation is nowhere near as simple as walking into a bank and saying 'You've taken my benefits, give it back'. You would get laughed out of the bank if you did that.

MrsTinks

dmg it's not misleading - I did say it's hard getting them to cough it back up once they have got their mittens on it... but going in with it printed out is certainly worth a try... it's christmas after all and miracles do happen

hm71_2

yes, at least that is a small piece of information that the OP may not have had.Your quite right DMG that the bank is not just gonna roll over & hand it back but there is also the old adage 'if you don't ask you don't get' & I did say "and see if they can help at all" not this statement will make them hand back all your money...