social fund loans

looby75

Last year (sept) I applied and was given a loan of £700 (used to pay off some debts that my ex left me) I have been paying this back at £8.98 a week. The loan will be repaid in Feb 07.

My fridge freezer has just packed in and I haven't got the money to replace it, it's a really bad time of year as I have to start buying school shoes and uniforms for my kids (dd's school blouses are £13 each, never mind the cost of a new blazer :eek:) and other than going to someone like the provident (which obviously I don't want to do if I can avoid) I can't see any way of getting the money together for a new one.

Does anyone know if you can apply for a "top up" on a social fund loan if you haven't fully paid off the existing loan?

lil_me

You usually have an upper end borrowing limit depending on circumstances, then what you owe is usually doubled and taken from that limit to give the figure you could borrow on top, depending on circumstances & ability to repay etc.

Example from one I have dealt with recently

4 person family with a limit of £1000
She owed £235
She applied for £700
She was offered £530

You could also try for applying for a community care grant, these don't have to be repaid. Your partner leaving and say taking a fridge freezer, beds etc that needed to be replaced could be a reason to apply.

Fran

If you give your local Jobcentre Plus a ring and ask for the Social Fund they will be able to tell you their upper limit for this.

Depending on where you live, there might be some schemes to help you replace items or buy them cheaply. Citizens Advice should be able to tell you of any locally that would apply to you.

Re school clothes, they often get left by kids and the school should have some kind of lost property. They often sell them off at this time of year at school fetes perhaps, so check with the school.

If you are on Income Support, you can earn up to £20 per week without it affecting your benefits so is there some kind of work that you could do if you're not already?

Anything's better than more borrowing (provident)... don't go down that line!!

lil_me

Why not see if there is a uniform recycling scheme for your school where people can buy or sell second hand or donate items if the service is free, if not why not set one up especially if you have to buy the likes of blouses and blazers from them.

My parents went the other way when I was at school, got someone to copy the design and make them a lot cheaper so the school eventually dropped their prices I wonder where I get my awkwardness from.

davieb71

You can apply for a 'top up' if you have not already applied for a fridge freezer in your previous application.
Schools do have lost property and i'm sure they would have certain items that would be nefit your children and alot cheaper.
The upper limit is £1000 for a family although instead of going through the process you may find it easier to go to the Social Fund department and apply for a Crisis Loan so you can get you Fridge Freezer quicker. They'll give you the payment over the counter.
May i ask what is the problem with your old fridge freeezer? It may be that it could be fixed until your able to save for a new one.

lil_me

Also try freecycle for fridge freezers. might get one without needing a loan.

I think you'll find upper limit varies, recently dealt with one which was £1200

I don't think a fridge freezer would come under the items a crisis loan would cover, not in my area anyway.

astonsmummy

I would go down the crisis loan route as you more than likely wont get much if anything from social fund as you still have a long way to go to pay it off, if u phone the social fund dept they can tell u how much u owe and if ur likely to be accepted.
crisis loans wont give you money specifically for a fridge freezer, you will have to tell them you have no money for food nappies etc... xx

looby75

Thanks for the advice and suggestions.

Re the uniform idea, unfortunately I think that will be a no go. The school only changed their uniform last sept (most items are now only available to buy via the trutex website, hence the £13 a blouse) I doubt that there would be enough of a build up of lost property to sell off yet. Also add to the fact the school is a very old building and FILTHY, I seriously doubt any second hand items would be fit to sell/pass on. I know that my even though I have tried every trick in the book to keep my dd's blouses white and bright they are decidedly grey and dingy now, it's a very common complaint amongst the parents I know

The fridge is 10 years old and has been making strange loud gurgling noises for quite a while now, then yesterday I noticed a lovely puddle on the floor. A friend of a friend came to look at it for me and has told me the compressor (I think that's what he said) has gone and realistically it isn't worth repairing it as it is so old. HE said chances are I'll fix that one thing and something else will go

CIS

Remember that there is no legal requirement that a person wear a school uniform or buy one from a schools designated supplier, theres nothing stopping you from buying alternatives elsewhere and probably saving a lot on the £13 .

Fran

CIS wrote:

Remember that there is no legal requirement that a person wear a school uniform or buy one from a schools designated supplier, theres nothing stopping you from buying alternatives elsewhere and probably saving a lot on the £13 .

Is that England/Wales/Scotland/N.Ireland or whole of UK?

Hmm, I can't see many parents wanting their children to be the only ones without school uniform, in my kids' school if they don't wear school uniform they get told off.

essexhoney

If you do decide to go down the crisis loan route and ask for a fridge freezer they usually ask for a qualified engineers report as proof that its not working/ not repairable.