Advice Needed for Crisis Loan

chrisb1357

Good Afternoon,

Not sure if you can help me but i am after some advice regarding Crisis loan if you would be happy to answer my questions.

I am due to go back into Full time work next week after being on Contrubuitons Based JSA for 12 weeks. My last sign on date is Monday.

My partner is claiming Income Based JSA and she is informing them next week a change circumstances and that she will still have to sign on each week to get her NI paid until she finds work but will not get any payment from the JSA due to myself going into fulltime work.

The question i have is once we get our last payment of JSA next week which is around £202 for the 2 weeks just gone this will only last us 2 weeks but i am now worried that we wont have any food or money to buy electric and gas in 3 to 4 weeks time.

I have looked at my budget and by the looks of it we only have 2 weeks of food, electric and gas money and after this there is 2 weeks where there is no money to get food etc. My first pay day will be 23rd April from my new work i have been told.

Do you know if we will be able to get a crisis loan to help get food and get gas and electric for the 2 weeks where we have no money coming in. If i am due to sign off next week am i best to put in the claim for myself to get a crisis loan before i sign off or after.

Also what questions will they ask me.
I am very worried about not being able to feed myself and my partner

Thanks

dreamylittledream

Any other income? Any children involved? If so CTC and CHB will still be paid.

Also £200 is really only enough for just food gas and electric for a two week period? A couple can shop and eat fairly well on £50 per week - so are you really saying that you spend £100 a fortnight on power? Sounds rather high to me - how big is your house?

You need to have exhausted all your other options before you apply for a crisis loan - can no one else honestly help you for a fortnight? - neither set of parents able to help out a little? You have no savings at all despite only being out of work 3 months? No overdraft and no credit cards at all? If so you are a little unusual.

You also need to have approached your employer and been refused for an advance on salary - most large employers will advance some part of your wages in these circumstances.

If all else fails then yes you could apply for a crisis loan for living expenses for the period - although you would not qualify until you are actually without means or resources (i.e after your final JSA payment is spent) be prepared for some difficult questions if you attempt this before a reasonable period has elapsed from your last JSA payment (so at least 2 weeks). A crisis loan is only paid to meet an immediate risk to health or safety - you can not apply for a living expenses loan in advance. Be prepared to provide evidence that your employer has refused an advance on wages also.

Also if a crisis loan is advanced remember you are still obliged to make payments even if you are not in recipt of benefit - the debt doesn't go anywhere just because the government can no longer collect it at source.

chrisb1357

Hi There,

The £200 we get paid next week will pay the bills etc needed as in Creditors who we have an aggred amount to pay. If we dont pay these they will stop the temp agrement we have setup nd they will not give us a payment brake.

We Spend £40 a week on Food and about £10 on Gas and £10 on Electric which is all we need help on for 2 weeks in 3 weeks time.

I have asked around from my family and no one can help us. if they would then i would have taken them up on there offer.

No savings as i was self emplyoed before that and made a lost.

No Credit Cards and No Overdraft as we was on a DMP Plan and only have a standard CoOp Cash Minder account for both of us.

dreamylittledream wrote: »

Any other income? Any children involved? If so CTC and CHB will still be paid.

Also £200 is really only enough for just food gas and electric for a two week period? A couple can shop and eat fairly well on £50 per week - so are you really saying that you spend £100 a fortnight on power? Sounds rather high to me - how big is your house?

You need to have exhausted all your other options before you apply for a crisis loan - can no one else honestly help you for a fortnight? - neither set of parents able to help out a little? You have no savings at all despite only being out of work 3 months? No overdraft and no credit cards at all? If so you are a little unusual.

You also need to have approached your employer and been refused for an advance on salary - most large employers will advance some part of your wages in these circumstances.

If all else fails then yes you could apply for a crisis loan for living expenses for the period - although you would not qualify until you are actually without means or resources (i.e after your final JSA payment is spent) be prepared for some difficult questions if you attempt this before a reasonable period has elapsed from your last JSA payment (so at least 2 weeks). A crisis loan is only paid to meet an immediate risk to health or safety - you can not apply for a living expenses loan in advance. Be prepared to provide evidence that your employer has refused an advance on wages also.

Also if a crisis loan is advanced remember you are still obliged to make payments even if you are not in recipt of benefit - the debt doesn't go anywhere just because the government can no longer collect it at source.

dmg24

Is it just the two of you? If so, you can cut your food budget in half. Have a look at the Old Style board, you'll be able to do it with no problems.

chrisb1357

Hi, Yep we use alot of that board some good stuff on there and saved us alot in the pass.

We cannot use much on there due to the GF having a special diet that alot of foods contain.

missmontana

Who is eligible?
You can apply for a Crisis Loan if all the following apply:
you're aged 16 or over
you don't have enough money to meet your (or your family's) immediate short term needs in an emergency or as the result of a disaster
without the loan there will be serious damage or risk to your (or your family's) health or safety

do any of these apply to you, if not I don't think you'd even be entitled to a crisis loan.

chrisb1357

Hi there,

They do not at th eminute but in 3 weeks time they will

Chris

dreamylittledream

chrisb1357 wrote: »

Hi There,

The £200 we get paid next week will pay the bills etc needed as in Creditors who we have an aggred amount to pay. If we dont pay these they will stop the temp agrement we have setup nd they will not give us a payment brake.

We Spend £40 a week on Food and about £10 on Gas and £10 on Electric which is all we need help on for 2 weeks in 3 weeks time.

I have asked around from my family and no one can help us. if they would then i would have taken them up on there offer.

No savings as i was self emplyoed before that and made a lost.

No Credit Cards and No Overdraft as we was on a DMP Plan and only have a standard CoOp Cash Minder account for both of us.

What's more important - paying bills or eating and having light and heat for a fortnight?

If you intentionally put yourself into a crisis by paying bills over basic living costs don't expect a huge amount of sympathy from a decision maker.

A crisis loan is only paid to prevent a risk to your health or safety - if you caused that risk yourself by depriving yourself of resources you could have used to live off then you make your own bed.

Crisis loans aren't paid to cover bills - if you choose to pay bills over living then to all intents and purposes you asking for a crisis loan to pay the bills.

chrisb1357

I understand that food is more important. I have just looked at my budget sheet and worked out once we get last Job Seekers next week we have the money to pay for Food, Electric, Gas and Bus Fair until 14th April and my first Pay Date will be around 23rd April. That amount is without not paying for bills like Water. Phone etc which can be paid once i get my first pay.

I understand they are not for paying bills. As i say in this post i am not paying my bills. These have been paid this week but are only £1 or £2 payment to my creditors.

Chris

dreamylittledream wrote: »

What's more important - paying bills or eating and having light and heat for a fortnight?

If you intentionally put yourself into a crisis by paying bills over basic living costs don't expect a huge amount of sympathy from a decision maker.

A crisis loan is only paid to prevent a risk to your health or safety - if you caused that risk yourself by depriving yourself of resources you could have used to live off then you make your own bed.

Crisis loans aren't paid to cover bills - if you choose to pay bills over living then to all intents and purposes you asking for a crisis loan to pay the bills.

dreamylittledream

chrisb1357 wrote: »

I understand that food is more important. I have just looked at my budget sheet and worked out once we get last Job Seekers next week we have the money to pay for Food, Electric, Gas and Bus Fair until 14th April and my first Pay Date will be around 23rd April. That amount is without not paying for bills like Water. Phone etc which can be paid once i get my first pay.

I understand they are not for paying bills. As i say in this post i am not paying my bills. These have been paid this week but are only £1 or £2 payment to my creditors.

Chris

You sign on Monday so your last payment will be Thurs 22nd - If you paid on the 26th April I make 4 and a half weeks until you get paid from work assuming they can not give you any salary advance.

You've said your basic living costs are £60 p/w so you have three weeks living costs there straight away - if you use the money for non essential things (like paying your creditors) then you have chosen that over basic living costs.

If you can hold out to week 4 then I see no reason why you couldn't be paid a crisis loan for the final week or so but you will have to explain and justify your expenditure of that JSA to the decision maker - who will expect you to have covered your living costs first.

With regard to travel to work see if your employer offers any kind of season ticket purchase scheme or talk to your personal adviser at the jobcentre about the ADF scheme for travel to work - don't let them refer you to social fund for this - crisis loans won't be paid for travel.

If you are honest and logical with a decision maker when the crisis occurs then you will get paid a loan if there is a risk to the health or safety of you and your partner and no other way of helping - you can't prempt this crisis and you can't expect a crisis loan to be paid earlier if you use money that could have been used for your basic living costs for something else first.

chrisb1357

Hi There,

Many thanks for the adivce. The bus fair is for my partner to still sign on. I have signed up to the local Wheels to Work scheme and will be getting a push bike. I agrree we would only need it on the 4th week for food and gas and elec

Chris