Do banks have the right to take dole money

tremar

My son in-law who is claiming JSA has his money paid into Barclays but he has a debt to Visa and they take ALL his benefit to pay this debt.

Do the banks have the right to take it all each fortnight?

Your advice appreciated.

unholyangel

I would imagine it depends on the circumstances.

There is an actual loophole. Say they issued a earnings arrestment, and you were below the limit for them taking any of your earnings........they can then issue a bank arrestment - and in effect take ALL your wages even though they cant touch them under the earnings arrestment.

It is complete lunacy. However, you dont have to release the funds from the bank arrestment.

I assume from what you say, this isnt the case. I mean what exactly is the situation? Why does he owe the money to visa? Is the payments something he has agreed with them?

You may get a better response posting this on the debt boards.

Equaliser123

tremar wrote: »

My son in-law who is claiming JSA has his money paid into Barclays but he has a debt to Visa and they take ALL his benefit to pay this debt.

Do the banks have the right to take it all each fortnight?

Your advice appreciated.

This has been discussed a huge amount of times on the bank charges reclaims board. Yes, they do have the right. Once benefit money is paid into a bank account it is treated as any other sort of money.

What the law says is that you cannot charge (in the legal sense - i.e. encumber or mortgage) benefits. This does not mean that benefits money has some sort of magic protection from creditors.

DCodd

Could the op's Son-in-law not just open a post office account for the benefit and draw it out as cash each fortnight?

Ivory_Tinkler

OP has your son-in-law contacted the bank to discuss this? Maybe he can come to some sort of arrangement with them as he surely can't have much money left to live on each week?

adam.mt

Would seem logically to open a new bank account somewhere else and get his benefit changed to pay into that account. Since VISA wouldn't have the details of that account they couldn't take the money! Obviously, the debt would still be owed though but it would give him some money to live on and he could negotiate separately with VISA about a better way to resolve it.

adam.mt

I assume his Visa is Barclaycard and that's why they're taking the money from his Barclays bank account?

pcombo

Then if you dont wanna pay the debt, Ask job centre to change his payment method to post office.

unholyangel

adam.mt wrote: »

Would seem logically to open a new bank account somewhere else and get his benefit changed to pay into that account. Since VISA wouldn't have the details of that account they couldn't take the money! Obviously, the debt would still be owed though but it would give him some money to live on and he could negotiate separately with VISA about a better way to resolve it.

Nothing wrong with your answer, just adding a FYI for the OP.

If they are taking the money via a bank arrestment, changing banks wont help as they will apply to banks basically asking something along the lines of if this person has an account with you freeze the balance type thing.

As i said before it is complete lunacy that they cant touch the money as earnings but can later freeze it in your bank - especially now that for benefits (at least in this area) and most jobs.......its bank transfers.

Possibly ask if he can get it paid into someone elses bank account? I'm not 100% sure but i think if the account is in someone elses name, it would stop any bank arrestments (of course thats under the assumption that this is whats happening and that its not just payments due - for example).

shjo558

They do have the right to take the money, however you can excerise your first right of appropriation.

See this post https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1629177

Equaliser123

shjo558 wrote: »

They do have the right to take the money, however you can excerise your first right of appropriation.

See this post https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1629177

Can you provide some legal back-up for the "first right of appropriation"?

I'm in commercial law so don't get involved in this sort of thing but never heard of it.