constructive dismissal earned me a JSA sanction now im jobless and pennyless

PasturesNew

Find the local soup kitchen and volunteer to help .... they'll feed you too and you're doing a good deed.

pupsicola

I dont know how it works with the halifax (awful organisation that I wouldn't touch again with a barge pole) But with hsbc if you cancel a direct debit they dont charge you when the company sends a request for payment. They just assume it has been set up elsewhere and say no.

Its awful how you find yourself in this distressing situation. You seem to have had no choice about leaving your last job. I would approach another CAB, some are better than others.

As for Sky, phone them and lay it on the line. Explain your current situation and maybe be prepared to compromise and say pay 1 months grace payment if they let you stop using immediately. It would take a real hardnut not to have some empathy with your situation. Any contract with anyone can be cancelled early if they use some common sense and discretion.

Loopy_Girl

mitch161 wrote: »

by the way even if i did cancel direct debit. my bank would still charge me a 'non payment charge' as sky would still request the money. (thought of that idea already as this happened last year with a broadband provider) good old halifax!!(sarcasm)

Ummmm...no they wouldn't. You are at liberty to cancel any of your direct debits at any time and then it is up to the company to pursue you. Never heard of this charge in my life and I have been with HBOS for years and have cancelled direct debits at times for various reasons.

All that will happen is that it will bounce back to Sky, they will chase you for the money and eventually (probs about 4 weeks) you will get cut off.

And I have to echo another poster...you are up against it and wondering how to get food in your tummy and are buying Christmas presents?!:eek: Need to get your priorities sorted and you are top of the list. A card with a thoughtful message is ample for someone paerticularly if they know you.

You mention you run a car? Hefty costs there so maybe think of SORNing it at the moment so that you are not paying for insurance and, in this weather, if it breaks down, how are you going to pay to get it repaired?

Go over to the Oldsaving Board...there are tons of ideas and recipes that can warrant you a warming and nutrious meal out of practically nothing.

mitch161

this is to answer a few peoples questions.

to hammyman
my christmas shopping was completed early this year. i have always been organised like that. when in full time employment i use to spend hundreds of pounds for presents for the younger relatives in my family and friends. average person would receive £70 of gifts. but this year (while on JSA) each person received one single gift averaging £5ish pound.

stuff like budget ASDA/George trainers, a music CD. which thanks to this website i managed to use discount codes and buy gift cards for less then the value held on it cheaper.

but now i am sanctioned i know i would not have been able to afford these gifts. so where it comes to my family i have had one piece of luck this year. ofcourse i have suggested to family i dont want novelty gifts, but vouchers, or something more useful so hopefully christmas prezzies will keep me going for a few weeks.

to others talking about halifax
last year i cancelled my direct debit from the bank. then the broadband company (although shouldnt have) requested money. i do not have a overdraft of any kind and initially found a 'unauthorised overdraft' charge on my account, although i had a couple thousand (actual money) in that account. and after arguing they said it was due to non payment and changed it to a non payment charge of £35. they simply said that i in their opinion and experience must have signed into an agreement to pay X amount from account X thus even if i cancel the direct debit the company are still within rights to ask for the money and it costs halifax money to process a rejection, or to decline payment.

ofcourse i said if the company asked for money it costs 0.5 seconds and half a teaspoon of spit to lubricate the throat to say the word 'no sorry'

they said initially they paid the money, then realised it shouldnt have been paid and retrieved it back from the company which is where the charge arrised. ofcourse this was all said by a standard cashier at halifax while not even checking the screen for the actual reason..

that was ages ago now and i have managed to get those charges reimbursed, but i dont want that lengthy process to re-occur when i only have below £200 in my account to keep me going on. £35 bank charge or £20 for a month of sky... so far i know which is more financially and less stressful to lose right now.

i just looking for ways to avoid both payments/charges for a few months

mitch161

where i would usually go for take-aways, meals out etc i am now due to unemployment a connissour (bad spelling) in the kitchen.

with 'asda price' 50p cornish pasties, a bag of spuds and some tinned vegetables i can make a deliciously filling meal that has a bit of everything (more healthy then a takeaway) for under £1.10 a meal. which brings me to the idea that the Sky £20 a month can buy soooo much food to keep me healthy and full for longer.

my car tax, insurance, mot, are all paid for for another 10 months.. so the only costs are petrol.

some journeys to the Jobcentre cost more by public bus (£1.80 each way) then the 70p petrol and £1.10 parking ticket so my car is halfing my travel costs for JSA sign on day.

but yes if anything does happen to the car i will sorn it off. but i do budget costs and work out cheapest routes for most journeys.

if i sorn my car now, then some journeys will involve a taxi which would cause extra costs, due to public transport not going to these destinations.

i am good with being organised, but times like these counting every penny, every mile, every action drives me nuts. i cnt wait to get back to work. how can anyone actually enjoy living like this

my long term goal is to find a proper career but right now am also looking into short term mondane jobs too just to get the money in. but there are in this town very little. even using my car doing pizza delivery etc is a already tried trick but the 2 days a week work would end up costing me more due to the housing benefits ceasing which costs more then the wages of 2 days work. (if i could find a takeaway vacency of course).

even temp agency work in my local area would be financially negative at the moment. it just drives me nuts, i would not wish this situation on my most hated enemies. (well im too nice of course to not have such enemies, but you get the point)

Whiteknight

How long have they actually sanctioned you for?

Are you able to downgrade your Sky package to the lowest possible to help reduce costs and £200 in the bank is not that bad, reading your original post it came across as all doom and gloom.

If you don't have the money to cover your expenses then you need to look at reducing those expenses. You are just lucky that your friend is allowing you to use their internet connection - just hope they live locally so you don't need to drive to use it.

Loopy_Girl

Re the HBOS charge...by your own admission it wasn't the banks fault that they charged you and more the broadband company who went for the D/D regardless.

I will reiterate that I have cancelled D/D several times and I have never been charged by the bank. Usually a few days after the payment should have been paid, a letter from the company pops through the door asking if 'everything is okay' and asking for payment.

If you are dead set on not cancelling the D/D then I would suggest you phone SKY, update them with the situ and ask if your 12 month contact can be suspended and you are only on the Freeview channels (though be aware if they agree, you will still need to cancel your D/D)

mitch161

PasturesNew wrote: »

Find the local soup kitchen and volunteer to help .... they'll feed you too and you're doing a good deed.

thought about this option. but although i have a sanction on.
1. i still have to obide by my signing on rules while the appeal continues, plus there is not really a soup kitchen/drop in centre i cn just go to. its a block of flats where the homeless are put into if found on streets to live for a set period and they are trained in cooking/ cleaning in exchange for lodging. so no volunteers, as the more long term lodgers become the trainers. so its not a drop in centre but more of a community inhouse scheme.

2. i have looked into other voluntary organisations hoping to find a non shift/timed support i can offer, but again in this area you have to sign on for a set shift/ timescale to help out which gets back to the benefits office.

Rock and a hard place or what!! its like they dont want help unless your working to afford to live without support while volunteering, and on the flip side be working to not have time free to volunteer.

i swear some of these charities are just set up to grab money for a fully paid manager in the office upstairs, and not designed to help the needy.

i would love to be the prime-minister for a year. i would even say, hey dont pay me a wage just give me your expenses you claim LOL. id change the system for the better, not just the unemployed but reducing tax wastage.

mitch161

yes the mistake was on the bank. but it still involved a withdrawl of money, which was then recovered and then halifax charging me unfairly and then a lengthy process to retrieve the unfair charge back.

my head cannot take much more hassle and stress,

if anyone knows a condition in the sky contract that i can utilise without stress or arguments with sky to suspend without charge my subscription i would be greatful.

i will try appealing to their good will but i also like to be organised to know a little nugget of legal jargon or a term/condition i can use to sway them more easily.

i cannot take much more rejection lol.. im even wondering if santa exists right now, jokes... and will he miss my house this year lol

Uncertain

mitch161 wrote: »

to others talking about halifax
last year i cancelled my direct debit from the bank.....................

I understand the concern and I'm pleased you managed to get a refund.

The problem is though doing noting about the Sky issue is not really an option. Two months comes to more than a £35 charge (which you will eventually get back).

Make sure any dealings with the bank are in writing. If you decide to cancel the DD authority WRITE (emails are fine but don't phone or call in) and point out their previous error. If they get even the slightest thing wrong then go for the throat. Demand compensation, move it up the ladder and if need be go to the FOS.