Help. Can we afford school?

debtmess

i would suggest popping over to the moneysaving old style board x not being rude but £200 a month seems like alot for food etc when there is 2 of you and you are struggling x

try freecycle for the bits you need x you may find someone who is looking for a new home for items you need x

Maybe your son could go and have a chat with his local college if he would like to return to education and then if he can go for a part time job that fits around it.

i hope you manage in improve things x

patman99

Hi,
OP, you mentioned that you are having to repay HMRC due to CTC mispayment. Was this due to you not informing them when your son left education, o was it due to the payments still being made after you informed them of a change of circumstances?

Chance01

patman99 wrote: »

Hi,
OP, you mentioned that you are having to repay HMRC due to CTC mispayment. Was this due to you not informing them when your son left education, o was it due to the payments still being made after you informed them of a change of circumstances?

I told them and was told to claim disability benefit. I did not and maintained his upkeep at my expense. Now everybody wants money from me that I don't have.

freyanneke_2

Have you tried talking to the CAB in your area? They have been very helpful in my case. They are free and their involvement usually means a lot lower bills and they renegotiate everything that you have to pay back. They can also help with finding a grant for items that you need. Also they could get a referal for you for a local scheme that will give you some essentials for a small fee. Matresses and cookers are essentials and at the moment you are trying to be too nice and too sensible about asking for a handout. Luckily there will be organisations that help and on freecycle there are the most amazing people who will help if they can and most of them won't mind bringing the stuff over to you if they can. For your son it might be helpful to find him a support worker or a mentor. And if that fails, a visit to connexions might help to find some more information about your son's options.

MrsManda

Chance01 wrote: »

My son is ok now. He's only completed his GCSEs and he left college previously due to illness. He's 18

At 18 he should be able to claim ESA if he's incapable of working or JSA if he's looking for a job.

If he wants to go back to school and study a level 3 qualification - for example, A-levels, BTECs, City&Guilds, Apprenticeships he will be able to get his tuition for free,
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/AdultLearning/FinancialHelpForAdultLearners/DG_10033130

He may also be able to claim Adult Learning Grant which is upto £30 a week.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/AdultLearning/FinancialHelpForAdultLearners/DG_10033133

As he's currently not bringing any money into the household you're not going to be worse off by him going to school.

Chance01

Thank you so much Mrs Manda and freyanne! We'll look into this.

iwanttosavemoney2008

if you are in financial hardship which it sounds like you are contact the tax credits office they may be able to help you by reducing the payments you are paying to them, also speak to your employer and ask they reduce the amount you pay back each week/ month so you can afford a more comfortable repayment on your loans, otherwise see if you can get a budgeting loan from your local jobcentre plus to pay off the loan so you are not paying interest on it. links http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018905

liam8282

If your getting a £300 pm salary, how did you not notice a £1,300 overpayment by your employer?

Or did you notice it, and decided to spend it anyway?

What did you do with this overpayment?