In Crisis - Am I missing something?

Spendnsave2010

hi i have been in the same situation a while back and know how u feel - we lived off a chicken soup n pasta n yeah it was horrid but was food, we had to buy the real cheap nappies that are like plastic bags, it was when i got with my partner nd they were sorting out our jobseekers - we had just the child benefit of one child to live on for a couple of weeks.
we were told that we couldnt have a crisis loan and in the end things got bad and we rang social services emergency duty team n they come out to our home and give3 us some money to manage for a few days it wasnt a lot but we managed - theres no harm in trying and they wont take your kids away (we have been homeless and they wouldnt take our kids without giving them voluntary - not sure why but thats a different story)
anyway this was a few years back but i would try - alternatively you could try and sell a few bits just to get you by
i do hope you sort something out take care

atrixblue.-MFR-.

section 17 of the social services act. they can provide emergency nappies,gas,electricity,food and some cash to tide yopu over till their next visit.

being SS they will inspect your property and assess you and your child.

your partner may have debt managment in his mind and to clear the debt to prevemt going to court, talk this with him if thats the case they cant take you to court if you offer to pay it off and you are, but depriving yourselfs of basic needs is not the way to do it.

the coucil can roll over debt that is left into one manageable payment per month. and the social services will be seeking to do that if they become involved to give you some cash at the end of the month.

i bet the fuel he uses back and forth work would outway a bus or train ticket?

10 dvds in c(r)ash converter will get you nappies.

what you got in the attick OLD potable tv? VCR player? theres your gas and lecky? loadsa old VHS tapes hey some cash.

Spendnsave2010

sorry i was half asleep last night when replying but having read your post again a few things dont add up to me - maybe somebody can correct me if im wrong

first of all your partner works and you receive child tax credits and working tax credits but you also receive jobseekers allowance - should you not have a joint claim as a couple? i know whenever my partner oor i have worked we have received child tax credits working tax credits and child benefit but never jobseekers allowance as someone has a job and jobseekers shouldnt come into it?

you say you have not eaten for two days? when looking at your application for a crisis loan they will take into consideration what money you have had, did you not get paid on tuesday? was this spent on essentials such as food? i have very rarely been turned down apart from the time i talked about but at the time we didnt have a running claim and was waiting to have it sorted out, however if they believe you have had money that could of bought what you have asked for they may make a decision on that.

you say your partner insists on you paying this debt first but how does he feel now your child is going without? if it was my partner i would stand firm and tell him debts can be paid of anytime obviously the sooner the better but its not worth going without what you need

dont mean to have a go but it cant be all blamed on crisis loan it more seems an issue between you and your partner to me if you have had all money you are entitled to or normally get and you have chose to pay out them things first you must of known you would not have enough and personally i would buy what i need first.

Indie_Kid

Spendnsave2010 wrote: »

sorry i was half asleep last night when replying but having read your post again a few things dont add up to me - maybe somebody can correct me if im wrong

first of all your partner works and you receive child tax credits and working tax credits but you also receive jobseekers allowance - should you not have a joint claim as a couple? i know whenever my partner oor i have worked we have received child tax credits working tax credits and child benefit but never jobseekers allowance as someone has a job and jobseekers shouldnt come into it?

It might be CBJSA? I know it says on the leaflets they give you, that WTC does affect IBJSA but not CBJSA. Although it seems odd that the OP says "his WTC and CTC" and not "our WTC & CTC".

Spendnsave2010

oh ok im unsure i thought you could only get contribution based jobseekers allowance when you were not working and it was based on national insurance contributions from when you have been if you havent enough you get income based. I wasnt aware though that one person can claim jobseekers while the other brought a wage, child tax credits for the child/children and working tax credits which i thought was to top up earnings if not earning a great deal into the house?

kelloggs36

Yes, somebody claiming CB JSA can claim if their partner works - as it is not means tested against household income. Once it runs out however, IB JSA is means tested and then they wouldn't qualify.

MummyPerson

Okay, sorry, let me clarify a few things.

I am able to claim JSA for six months (contributions based) despite the fact that my partner is working. The job centre are fully aware of this and I am not claiming incorrectly. After the six months I probably won't be entitled to them as it will switch to income based JSA.

My partner has applied for three Crisis Loans already this year which is why I had to go for the interview. I was surprised because I had already paid those back through the JSA at the start.

I wasn't given a reason why the loan was rejected which is probably why I was so upset and angry yesterday. It makes me mad that someone in geniune need can't gain access to help when it is truely needed.

Last night was a nightmare, I put my baby in a towel overnight and we used extra blankets, and today I went and pawned my camera.


As for my partner...yes...it's a bit of a hard situation to explain and I know this isn't the forum for it. But it's very much he must control everything, and he decides how things are paid off. Me suggesting spreading the payments doesn't go down very well....especially as I have to make the payments myself, it just sounds like I'm copping out of paying...it's not really possible to explain on here, but I believe I have made my bed and now I should just lay in it. With extra blankets.

Thank you all for your help x

MummyPerson

I don't want Social Services involved... last September my partner was convicted of DV and I had a report done (all fine) and I don't want them to think I'm not coping.

I'm just adding this as an explaination for my attitude towards asking them for help...I fear they will think I can't look after my child after all....

So fed up.

Kimitatsu

MummyPerson

Do you not think that your partner is STILL commiting domestic abuse by making you go without food, go without heating and forcing you to make payments that if you went to the council and explained the situation they would drop to a manageable level instantly?

This is not your bed to lie in with extra blankets and nor should it be your childs. Rather than asking for help to get some money until Tuesday, my thought was you should be asking for help on how to make plans to leave him.

He already has a conviction for domestic violence which is not something that is undertaken lightly by the police for a few arguments that got a bit noisy. SS are already aware of you and your child so that door is already unlocked......really you need to have a think about where your life is heading and what you want out of it.

pipkin71

Jowo wrote: »

Find a foodbank near you - this site doesn't lists a lot but not all of them.

http://www.trusselltrust.org/foodbank-projects

Thank you for providing that link, Jowo.

I am not in need of their services, but there was a link there for people to donate to their local foodbank, which I would like to do.

I cannot imagine a desperate situation where you cannot feed your family It's good that there are schemes like this in place. Once a GP or Social Services have identified people in need, they can then issue a voucher which the person can take to their food bank, and the three days supply looks pretty good.

I hope you have managed to sort something OP. I haven't read to the end of the thread yet, but hopefully, with this site, you can put in some long term measures so that you aren't in this situation again.

Reducing the council tax arrears is definitely something you really should consider, too