I cant afford to work anymore

JAYMARSH2005

I am £12,000 in unsecured debt (all which are non-priority) and have been renting my parents house for the past 3 months. I work 20 miles from my home and use to work with my dad so had no travel expenses but since he moved I have had to pay £200 per month on the train. I have looked for a job closer to home but with no joy and have been put on a waiting list for a flat near my work. But it has now got to the stage where I have no money what so ever for travel or food. I have applied for loans,asked my bank all who have turned me down, and still owe money to family and friends and my employee who have helped me the past few months but it has got to the stage where I am thinking why am I borrowing money to get to work and just getting more and more in debt. What help can I get if I gave my job up (which I will have to as I am now unable to get to work) and will I get any help towards my rent ? My rent is £250 per month and live with my 2 brothers. It is my parents house but there financial situation means they cant afford to help me. Please please please can somebody help me before I make myself really ill with worry. Thanks

Beanietdc

Umm... didn't you already start this thread here...?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=336087

JAYMARSH2005

Yes sorry all the information they gave me I have tried, I just wondered if which it looks like I am unable to go back to work what financial help is there out there regarding my rent. Am I entitled to anything off the goverment ?, My rent is £750 per month split 3 ways which covers every bill for the house i.e council tax,phone,heating and electric and have to pay that into my parents account each month.

mountainofdebt

What about car sharing ......did a google and came up with this site http://www.carshare.com/ .....might be cheaper than £200 a month!

The other thing is are you and your brothers getting the best deal for phone etc ? Perhaps you could reduce your bills if you had a look at the various comparison sites mentioned in Martin's articles.

To be honest I think if you make yourself vountarily redundant then you would get very little help but someone on the benefits board will know for sure.

Gemmzie

Benefits wise, if you leave your job - voluntary redundancy - then you won't be able to get JSA for 13 weeks.

As to other benefits, it depends on your age and living situation. I'm not sure about HB when you are sharing and renting from a parent, sorry.

Poppycat

How about looking for a part time job.

Mrs_Sparkle

Why don't you post an SOA and we'll have a look at it for you? There may be things you can do cheaper that haven't occurred to you. Don't rush into giving up work until we've seen if we can save you a few pounds here and there.

Poppy9

What sort of work are you doing at the moment?

jayne.doe

Well it depends why you left your job. Someone independant from the jobcentre will look at why you left work. If they find you havent found `good cause` then your benefits can be sanctioned. You can claim hardship but that dosent usually kick in until two weeks after the sanction has been applied. Unless you can show you are in a vunerable group. This is if you claim jobseekers allowance. Obviously it differs depending what benefit you claim.

Housing benefit and rent you would need to look ask your council about. They would look at who you rent off i dont know if it will make a difference with it being your parents you rent from. Hope this helps.

La_Tristesse_Durera

mountainofdebt wrote:

What about car sharing ......did a google and came up with this site http://www.carshare.com/ .....might be cheaper than £200 a month!

I never knew such a scheme existed, but have been urging people at my work to organise a car share. I've just signed up.... smooth :beer:

flowerofthewest

Have you asked your firm if they do a Season Ticket Loan. These schemes are usually interest free and the monthly payment taken from your wages.
I used to have this from a local firm I worked for - they gave me a cheque to cover an annual bus pass, which meant that my monthly outgoing on travel was cheaper, and I never had to worry about not being able to afford to get to work.
Worth a try. If they don't already offer this you could maybe explain your circumstances and see what they could offer - many firms offer a crises loan, repaid in the same way.