social fund repayments advice

leannaf2721

hi i am on income support and last year when they kept messing up my payments i had to get loans from them they have now wrote to me saying they are going to 48 pound of my benefit till payed back thats nearly all my money i dont know what to does any one know what i can do

bobajob_1966

How much do you receive in total? What did the DWP say when you told them you could not afford that amount?

leannaf2721

i owe 800pound in total over a 2 year period im not quite sure it feels like ive been paying it off forever and they are taking this money off because a year ago my fridge freezer broke i had to apply for a social fund apparently it stated on the letter you sign but i was so desperate id of taken anything i have gave them a brake down of my cost 2 weeks ago and still nothing i rang up today to see whats going on they told me i should of just live without a fridgefreezer if i couldnt afford that much a week and kept milk in a sink i have 3 young children i just dont know what to do now im going to have no money for bills im lost where can i actually get advice on this i just cant believe this is leagal

karenx

You say its nearly all your money they are taking. Do you not get child benefit? Child tax credits? Maintenance from dad?

Oldernotwiser

Try Freecycle for a basic small fridge.

leannaf2721

yes i get child benefit and tax credit but no maintenance that money goes on food things for my children eg clothing school things and gas my money is incomesupport that i use to pay my bills phone bills debt that i built up from when i was made unemployed electric and i could go on my point is i need advice from some where not judgement nor do i need to explain my self and thanks but i already have the fridge freezer i got this loan a year ago

leannaf2721

karenx wrote: »

You say its nearly all your money they are taking. Do you not get child benefit? Child tax credits? Maintenance from dad?

and i maintenance from dad well thats a diffrent matter ive never had a penny even though he works and yes its taking all my money income support and that is alot 320 pound a month and what with it coming up to winter rising fuel bills rising food shopping theres no way i can afford to lose that

samwich1979

Tory70 wrote: »

If you've written to them with a break down of your finances, you'll simply have to hope that they will lower the repayments.

To clarify though, you are not 'losing' £32 a month (or is it £20 a month; I am assuming it is not £320!); you are paying back a debt. This is something we all have to do. While I appreciate you have debts such as phone debts, I would suggest you start to prioritise and perhaps speak to the phone company - ask them if you can lower your payments.

Speak to the CAB and get some debt advice.

Through the CAB i managed to get my re-payments back to the Social Fund significantly lowered due to my financial situation, so id strongly recommend you make an appointment to speak to a CAB financial advisor to get this sorted for you. They sort it all out and the DWP will write and inform you of your new re-payments by letter.

leannaf2721

Tory70 wrote: »

If you've written to them with a break down of your finances, you'll simply have to hope that they will lower the repayments.

To clarify though, you are not 'losing' £32 a month (or is it £20 a month; I am assuming it is not £320!); you are paying back a debt. This is something we all have to do. While I appreciate you have debts such as phone debts, I would suggest you start to prioritise and perhaps speak to the phone company - ask them if you can lower your payments.

Speak to the CAB and get some debt advice.

phone debts?? i dont have phone debts i have a phone bill wich i pay each month what i need to contact people the only debt i have is priority debt from gas and electric and yorkshire water so yes i do prioritise the reason why i went to the social fund is because i didnt want to have high intrest rates and yes fine i do owe them money but to take the majority of my income would be wring if i of had the loan of a company i could offer them a token payment e.g a pound a week. but any way i have sorted now after 5 phonecalls what will charge me a fortune on my bill.

leannaf2721

samwich1979 wrote: »

Through the CAB i managed to get my re-payments back to the Social Fund significantly lowered due to my financial situation, so id strongly recommend you make an appointment to speak to a CAB financial advisor to get this sorted for you. They sort it all out and the DWP will write and inform you of your new re-payments by letter.

thankyou i have managed to sort it now i think its pot luck and depends who you get on the other end of the phone but there reducing it to 13pound a week ive just got to wait for the letter to sign then will be back to normal thankyou for your advice

leannaf2721

Tory70 wrote: »

Apologies, it was this somewhat garbled post that lead me to think you had debts relating to a phone:



Anyway, you have clearly sorted it so all's well that ends well.

Just don't go getting another loan you can't afford to pay your phone bill

oh yes sorry its supposed to say phonebill, and debts. and no i shall skint my self to pay my phone bill no more debt for me