Asking for a Crisis Loan whilst on ESA

JayWoff88

Im currently 8 weeks into my new ESA claim so not yet at the 13 weeks stage where i will have to attend a medical.

My issue is a rent issue and am in urgent need of £40 by Friday. I have asked family members to borrow me the money until i next get paid next week but have so far been turned down by everyone. My last hope was a crisis loan but i was wondering what i could say if i phoned them and if i am succesful what happens next? i remember being on JSA and had to get on a bus to another town to collect a sort of cheque to cash in at the local post office. Is it the same if you are on ESA? i currently suffer with anxiety and depression and have found it really hard to basically leave my home for long periods of time especially to use public transport alone and i cannot get a lift. Can someone talk me through the process please? it would be very very helpful

Thank you.

missapril75

You should probably be sorting something else out with your landlord.

Very unlikely you'd get a c/l for rent; presumably you get HB. If it doesn't cover the full rent then being short of the full rent isn't the one-off sort of need that loans are for.

If you apply for a loan on the basis you are out of cash - and they accept the reason for this as being a fair one - your maximum would be 60% of your normal weekly rate divided by the number of days left until your next payment. So that's £33 or £42 (depending if you are under 25 or 25 and up) only if there's a full week before your next payment and less if only part of a week.

If the problem has been caused by no HB yet, there's a procedure to get something sorted through the appropriate office.

You might need to give more information to enable alternative suggestions.

GrungeMeister

Nowadays you apply for crisis loans over the phone, they give you a decision there & then.

But they'll simply refuse your crisis loan application if you tell them it's for the rent. That's because housing costs are excluded from crisis loans, as far as I know.

It'd be different had you paid the £40 already, that then leaving you skint and without food, electric etc. That would be treated differently, they'd calculate your loan as missapril75 says above. But be careful, you're only allowed 3 of this type of crisis loans in a rolling 12 month period.

They prefer to pay applications by same day bank payment, if they can, otherwise it's collecting a giro from your local Job Centre.

sniggings

If you ring the is

08000327952

for a crisis loan, the first option is for a loan for rent IF it is for a first deposit, so do not choose that one, I think it's option 2 you need, which is for living expenses.

I guess you paying all you money to rent will leave you no money for food, so tell them it's for food and also if you have a gas or electric meter you can claim for that too, but not bills.

You can only have 3 of these a year, you pay it back at about £8 out of your benefits.

They ask how much you need, they will not tell you the amount they allow, so I always say more then I need as they always cut it back, so I end up with the full amount allowed, I got £85 for 2 weeks. they will only pay you up to your next pay date though.

You will have to give them a reason why you need the money though, mine was because I was waiting to hear about a benefit, other reasons are lost money etc if you google it you will find a full list of reasons accepted to see if any apply to you.

They will either get you to pick up a giro from the jobcentre if the paying out time has not passed, or pay it striaght into your bank.

benefitbaby

Have you considered applying for Discretionary Housing Payments?

DHPs exists to cover shortfalls in rent for a limited period e.g. 3, 6 or 12 months. They are not given out automatically as they are 'discretionary' but your health, the reason why you cannot pay your rent and other relevant things should be considered.

The idea of DHPs is to prevent homelessness (because you can then become the councils problem) and to give you time to find cheaper alternative accommodation.

You can request this from you local authority (council) and most have a specific form.