Brothers plight

afriendinneed_2

Thank you Ras & Peb. I mentioned in my first post that he was initially turned down for Pension Credit; rather than appeal the decision, we decided to resubmit his claim based on his current situation and not as it was back in October when we first applied. His 'savings' have somewhat diminished since then. I agree with you RAS that the 'Entitledto' site gives him an entitlement in excess of £100 a week, which in turn should trigger 100% Council Tax benefit.
I think equity release is a non starter in this instance. The ratio of his mortgage to the property value is much too high. If both his mortgage provider (GE money) and his property management company agree (Or simply don't know !) then letting his flat may may be an option. I've checked property for rent sites in his area and see that a typical rent for his type of flat should be around 600 plus per month. Of course this would entail him coming to live with me, but I think think this may well be inevitable anyway.
He has an appointment to see the CAB on Monday so hopefully they will be able to come up with something hitherto overlooked by me. I will report again after this meeting.

RAS

Hi

Glad to hear that you have re-submitted the Pensions credit application and really hope it works.

This is not really my area, but I am sure that others would be suggesting that he e-bay stuff. if nothing else he may have equipment from his work that he can no longer use?

However, I realise that his sight may be an issue and he does not have computer access. How close is he to a local library? They all now have free computers for people to use. Mine has a large print keyboard on one machine and I think they have a text reader, which is used with ear phones.

Could you suggest he signs up with the library before he comes to visit you? They may offer free starters lessons on the computers as well. Whilst he is with you, get him to set himself an e-mail account, possibly get him on here and hopefully he will be confident enough to use the local machines when he goes home?

They will also do audio books and large print books, although a lot of the ones locally seem to be romances.

tomterm8

Your house can't be reposessed as a result of a failure to pay unsecured debts (i.e. credit cards, unsecured loans). It could be repossessed if he fails to keep up with mortgage payments.

At worst, a creditor with an unsecured debt can apply for a charging order, requiring the debt to be repaid on the sale of the house.

chevalier

I would suggest that your brother write to all creditors except his mortgage and say due to ill health he can only make token payments of x, even if only £1. Include a statement of income and expenditure with it.

Alternatively he could ask each creditor to see if they will lower their rates (but don't mention the ill health). They sometimes will if they think you are going to move the money from their company.

There is a vulnerable persons rate for water which he may be able to claim, which may bring this bill down a bit.

Also did he have any payment protection on any of his cards/mortgage? Could he claim on that?
regards
chev

joeblack066

A berated Joeblack here.........wasn't being rude, was on my way to work at the time and in a hurry. And I didn't ask the questions that I was accused of either!! I do hope that your appt with CAB goes well. GE Money do offer buy to let mortgages, so that is viable. I nursed my Dad at 68 after a stroke and I understand how hard this must be for all of you. Best of luck.

afriendinneed_2

Many thanks for your most recent posts. My brother's appointment with the CAB is in fact tomorrow (Wed) and not yesterday. I must have mis-heard him.
I truly hope that they come up with something positive as he is suffering bouts of depression now, something he has never suffered before.

I agree with Chevalier regarding writing to all the creditors (Except GE Money of course) I've downloaded some sample letter templates for this purpose. He's visiting me this weekend so we'll be able to go through the stuff then.

His water rates are pretty low anyway, considerably less than mine, so I doubt there would be much scope for savings there.

Despite my very best efforts, I've been so far unable to convince him of the benefits of having a computer and internet connection. Correction, I think he's aware of the benefits but he's simply scared of the things. It's a technology that has left him well behind in its wake; especially now since his stroke causing him impaired vision. Fortunately, he has a fax machine and I've started using an internet facility called 'faxtastic'; this means he can send me certain documents/letters to my pc and also I can send him stuff. Not as good as email but better than nothing.
I will post again after his CAB appointment. Thank you all again.

amani_2

peb wrote: »

Unfortunately neither Payplan nor CCS can assist if your brothers income is solely from benefits - I looked into this recently for a friend. However we were given details (when we telephoned) of a government agency; my friend has foud them useful but they do not have a magic wand. I am at work and do not have the details to hand but if you telephone CCS the details will be available. The only other option that came to mind was possibly an equity release mortgage. It may be worth checking out one of the reputable suppliers - Standard Life, Prudential but I have a feeling that the combination of your brothers age (young) and of teh equity (low) may mean that they will not take this matter on. Good luck.

my DH was on jobseekers and i received CTC and CCCs excepted us on a DMP no problem.