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Help urgently needed, please!

Hi everyone,

I have recently split with my partner, so as a single parent I have had to reapply for housing benefit. Before he moved in I was entitled to some, which helped me out a lot with my rent. I work part time, my income has not changed and now they are saying that I'm entitled to nothing! I'm in so much debt as well, they are making me pay back over £500 in overpayments and I'm nearly £400 in arrears :( I really can't see a way out of this one.

Your advise would be very much appreciated, thanks



Monthly Income Details
Income from Employment (after tax). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500.00
Income from Self Employment (before tax). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
State Pension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Private Pension / Annuity Payout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Benefits (Inc. Child Benefit/Tax Credits & Income Support). . . . . . . . . . . 693.33
Income From Savings & Investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Gifts From Family / Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Monthly Expense Details
In Your Home
Mobile Phone(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.00
TV Licence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.00
Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.00
Home Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00
Cleaning Products/Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Garden Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Household Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.00
Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.00
Council Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110.00
Overdraft Cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00
Bank Account Fee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Home Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.00
Mortgage/Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400.00
Plumbing/Boiler Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mortgage Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mortgage Payment Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Food and Household Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00
Drinks for Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Motoring & Public Transport
Petrol/Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.00
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00
Car Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00
Car Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57.00
Car Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Rail/Bus/Taxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.33
Breakdown Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Debt Repayments
Credit Card Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00
Hire Purchase Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Personal Loan Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106.00
Car Loan Repayments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Savings & Investments
Pension Payments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Buying Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mini Cash ISAs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Lump Sum Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Regular Saving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Family
Pet Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.33
School Trips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
School Meals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Pocket Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Nappies/Baby Extras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Laundry/Dry Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Children's Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Baby Sitting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Childcare/Play Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Pet Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.00
Travel Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Entertainment
Satellite/Digital TV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Family Days Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Cinema/Theatre Trips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Books/Music/Films/Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Big Days Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Shopping for Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Pet Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Hobbies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
IT/Computing (eg Anti-virus etc). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
DVD Rental. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Drinking Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Eating Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Clothes, Health & Beauty
Complimentary Therapies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Optical Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Haircuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Dentistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Beauty Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Healthcare Cashplans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Dental Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Private Medical Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Fitness/Sports/Gym. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Work Clothes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
New Children's Clothes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
New Clothes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Education & Courses
University Tuition Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
School Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Your Courses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Big One Offs
Funeral Expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Wedding Expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Sofa/Kitchen/TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Winter Holiday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Summer Holiday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Odds & Sods
Newspapers & Magazines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Tax & NI Provisions (self-employed only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Regular Charity Donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Meals at work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Smokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Coffees/Sandwiches/Snacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00

Total monthly income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,193.33

Total monthly expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,280.67

[/font]
«1345

Comments

  • 19lottie82
    19lottie82 Posts: 6,032 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You’re only spending £20 a month (less than £5) a week on petrol. Do you really need the car? Insurance seems high (and you also have tax and maintenance).

    Can you sell it to pay off the debt? This will also reduce your monthly outgoings.
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,138 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hi

    Can you do a full benefit check on www.turn2us.org.uk? How many hours do you work each week? Are you claiming WTC, CTC etc?

    We need to separate out debts from expenditure (you may need to talk to a debt charitiy but I cannot see the wood from the trees above).
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • 19lottie82
    19lottie82 Posts: 6,032 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Also your SOA seems incomplete. You say you are a single parent, but have nothign down for kids clothes or xmas presents?

    Also, I know it's not a nice thing to think about BUT can you really afford this pet? It's costing you a minimum of £71 a month = £852 a year
  • 19lottie82 wrote: »
    You’re only spending £20 a month (less than £5) a week on petrol. Do you really need the car? Insurance seems high (and you also have tax and maintenance).

    Can you sell it to pay off the debt? This will also reduce your monthly outgoings.

    I am thinking of selling the car, I cant actually use it at the moment as it has two flat tyres and I cant afford to get it sorted until I get paid! I use the train for work, so the car gets used for shopping etc
  • 19lottie82 wrote: »
    Also your SOA seems incomplete. You say you are a single parent, but have nothign down for kids clothes or xmas presents?

    Also, I know it's not a nice thing to think about BUT can you really afford this pet? It's costing you a minimum of £71 a month = £852 a year

    I wasn't sure what to put for christmas and birthdays, I just tackle them as they come along. Christmas is probably around £500, and birthdays probably £250.

    I have thought about getting rid of one of my dogs (i have two) but it would break my little girls heart :( The one is still a puppy so his food is more expensive. I will get it some thought though, thanks
  • Hi Claire. Sorry to hear things are so tough. I've taken a quick look at your SOA and a few things stand out. Your council tax is high. Are you getting the 25% reduction for only having one adult in the home? Have you asked if you can spread your payments out over twelve months instead of ten? Could you change your mobile contract as it's quite high. Pet food is also high and if your petrol is only £20 a month is it worth having a car in view of the cost in insurance, road tax and repairs.
  • oligeo
    oligeo Posts: 263 Forumite
    100 Posts
    clairelg88 wrote: »
    Christmas is probably around £500, and birthdays probably £250.

    Who do you buy for? This seems alot of money. Can you say to people "lets not do christmas presents this year"

    Sarah
  • RAS wrote: »
    Hi

    Can you do a full benefit check on www.turn2us.org.uk? How many hours do you work each week? Are you claiming WTC, CTC etc?

    We need to separate out debts from expenditure (you may need to talk to a debt charitiy but I cannot see the wood from the trees above).

    I have just done this, and it does say I'm entitled to housing benefit, so I don't know why I'm not getting it, I have appealed the decision in writing so hopefully I should get some help with that. I am claiming WTC and CTC and amounts seem to be about right.
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,138 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Please can you advise the number of hours per week worked? Are you claimning working tax credit and child tax credit?
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,138 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    clairelg88 wrote: »
    I have just done this, and it does say I'm entitled to housing benefit, so I don't know why I'm not getting it, I have appealed the decision in writing so hopefully I should get some help with that. I am claiming WTC and CTC and amounts seem to be about right.

    Thanks

    What is the maximum local housing allowance for two bedrooms in your area?
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
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