Desperate help needed with grants n benefits

4390evans

I hope there is someone out there that can help.

Im in such despair.
I was sacked from work due to being pregnant, although they didnt say that in the letter I know thats what it was for. I had been working part time claiming wtc and ctc at the time and cb, I supported me my bf (who had been made redundant) and my 2 kids we didnt claim anything else as we could just get by. When I was sacked my bf had to claim jsa for both of us, in the time it took them to sort out our claim we had to use our savings that we put away for the baby for rent ct water etc, by the time it was sorted it was all gone and the money we got back had to go on loans we had to get to use for heat and eat etc.

So.......

I've applied for a community care grant and a budgeting loan at the same time, I was refused the loan as I haven't been on benefits more than 26 weeks and refused the grant altogether.

Im 38 weeks pregnant and Im in and out of hospital due to some complications which is costing us a fortune in petrol and fee's, we very rarely use the car unless its for interviews and the job center or shopping when we have a little money to go to a supermarket as I cant walk far without being crippled for days afterwards due to pregnancy. Also the car is on finance which hasnt been paid since we started claiming jsa.

So Im looking to appeal but Im unsure what to do, Im going to my doctors on Monday to see if he can help as I have depression and even though I think of myself as a strong person I have been in tears over the past week with all the pressure.

We have no carpet downstairs so it is freezing some weeks we cant afford gas, elec is on a quarterly ( I owe 1600+) that is being changed to a meter with deductions (I dont know where that money is going to come from) at this present time I can see my own breath its so cold in here!
I need clothes for all of us my bf hasnt even got a coat and if we have to go out when its raining or cold he is freezing, the kids have some clothes I can double up but they are to small for them, Its got to the point I dont want to go out the house. last week we got some milk vouchers and went to the supermarket, I felt rich seeing my trolly full of veg and milk but we dont have money for anything else, the kids have lived on noodles for about 3 weeks I just dont know what to do.

I get
180 jsa (water and over payment is deducted)
20 cb (my son lives with his dad most of the time)
56 wtc
376 hb and full ct ben

by the time fines and loans are took out we have pittance to live on and that has to go on nappies for my little girl.

Can anyone help me, Im needing it asap if possible xx

Caz3121

4390evans wrote: »

I get
180 jsa (water and over payment is deducted)
20 cb (my son lives with his dad most of the time)
56 wtc
376 hb and full ct ben

I am guessing the JSA is fortnightly, CB and CTC, weekly and HB monthly

If so, yhis gives you a total of £1,095 per month

I don't think there is anything else you can currently claim until new baby arrives - which will give you an approximate £52 per week CTC and £13 child benefit

You may benefit from doing a SOA (detailing all your income and outgoings - details on the debt free wannabe board) and also have a look at freecycle for carpet etc, charity shops for clothes (if your sons father claims the benefits for him and he lived there most of the time why do you need to buy him clothes?)

Have you been in touch with the car loan people? you may also benefit from one of the debt charities.
Benefits 'should' be sufficient for housing and feeding however as soon as you find you have other debts to pay off this money you then find there is not enough left (car loan, energy arrears etc)

kingfisherblue

Do you mean CTC, not WTC? If neither of you are working, you wouldn't get WTC.

The debt payments are your problem, as benefits do not take these into account. Is it worth keeping the car? You might find public transport less expensive, especially as you are limiting your journeys.

You could also contact your lenders and ask them to freeze payments so that no interest is added whilst you are not paying.

You might be able to get a food parcel from a food bank. Your GP or Social Services should be able to refer you. Three days emergency food is provided.

Is there anything you can sell? A couple of days before Christmas, not to mention the week after, isn't the ideal time, but you may be able to sell some things to give you a little extra cash.

Markets tend to be cheaper than supermarkets for fruit and veg, but I know they don't take vouchers. It is still worth considering getting a pile of cheap veg to make a thick soup though. You can pad it out further with pasta.

Your health visitor should be able to fiind out if there is any organisation in your area that can help. The Salvation Army springs to mind.

madonion

You can apply for a crisis loan from the social fund for winter clothes/food/essentials.

Hmm71

Mara69, how do you figure out the OP has £256 a week to live on without paying housing costs? Her income in the first post included housing benefit so doesn't she still have to pay her rent out of that?

Mara69

Hmm71 wrote: »

Mara69, how do you figure out the OP has £256 a week to live on without paying housing costs? Her income in the first post included housing benefit so doesn't she still have to pay her rent out of that?

I added up all the figures (JSA @ £180, CB @ £20 and (OP said WTC but is must be CTC) @ £56) but did not add on the HB of £376 as this goes straight to paying the rent. If I added on the HB the figure would be £632 a week. Plus CTB.

nannytone_2

JSA for a couple is £111 a week, so the £180 figure is wrong ( unless that is 2 weekle... the OP says water is taken directly)
so fortnightly it works out (after housing and council tax)
JSA 180
cb 40
ctc 112

so a total of £332 every 2 weeks, or £166 a week.
thats an awful lot less than the £250 a week stated.

Mara69

nannytone wrote: »

JSA for a couple is £111 a week, so the £180 figure is wrong ( unless that is 2 weekle... the OP says water is taken directly)
so fortnightly it works out (after housing and council tax)
JSA 180
cb 40
ctc 112

so a total of £332 every 2 weeks, or £166 a week.
thats an awful lot less than the £250 a week stated.

The OP didn't clarify whether it was weekly or fortnightly, but she did state CB @ £20 - this is the weekly rate so therefore I assumed all her benefits are weekly. Would be good if the OP would come back and clarify exactly what she is in receipt or and when because personally I do not believe that they are on the breadline. They should certainly be getting enough in benefits to keep them warm and fed.

That said, even £166 a week is very much doable. The point I was making is that the OP should not be starving, nor should she be depriving her children of decent food. With housing costs and council tax taken care of they have enough money to live on - as demonstrated by many people on MSE.

ILW

Fines and loan repayments seem to be a problem.

nannytone_2

i agree. £166 a week is 'doable', and she should be able to feed her child adequately.
but i dont see that theres much room to buy things for the new baby.
OP, as suggested already ...

join your local freecycle, people give away some wonderful things, and all you have to do is collect them

Dunroamin

nannytone wrote: »

i agree. £166 a week is 'doable', and she should be able to feed her child adequately.
but i dont see that theres much room to buy things for the new baby.
OP, as suggested already ...

join your local freecycle, people give away some wonderful things, and all you have to do is collect them

With two young children already she shouldn't really need to buy anything extra.