DWP asking for a social fund loan which is 21yrs old

missapril75

Voyager2002 wrote: »

...Payments to desperately poor people to enable them to cover one-off expenses (such as repairing/replacing a broken-down cooker) always used to be grants, and introducing loans to replace these grants was an act of spectacular meanness

Absolutely correct.

benniebert wrote: »

It was no wonder that the grants system was scrapped. It was known that it was being abused with the money being used on anything other than the reason they were given

There was certainly abuse - I remember seeing a stat that showed a minority or people got most of the payments - and the rules were written in such a way as to make it easy to get repeat payments for the same things and then there were daft conditions that meant you could get something desirable but not essential thanks to time on benefit and regardless of circumstances while other times a more reasonable cost was not allowable until the 12 months point was reached.

But a simple tightening up of the rules was all that was needed.

The abuse of the social fund system is far greater, though, and because it's a loan system it's not considered so important. There's a fortune that never comes back.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

I cant remember anything form 21yr ago can you? I reasonably wouldn't expect you too to know if you had paid a debt off for a loan over that period and know when it was paid and how much.

I think it depends on a number of tings.

I remember buying a sofa from DFS, interest free but if the last payment was late the penalty was all the interest that would otherwise have been charged was added.

I made damn sure it wasn't late so how long ago it was is irrelevant, I know it was paid.

If I'm on a low income and I borrow a sum that's ten times what I get every week I'll remember that. Especially if I have to repay what is a large chunk of what I have each week to live on.

In those circumstances you'd surely be more likely to know/remember it than your typical bank loan where you can easily afford repayments.

Voyager2002

benniebert wrote: »

Shame that we all don't have that option when we take out bank loans/overdrafts/credit cards/mortgages.


Wouldn't life be that much easier.


They deserve to be repaid as you had the money from them and AGREED that it would be repaid.

What option?

I offered bank details so that a direct debit could be set up, just the same as for any other bill.

benniebert

Voyager2002 wrote: »

What option?

I offered bank details so that a direct debit could be set up, just the same as for any other bill.

But did you chase it up like the majority of us would?

cbrown372

benniebert wrote: »

Yes he has - pay the debt that you owe, putting the money back into the system for others that are facing desperate times.


No need to paint a picture. Each year has at least one memorable occasion. Think of that and the rest just follows.

You have so many user names Andy I'm surprised you can remember what you posted yesterday let alone last year :beer:

benniebert

cbrown372 wrote: »

You have so many user names Andy I'm surprised you can remember what you posted yesterday let alone last year :beer:

As I have said before, I do understand how mental illness does affect people in different ways. Yours I must admit is one of the strangest that I have come across.
Consequently it wouldn't be fair to 'pick a fight' with you over your ridiculous comments that have nothing whatsoever to do with me.

Gaily43

I I have just received a letter from them. Along with a letter to my employer instructing them to make deductions from my earnings. I had no other communication other than a letter telling me that they had previously applied for deductions and these will now cease. It gave no amounts or to who. I rang to be told it was a social fund loan. As I have already paid any loan direct from the benefits I was on over 16 years ago how can they contact my employer without instructing me.

TELLIT01

As somebody who has comparatively recently retired from DWP I can say that DWP do not always get it right when stating that there is debt outstanding. I was talking to one of the Decision Makers one day when this subject came up. He actually showed me the 'evidence' provided to him from the Debt Recovery team regarding an appeal he was working on. It comprised of a very dog-eared folder with nothing more than a request for a Crisis Loan from the customer. Nothing to confirm the loan had been agreed, or paid. The Debt Recovery team had demanded payment on the basis that there was nothing to show the debt had been repaid. The DM agreed with the customer that there was no proof of debt and sent it back to Debt Recovery.
Never assume that because DWP says something is the case that it actually is.

tomtontom

Please do not follow the link in Linda63's post, it is a copycat site. I have reported this to the .gov site.

jewelly

Spam duly reported. Thanks.

weedave111

benniebert wrote: »

Err yes I can. 1994 - I can tell you where I was working, how much my salary was, what credit cards I had, what bank accounts I had as well as a very good idea of what was in those accounts. I relate 1994 to a specific event. 1994 (November) was when I purchased a new business.


The next specific was the car I had. I bought a new BMW 325 coupe M in 1992 - L*** *** and my wife had an accident in it a few months before I bought the business (June 1994). The monthly repayments for the car were just over £500 a month.


So I would definitely know if I had a DWP loan (remembering what I got it for) As for the loan in 2006, that is only 9 years ago.


Sorry but what the poster has said "I have no idea if I took out this loan or paid anything back aleady and no longer have any paperwork." does not ring true with me. Why mention that they no longer have any paperwork for it if they can't remember ever taking the two loans out?

Must be great to have a lot of money! Should you be on this forum? I think not as you're just looking for an argument and put down people unfortunate enough to be in a bad position to have to claim benefits!