DWP & Council overpayments

pmlindyloo

This link may be of help:

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/7657/#33971

If you click on the link in post 18 it tells you the circumstances where you can ask for a reduction in the amount you pay under exceptional circumstances.

You are going to need some help with this so suggest you try CAB (one with a benefits specialist would be good)

You may be able to get a deduction based on your disabilities and/or risk of losing your home.

Your SOA does need some tweaking as your food costs are high (you say in your other thread due to the need for diabetic foods) and it needs to be shown whether you DLA meets your needs due to your disabilities.

You also need a check about the amount that you are repaying on both although from the link it seems that the figures quoted could be correct - but worth checking.

You do not say how much the debt is and how much you have left to pay back.

The decision on your benefit fraud case may also have some bearing on whether a reduction may be possible.

If CAB are unable to help then I suggest that you get your MP involved.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

What garage does your MOT, I have never been able to find one that does it for £15.00. £35 is the lowest in my area, ive seen it as high as £55.00.


Do you not put tires and screenwash in that budget, head lamp and tail lamps bulbs etc on your car when they fail?
£40 per month fuel approx. £20 per week such medium high miles, unless you run a 2.5 Subaru STI uk 300 then that's a trip to the shop and back.


My maintenance costs on my cars were on average a year close to £700 a year.


so that's £58 per month when divided by 12.
I used to do 20k miles per year or above


Mot £35.00
Brake Pads £45.00
Brake Discs £65.00
oil and oil filter £49.00 for manufacturer recommended oil, and £9.50 for the oil filter itself.
suspension link bars (common failure on old my car) £30.00 (£15.00 per side) cars an MOT failure with them broken! hence essential maintenance.
Front tires £65.00 x 2 twice a year, I run nothing but named brands and recommended model tires not Chinese ditch finders safety for myself and kids come first and tire manufacturer recommended they were changed at 10k-15k miles or close to 1.6m of tread depth left or legal tread depth limit (take a piece paper and ask the tire fitter to peel off the label and stick it to the sheet of paper because that's your warranty along with the receipt for the amount you pay in balancing and disposal of old tire NO ONE does this WHY?
Tracking and balancing I had a car with independent front and rear suspension which means all 4 wheels needed to be laser tracked and aligned a check can cost £20, just the front can cost £45.00 and all 4 wheel alignment can cost £90 and any adjustment to camber costs extra, an alignment check should be carried out after any suspension work or front tire replacement if just two front wheel ive seen £35.00 advertised in places.
Insurance £72.00 per month.
Tax £149.00 per year.
Fuel £25. perweek, keeping above the quarter of a tank mark as going below it or red lining suck in gunk from fuel and clogs injectors hampers performance of you vehicles engine and strains fuel pump.


You also cant have a £5.08 asset when your in the red after essential payments.
Is the valuation on your car your estimate or a garages estimate, people always over estimate their cars worth so its better to have a valuation slip from a garage for the book price.


I spend £155.00 on shopping per 2 weekly shops thats £210 per month there abouts and I have 3 growing children and I shop at aldi using their cheapest brands I can find, your £260 per month seems to me rather high if its just you or you and a partner.


£2.00 a haircut? the local barber charges £5.50 or £3.20 for senior citizens or disabled persons a hairdresser could charge considerably more.


are you sure your just paying £700 for gas AND electricity?
I thought I was on a cheap tariff for my usage costing me £998 per year on a pre payment smart meter, but I do have 3 kids who like to have mobiles charging, playstations going etc but £700.00?


£19.00 for water per month sounds cheap to me, my neighbour lives on her own, has a bath 1 toilet and washing machine in a 1 bed flat and washes her own work uniform costs her nearly £25.00 per month on a water meter and she's hardly ever at home.


I think what you need to do is keep a diary of your payments, if you buy screenwash for your car its maintenance windscreen wipers its maintenance, tires its maintenance, brakes maintenance, exhaust this year? its maintenance it all goes down as maintenance costs of keeping a vehicle.


Keep receipts for weekly fuel consumption, then add them up at the end of the month.
Water: if paying by card at paypoint or by Direct debit, use your yearly bill to calculate the monthly payment or keep the paypoint receipts and add them up if paying weekly.


Do you not buy people birthday cards or presents or Christmas cards or presents? a single card can be £1.50 that's still 0.12p per month for 1 birthday card. £5.00 present that's 0.41p.


If you are paying back a friend or relative a loan its still a non secured debt.


at this stage I would call your budget a first guestimate keeping an accurate diary for a month of the things you spend out on is needed for accurate estimate of you budget.


I wouldn't go into court with the one you posted, it seems inflated in one area and underestimated in another but that's what 1st draft budget guestimates look like and can be expected.


as a side note you do realise at the current rate of repayment of 28k of debt you've only paid just over 10k back, it will take approx 20yrs at the current rate to repay the full balance owed and that's assuming you never missed a payment in 16yrs.

FBaby

What about your DLA? I think they do take it into account. If you have costs associated with your disability, you need to include in your SOA.

£40 mobile is a luxury and £260 without toiletries is a lot for just one person.

tomtontom

Do you want help in how to better manage your budget? All you've done so far is given excuses for why you can't make cutbacks.

Are you going to tell us what you spend your DLA on?

missbiggles1

What rate were you repaying this at when you were working full time earlier this year?

tomtontom

Colin5753 wrote: »

DLA doesn't come in to this budget so I'm told by the DWP

But it does come in to your budget. If you're claiming high food costs due to disability, the need for a car due to disability, these are expenses that your DLA should be going towards.

If you get free car tax can we assume you get higher rate mobility, so £57 a week? Plus an amount for care?

missbiggles1

Colin5753 wrote: »

I haven't been working this year or the last few and the rate is as stated above

Really?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5405631

atrixblue.-MFR-.

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Really?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5405631

ahh that would explain the £20.00 fuel costs then, even a pajero or shogun as their known here would not eat the amount of fuel compared to the miles OP states they do back and forth shop.


I also know pajero's have their issues (self taught mechanic and ex motorfactor employee specializing in imports (I also have ADL BLUEPRINT training in import parts and vehicles), and their maintenance costs are quite high, £15.00 per month still doesn't add up though.


I still don't back the food shopping bill, living alone with diabetes shouldnt cost more than the average household of 3 children and 2 parents. I'll concede to saying that it may cost slightly more than that of a single person if you have to buy special foods.
BUT £260 a month no way.


it also seems to be you were/are working so you do/did have more income to top up the repayments.


I'm out on this one now.

tomtontom

Colin5753 wrote: »

I have had my Paj 15 years and it gets maintained by a friend who rebuilds them, its 23 years old and is in perfect working order, the only issue I have ever had with it is I had to get the gearbox replaced 12 years a go. If you want to carry on being sarcastic then please don't do it with me I am here for help and that's all I don't care weather you believe I have been working in the last year or 2 to be honest. The fact remains I need some advice! Yes I may have done my budget sheet wrong but that's why I'm here to ask for help.

You've been offered advice, you've dismissed it every time. People can only help if you are open to making changes, and you give the full story.

NeilCr

Have you contacted the CAB or Shelter yet as suggested to you earlier in this thread