Am I eligible for anymore financial awards ?

alykhalil1

Hi All,
hope all are fine ?
Cutting long story short, I have been working for NHS as HSA for 15 years and never ever in my life claimed any sort/form of benefits, so all this is very vvv new to me. For some reason, I was dismissed from work in Jan 2020 and was involved with law and my DBS is  just badly wounded. No more penny as income. I was told to apply for Universal Credit and I applied, in the meanwhile, my water bill, electricity, gas, flat rent etc etc was all cancelled by me as they were all direct debits.  This began 11 months ago. I owed people and companies lots of money by now and felt like giving everything up. Called Samaritans, stepchange etc and they are just at the end of the phone and cannot see my feelings.  No friend no one to get advise from. I applied for Universal credit and i was approved & awarded . After 3-4 months of closely scrutinising my application, after checking every details minutely, now my award is £280 monthly with so many deductions & from award that i am getting I have to pay £100 to the housing association as I owe them shed loads of money.
During all this, I developed major Illnesses like liver problems, kidney & blood and other serious problems. I been signed off work since Mar 2020. I was than told to apply for PIP which i was awarded (without mobility allowance). Now i receive £238 + £221 PIP money.  Out of this i have to pay the Housing arrears £100 monthly. i have a family to support and i just dont understand what i am meant to do coz with £350 odd left with me I cant do anything with that. 
Is there any other form of help I can get to support me and my family further in life  ???? I visit my parents and 3 children once every year. I haven't even visited them this year due to strict and severe financial problems. I mean, i don't mind going hungry & saving that money but would not want my parents & children to be the same as me as i have been supporting them financially for 22 years now. I have just lost the will & hope now, I have stopped being optimistic now, coz i had a great job, lovly pay and all gets destroyed in seconds leaving me only with my severe illnesses. 

I thank you all for taking the time to read this and await to hear from anyone.
Kind Regards
AK

KatrinaWaves

Are you saying you are left with £350 after your bills are paid?

I can see you are on PIP and UC so that’s the benefits sides covered. 

Did you lose your job due to a legal issue? (You mention the law and your DBS) 

Who do you live with? Who do you need to support? (You mention visiting three children once a year) do you have children that live with you? Are you expected to send money to your family abroad? 

elsien

alykhalil1 said:

Hi All,
hope all are fine ?
Cutting long story short, I have been working for NHS as HSA for 15 years and never ever in my life claimed any sort/form of benefits, so all this is very vvv new to me. For some reason, I was dismissed from work in Jan 2020 and was involved with law and my DBS is  just badly wounded. No more penny as income. I was told to apply for Universal Credit and I applied, in the meanwhile, my water bill, electricity, gas, flat rent etc etc was all cancelled by me as they were all direct debits.  This began 11 months ago. I owed people and companies lots of money by now and felt like giving everything up. Called Samaritans, stepchange etc and they are just at the end of the phone and cannot see my feelings.  No friend no one to get advise from. I applied for Universal credit and i was approved & awarded . After 3-4 months of closely scrutinising my application, after checking every details minutely, now my award is £280 monthly with so many deductions & from award that i am getting I have to pay £100 to the housing association as I owe them shed loads of money.
During all this, I developed major Illnesses like liver problems, kidney & blood and other serious problems. I been signed off work since Mar 2020. I was than told to apply for PIP which i was awarded (without mobility allowance). Now i receive £238 + £221 PIP money.  Out of this i have to pay the Housing arrears £100 monthly. i have a family to support and i just dont understand what i am meant to do coz with £350 odd left with me I cant do anything with that. 
Is there any other form of help I can get to support me and my family further in life  ???? I visit my parents and 3 children once every year. I haven't even visited them this year due to strict and severe financial problems. I mean, i don't mind going hungry & saving that money but would not want my parents & children to be the same as me as i have been supporting them financially for 22 years now. I have just lost the will & hope now, I have stopped being optimistic now, coz i had a great job, lovly pay and all gets destroyed in seconds leaving me only with my severe illnesses. 

I thank you all for taking the time to read this and await to hear from anyone.
Kind Regards
AK

If you’ve been supporting your children for 22 years, are they not adults now and earning their own living? 

You cancelled the direct debits for your bills when you lost your job (it’s not for “some reason”, you must know why although you don’t need to share that information) so those debts do need to be paid back. 
You appear to be getting the benefits you are entitled to - have you checked council tax benefit - you’ve contacted Stepchange, so I’m really not sure what it is you’re asking? 

If you’re not able to work in a different job that doesn’t require a DBS, and have checked you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to, then one of the debt remedies would be your only option. What did Stepchange advise? 

Dox

alykhalil1 said:

Cutting long story short, I have been working for NHS as HSA for 15 years and never ever in my life claimed any sort/form of benefits, so all this is very vvv new to me. For some reason, I was dismissed from work in Jan 2020 and was involved with law and my DBS is  just badly wounded.

This began 11 months ago. I owed people and companies lots of money by now and felt like giving everything up. Called Samaritans, stepchange etc and they are just at the end of the phone and cannot see my feelings. 

i have a family to support and i just dont understand what i am meant to do coz with £350 odd left with me I cant do anything with that. 

Is there any other form of help I can get to support me and my family further in life  ???? I visit my parents and 3 children once every year. 

'For some reason' you were dismissed - what was the reason? Why did you become involved with the law in a way which impacted on your DBS?

Samaritans is a (wonderful) counselling service. Stepchange is specifically a debt counselling service and can give excellent advice by telephone or e-mail. What did Stepchange say about managing your debts?

It sounds as if your parents and children may not live with you and possibly they don't live in the UK? If so, why would the UK taxpayer support them? It doesn't sound as if you are in any position to help them financially, however much you feel you should and would like to do so. Maybe the time has come for a serious discussion with family members about how they can help you at your time of need.

alykhalil1

KatrinaWaves said:

Are you saying you are left with £350 after your bills are paid?

I can see you are on PIP and UC so that’s the benefits sides covered. 

Did you lose your job due to a legal issue? (You mention the law and your DBS) 

Who do you live with? Who do you need to support? (You mention visiting three children once a year) do you have children that live with you? Are you expected to send money to your family abroad? 

No No, that left over money dont include any of my bills as my bills are just pilling up. Now I live alone in a 2 bed flat. I lost my job as it was to a certain extent my fault. I support my family and children with expenses every months. Ys, i visit my parents and children every year. No one of my family lives with me, i live alone. Yes, i am expected to send money home coz its not like here, you have to pay for school fees, uniform, school transportation, doctors, etc etc. you have to pay for everything. 

KatrinaWaves

alykhalil1 said:

KatrinaWaves said:

Are you saying you are left with £350 after your bills are paid?

I can see you are on PIP and UC so that’s the benefits sides covered. 

Did you lose your job due to a legal issue? (You mention the law and your DBS) 

Who do you live with? Who do you need to support? (You mention visiting three children once a year) do you have children that live with you? Are you expected to send money to your family abroad? 

No No, that left over money dont include any of my bills as my bills are just pilling up. Now I live alone in a 2 bed flat. I lost my job as it was to a certain extent my fault. I support my family and children with expenses every months. Ys, i visit my parents and children every year. No one of my family lives with me, i live alone. Yes, i am expected to send money home coz its not like here, you have to pay for school fees, uniform, school transportation, doctors, etc etc. you have to pay for everything. 

Okay well your benefit money is paid to you, for you to live. It is not intended to be sent abroad to pay for your parents and children. It is for you, so no you are not entitled to more. You will have to stop sending money abroad as you cannot afford to support your family and you cannot afford to support yourself. 

Can you downsize to a 1 bedroom house as you live alone? That would lower your bills. 

elsien

So as previously asked, what advice did Stepchange give with regards to your debts?
Is is possible to get support from stepchange or similar and look at agreeing a lower repayment amount for your debts and housing arrears? 

Comms69

Without being funny - why are you still here? Surely at this point living here is in effect a negative income?

Dox

alykhalil1 said:

KatrinaWaves said:

Are you saying you are left with £350 after your bills are paid?

I can see you are on PIP and UC so that’s the benefits sides covered. 

Did you lose your job due to a legal issue? (You mention the law and your DBS) 

Who do you live with? Who do you need to support? (You mention visiting three children once a year) do you have children that live with you? Are you expected to send money to your family abroad? 

No No, that left over money dont include any of my bills as my bills are just pilling up. Now I live alone in a 2 bed flat. I lost my job as it was to a certain extent my fault. I support my family and children with expenses every months. Ys, i visit my parents and children every year. No one of my family lives with me, i live alone. Yes, i am expected to send money home coz its not like here, you have to pay for school fees, uniform, school transportation, doctors, etc etc. you have to pay for everything. 

You don't need two bedrooms if you live alone, so move somewhere smaller. 

You may be 'expected' to send money home, but the reality is you can't afford to do so. 

theoretica

Alternatively to moving somewhere, would you be allowed to rent the second bedroom out to a lodger? 

elsien

Comms69 said:

Without being funny - why are you still here? Surely at this point living here is in effect a negative income?

Without being funny, suggesting to someone they go back where they came from isn't particularly helpful.