change of circumstances half way through uni & now I'm confused!!

mumtoj_2

Hi
Not sure if this should be here or benifits board but hope someone can help.
I am a mature student in second year of a three year degree at uni.
I am married with one child (11 years old). we live in a council rented house.
Untill recently my husband worked full time and everything was fine but he has had to leave his job and now I seem to be going round in circles with various benifit people.:mad:
I am really confused about what we are/should be entitled to and everyone seems to be telling us something different!!
So far My husband has been told he is entitled to contributions based job seekers and we are getting £6.30 a week housing benifit (wow!)
We have no savings and I already get full student loan grant and uni benifits as he was only on minimum wage anyway and we counted as low income family.
Do these figures sound right or should we be claiming/getting anything else??? every adviser I have seen so far seems to not understand student finance and gives us wrong info so I thought you wonderfull people on here might be more helpful:D
Sorry for long post just wanted to give as much info as possible to get right help!
Thanks in advance:beer:

Gingernutmeg

I'd go and see someone at uni, like the people who deal with the ALF (Access to Learning Fund) and grants etc. Not sure what they're called everywhere (at my uni it came under the guise of Student Services), but my uni had a financial adviser type person who understood the grants/loans system far better then the benefits people, and she also was able to offer advice on benefits etc. It'd be worth checking, because at the very least they'd be able to point you in the direction of any university specific funds that you might not realise you're entitled to.

System

Call your LEA (local education authority) and speak to someone there. It depends upon individual circumstances. ALF is a definite possibility.

mumtoj_2

thanks to both for replies.
I have already claimed ALF for this academic year although they told me to put another form in showing change of circumstances.
I will find out if they have a finacial adviser type person as that would probably help. thanks for that suggestion.
I have not phoned LEA yet because I didn't think it would change what I get from them much as we were on full entitlement anyway and I was hoping to understand what we were getting when I rang them to tell them about change of circumstances. I will ring them in the morning and see what they say.
just seem to be going in circles with tax credits/ job seekers/ housing benifit people and I dont understand any of it! until I went back to uni I had worked full time from leaving school and never claimed anything before so the system confuses me.

Oldernotwiser

As your husband isn't working any longer, shouldn't he be the one sorting all this sort of thing out? You need to concentrate on your studies whilst he takes the other weights off your shoulders. As he works for mimimum wage, hopefully there'll only be a short period whilst he's out of work and your finances get back to normal.
Good luck.

mumtoj_2

thanks for the good luck wishes oldernotwiser.
my husband is doing all the hard work sorting this out and has delt with everything so far he is just not a fan of the internet or computers:eek: He prefers doing things the old fashioned way and has done all the phone calls and appointments.
I know he could get a job fairly easily as he is not that fussy and will give anything a go! However the situation is slightly complicated as we are house hunting because the council have decided to demolish the estate we live on so it would make things easier on the stress level if he waits until after we move to start working again.
in all it is a bit complicated but I am sure we will sort it fairly soon, I just hate not understanding these things.

Oldernotwiser

mumtoj wrote: »

thanks for the good luck wishes oldernotwiser.
my husband is doing all the hard work sorting this out and has delt with everything so far he is just not a fan of the internet or computers:eek: He prefers doing things the old fashioned way and has done all the phone calls and appointments.
I know he could get a job fairly easily as he is not that fussy and will give anything a go! However the situation is slightly complicated as we are house hunting because the council have decided to demolish the estate we live on so it would make things easier on the stress level if he waits until after we move to start working again.
in all it is a bit complicated but I am sure we will sort it fairly soon, I just hate not understanding these things.

Sorry if I misunderstood about his doing things.

Would it really be less stressful to wait while you house hunt? Living on no money is pretty stressful and it might take longer than he thinks to get sorted. Won't it be difficult to find a house whilst he's unemployed? Be careful of a longer period of unemployment as it can make finding another job harder. Anyway, do what's best for you and yours.

mumtoj_2

sorry it is probably me not being very clear. I didnt want to bore everyone with my complicated life!
We are looking for another council house but this is done on a choice based scheme where we get a list of avalible properties on a weekly basis and then have a week to bid (express an intrest) This has been quite time consuming for me so far as when he was working full time I was spending time going round looking at houses researching areas to decide if we wanted to bid. With him not working he can do alot more of the leg work on this. I can also leave him to start packing/ sorting loft/shed etc while I study. Also him not working gives us more choice about where we move to as we are not tied (son is due to move up schools in summer anyway).
I hope this makes sense not much is making sense to me at the moment

mumtoj_2

just to update
I think we are getting sorted.
I spoke to LEA and they were useless!! said we didnt need to do anything because change was late in academic year and would not change anything but make sure we put it on next years form!!! then spoke to student finance direct who said this was rubbish and directed me to the right forms on the website.
I have also got an appointment to see the financial adviser person at the university so thanks for suggesting that gingernutmeg.
feel much better and think things are going to be ok now so thanks for advice everyone.

DrFluffy

If your overall financial situation has changed, you need to contact your LEA for an emergency reassessment to cover the rest of the academic year.

They are generally rather speedy with such matters... [edit - just read your last post - chase it some more... You should be reassessed,,,]

Int he interim, make an appointment to see someone in your finance office/student support centre/advice and counselling service to apply for ALF.

silverbullit

Try this; it tells you what you may be entitled to...

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/