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Son breaks up for summer holiday tomorrow which im so scared about, I dont know about anyone else , but im struggling to make ends meet, ive cut back or stopped altogether over the last three months on every luxury like dvd rentals, organic fruit and veg for my son, hardly use my car except for driving my son to school, yet im absolutly penniless. Can hardly afford food for me so im going without for my son to have what he needs foodwise as well as pay the bills in the house.

 

Im doing a post grad MA course for which i won a bursury which paid the university directly for the course fees and a small travel bursury to attend the course as its a 60 miles round trip to get there. last week housing benefit wrote to me and say that they are suspending my HB becuuse I cant claim as a student and they didnt know I was a student .. everyone knew, my council tax exemption say i was a student, my lone parent advisor was fully consulted about it and the Rent service without even lookin at my house they said it was only worth 525 a month and my rent is 700 ..i appealed and they still said the same .....i asked them to release their figures as i printed off evidence showing..in my city you cannot rent a 2 bed house for less than 700, actually now 750 for a 2 bed flat... ...maybe 7 miles out in a village it would be 600 ......but they rejected my appeal ..leaving me 200 short on HB a month

 

my HB comes in weekly amounts which i use to pay all my Direct Debit bills , and i use my child tax credits with a bit of DLA to pay the rent now without any HB ive gone over my overdraft , bills are coming out left right and centre and im scared to death about what they are doing .....surely they shouldnt be able to do this to vunerable families . Ive no where to turn

 

:wallbash:

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Oh hunni, have you spoken to your landlord about reducing the rent a little, if your a valued / good tennant they may do it, rather than have the property empty, and in the current climate they may take you up on it as rental properties are empty.Hope you can get it sorted, do you have any right to appeal?

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i approached my landlord they said they had evaluated and it should have been 800 but they were willing to reduce it for a long term tennant

 

sent in a letter to HB saying that im a postgrad student and i dont have any income ...what a mess ..i m really trying not to lose the plot.

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Have you spoken to the post-graduate support office at the University? Some Universities have funds for students in genuine difficulty. It might not come to anything but you won't know until you ask.

 

Simon

Edited by mossgrove

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sent message to university ....and also filled in forms for crisis loan ..not sure what else to do ....have �5 in my pocket to last till sunday...got letter from bank today they are chargin me 20 quid a day for going over my agreed overdraft becuse i didnt get the housing benefit payment through this week ....

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sent message to university ....and also filled in forms for crisis loan ..not sure what else to do ....have �5 in my pocket to last till sunday...got letter from bank today they are chargin me 20 quid a day for going over my agreed overdraft becuse i didnt get the housing benefit payment through this week ....

 

It is essential you talk to the bank ASAP to stop the penalty charges escalating out of control. Most banks will back off a little if you are keeping them fully updated about what is happening, and will possibly waive the charges if you can show that there is nothing you could have done to avoid it. The CAB may well have people who can help as well.

 

Simon

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>:D<<'> >:D<

 

I've been there - it's frightening isn't it. :(>:D<<'> I have very clear, and still painful memories of being sick (literally) with worry about how i was going to feed my son. :(

 

Have you called your bank and explained things? I bank with two well known places, one was horrible, but the other were fantastic and helped me out quite often. Might be worth a try..

 

Do you have anything you don't need? I used to go to car boot places and sell things i didn't need or want anymore - great way of raising some much needed pennies.

 

What does the lone parent advisor say? Mine turned into a fantastic friend, even if she could do nothing - just having someone to talk to and all that..

 

If you're privately renting - do you have your name down for a housing association house? Even if you don't qualify for HB, the rent is much, much cheaper

 

Chin up chicken >:D<<'> >:D<

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You mentioned DLA. Does your son get the medium or higher rate for personal care? If he does and your earnings are below a certain threshold you can apply for carers allowance which could make a big difference.

 

There is a limit if 21 hours a week of supervised study, if you do more than this you do not qualify, but you may be able to arrange with the university to adjust your study hours if you do over this. It is around �50 a week.

 

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CaringForSomeo...ers/DG_10012525

 

Simon

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Son breaks up for summer holiday tomorrow which im so scared about, I dont know about anyone else , but im struggling to make ends meet, ive cut back or stopped altogether over the last three months on every luxury like dvd rentals, organic fruit and veg for my son, hardly use my car except for driving my son to school, yet im absolutly penniless. Can hardly afford food for me so im going without for my son to have what he needs foodwise as well as pay the bills in the house.

 

Im doing a post grad MA course for which i won a bursury which paid the university directly for the course fees and a small travel bursury to attend the course as its a 60 miles round trip to get there. last week housing benefit wrote to me and say that they are suspending my HB becuuse I cant claim as a student and they didnt know I was a student .. everyone knew, my council tax exemption say i was a student, my lone parent advisor was fully consulted about it and the Rent service without even lookin at my house they said it was only worth 525 a month and my rent is 700 ..i appealed and they still said the same .....i asked them to release their figures as i printed off evidence showing..in my city you cannot rent a 2 bed house for less than 700, actually now 750 for a 2 bed flat... ...maybe 7 miles out in a village it would be 600 ......but they rejected my appeal ..leaving me 200 short on HB a month

 

my HB comes in weekly amounts which i use to pay all my Direct Debit bills , and i use my child tax credits with a bit of DLA to pay the rent now without any HB ive gone over my overdraft , bills are coming out left right and centre and im scared to death about what they are doing .....surely they shouldnt be able to do this to vunerable families . Ive no where to turn

 

:wallbash:

 

 

you need to get out from private renting----im pretty sure local council or housing association is alot cheaper..........well it is around my parts----i used to private rent/

you could write to your mp for support in trying to get accomadation that is not private....based on your cash situation-you should tell them staright -no way can you carry on like this..........

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Are you sure you are getting all the benefits you and your son are entitled to? There are a couple of great websites including www.yourable.com which give great financial and benefit advice.

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get appointment at the cab too

 

take all your bills-if you owe on credit ect ect-they can take measures to stop the interest-and set you limit of small amount you can pay back-they write you a letter-

 

also gas and electric-i think its british gas do a fund thing that helps to pay of outstanding gas/electric debt if u are struggling.

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thanks folks for all your replys much appreciated ...i remember i have 2000 nectar points so i can get something ...in terms of food. Ive written a letter to MP and the rent service, i rang my bank they (lloyds) not interested at all , 20 pound a day charges tough they said ..i should get housing benefit but like i said its been stopped cos they say i shouldnt have it , i cant claim carers cos im a student but i dont have 21 hours of supervised study

 

local housing is non existant in my area

 

thanks so much for replys

.

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hi there,

 

i know EXACTLY how you feel ...

 

1. contact Citizens Advice - they will take FOREVER to answer the phone but KEEP KEEP KEEP trying - they can and will help you - believe me !

 

2. CCCS for free debt advice and VERY LOW COST consolidation (type CCCS into google)

 

3. Money Saving Expert - has everthing you can possibly wish for e.g. Claiming back Bank/Credit card CHARGES (i've just done it!!) Saving money on weekly shpping/ BRILL BUDGETING : link to Budget Form

Freebies and much more !

 

4. The last few weeks i've done my weekly shopping for 6 of us in Asda for �80 by only buying SMARTPRICE items and it has saved me TONES !! Plus i always get the shopping delivered for FREE by googling for Asda free delivery CODES/COUPONS

 

5. Can you possibly borrow a LITTLE from Familly ? Just to tide you over ?

 

if i can think of anything else i'll let you know

good luck and TRY not to worry - worring doesnt help or change anything

chin up ;o)

 

mel xx

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Hello ..and thanks again for your supportive reply , i cant borrow off family they have nothing to lend lol

 

I submitted a request for a budgeting loan yesterday , my discretionary housing payment request has been in for 8 weeks and ive heard nothing ...this on top of having my HB suspended....

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ooh i pressed send before i meant too

i meant to say ... i did a debt plan with cccs ....online but ive it said they couldnt work out a plan as i had such a lot more going out than coming in ..and no spare income....im not worrying becuase like you say there is no point, it wont change matters, as long as i can keep a roof over my head

 

how do they help in terms of low cost consolidation , i thooght that was a bad idea

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Sorry hun I've no idea about those.. :unsure:

 

Best place to get advice online would be the money saving expert site i would think.

 

Just thinking - even if there aren't any housing association homes in your area - it's still worth putting your name down.

 

>:D<<'>

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You could try looking through the posts on CAG forums which has sections for debts and also benefits problems as well as links to benefits calculators and a student section. I found it useful when sorting out my girlfriends benefits problems when she was made homeless by them "forgetting" to pay housing benefit!! They seem to be very knowledgable on that site so you can then work out when the telephone monkeys are lying to you.

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ooh i pressed send before i meant too

i meant to say ... i did a debt plan with cccs ....online but ive it said they couldnt work out a plan as i had such a lot more going out than coming in ..and no spare income....im not worrying becuase like you say there is no point, it wont change matters, as long as i can keep a roof over my head

 

how do they help in terms of low cost consolidation , i thooght that was a bad idea

 

 

 

hi - yes consolidations loans are normally a BAD idea - but with the CCCS (whom are government and Bank/Building Society funded!!) and the CAB they have the power to 'force' lenders to STOP adding anymore interest - and EVEN to decrease interest already having been added ,they also have the 'power' to DECREASE the amount you owe the lenders (by rather alot too!!)- like i said - it can be done - it was done for us,i still have the bills to prove it...

 

its no good doing anything online with the CCCS - you need to make an appiotment and go see them,

 

BOTH CAB & CCCS can CERTAINLY help you LOADS, as you have Less coming in than going out - thats what they are there for - not for people whom CAN afford to pay - they are for the likes of us - who really cannot go on any longer with Less coming in, and far more than that going out.

 

I think you should take a look at the Money Saving Expert Forum/Advice for help and support - rather than on here as this is ASD site - you will get FAR MORE help and advice from many more people/experts who really know their stuff.

 

If you still are struggling for food/basics - im sure your family/friends wouldnt see you and yours go hungry ? Even if they are short themselves,

 

 

i wish you all the best xx

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>:D<<'> >:D<<'> Dont know what to say, its appalling, if you were doing nothing and not trying to make a better life for yourself they`d be throwing money at you!!! Enid

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please listen to what folk are saying and go and see someone, CAB etc. They can ensure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to for a start.

 

I was almost in your situation a year ago, ex thought it would be a good idea to stop maintenance as starving us (his children too) would make me do what he wanted. Thanks to a good friend of mine 'buying' Christmas for us and more, and I have never meet her, we got back on our feet and said stuff your maintenance!

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Ive contacted CAB locally waiting to hear from them. I got 250 pound for my sons summer outings from the family fund today which went into my bank and covered the bank costs and unpaid bills. devastated i cant use it for whats its meant to be for. My son!

Like you suggested I contacted university and im waiting to hear from them too. I am going to complain about this wherever I can as its disgusting. If i sat around like a slob drinking vodka all day they would probably leave me alone like you say but im floggin my guts out trying to stand some chance of improving life in the future for us both and they do this.

 

My family live over 30 miles away and have no transport , i do not have the petrol money to get over to them , thats why im alone on this one.

 

Thanks for all your kind words

:thumbs: everyone

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Well you used the money in the only way you could at the mo, so dont feel guilty, hope things get better soon >:D<<'> Enid

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