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Am totally desperate here. Went to Post Office for IS, and
they have deducted £70. I came out with £63. I've just called the
budgeting loan, as it is down to them, and they informed me that it
isn't £35 a fortnight that is being deducted, it is in fact £70. I broke
down on the phone, and asked how I'm supposed to pay bills and food
etc, and have asked that someone higher call me back. I am in bits here,
worried sick. Just don't know what to do.
Wasn't sure exactly where to post this, sorry. xx
Thankyou. Have just this minute received a call. They cannot help me with this weeks payment, as obviously I have received IS today. However he has said, from now on, it will be deducted by £20 a fortnight, instead of outrageous sum of £70 fortnightly. I shall have to beg borrow and steal til next money in a fortnight's time, he did suggest a Crisis Loan to tide me over!!!! I then said, well that would put me in a worse position as I'd have to pay that back. Ludicrous suggestion!!!
Thankyou Laura for getting back. Off to do the school run now. xx
Oh heck hazeleyes.
I really wish I knew what to say.
xxxxxxxxxx
First of all DO NOT PANIC, it is a total waste of energy: energy that you need to focus on what you need to do.
Secondly, you have done the right thing to email 1-2-1, well done
Thirdly, let us quantify what you are looking at: as I understand it you will have £20 a fortnight deducted from now on so in theory that will be "ok-ish" (ie still horrendous but more manageable). So this fortnight, instead of the £35 you were dreading.....it is £70, so we are talking an extra £35. Of course I understand that your budget could not accommodate the ORIGINAL £35 but given that they will be deducting £20 from now on, let us say that today's deductions amounted to an extra £50. Does that sound a fair (although scary!) summary? If so then we are looking at how you can clawback that £50, agreed?
Let's look at the options:
1. Crisis Loan (to be repaid as you quite rightly said, NOT ideal, let's leave this for now)
2. Food parcels (I think this is an ace idea and well worth applying for). Here is the link for the Salvation Army, put in your postcode to find your nearest one and you can phone them. There is no shame in this, they help an awful lot of people (and many more so these days with the credit crunch). Will you please do me a favour, and go onto "Your profile" and fill in your postcode or your town, only Moderators can see this, not everyone on the site...OR email me your town and I can see what else there might be locally?
3. Have you anything you can sell or pawn?
4. Is there anything you can do for some cash in hand, such as dog walking, car washing, lawn mowing, babysitting? You can earn £20 each week without it affecting your IS and that amount would come in very handy just now.
5. Is there anyone who could help with a small loan: your sister? the elderly neighbour?
6. Is there a church nearby where you might be able to phone the vicar, you could also offer to do some jobs in return for a small emergency grant from the church
It is absolutely AWFUL to be in this position and I appreciate this is a very bossy list but when you are in a panic I believe that a practical and no-nonsense list is the best help I can give you.
Of course, I am horrified that you can be placed in this position and about the arbitrary way you have been treated, but the above list is the priority 
Hi hazeleyes, glad they called you back, dont know if you have ever had to ask for a crisis loan but if you can avoid it then please do, they are truly awful on the phones, I did it once and vowed never ever to do it again no matter how hard it got xxx
Louise is right in everything she says above, there is no shame in asking for help and you are going to need it this fortnight.
How are you feeling now xxx
Hi all. Am still shaking, and still can't get over them taking this amount. Neighbour has given me £20, which is wonderful of him. Anything I need, they have told me to ask. Again, this is wonderful, and so very kind of them. Wouldn't ask my sister as I know she wouldn't.
Thankyou Louise, I have also added my postcode to profile. Hope it's worked. Got C's friend here, so her Mum will be here shortly, so going to log out, and will be back on later. Thankyou everyone. xx
xxx
You need to calm down, hazeleyes, I don't blame you at all for feeling like this, I would feel the same but it is important to take calm steps now to resolve things.
Great news re the neighbour!! 
Email in your inbox shortly.
Thanks Louise. Just checked e.mail, and will contact them tomorrow. Am a lot calmer too, though have thumping headache!! Also tomorrow, I need to sit and juggle the money around again, I've paid the gas (fortnightly payment). Tomorrow I shall have to pay the tv licence (fortnightly payment) and also the water one too. The £20 from neighbour I shall put directly on electric. A friend has offered to lend me £30 with repayment of £15 a fortnight, but I don't want to go down that road yet, and I would rather go to my neighbour anyway. Not that I'm ungrateful to friend, and I hope I'm not coming across as ungrateful.
Hi glad you are calmer now than earlier, also lovely that you have a good neightbour and friend who will both help you if you need it xxx
xxx
Hoope you are feeling more positive today 
Hello. Definately feeling more positive today thankyou.
xxxxxx
hazeleys so glad you are feeling more positive today xxx
My friend is going to post me some information so once it arrives here I will post the bullet points which might also help others on the future xxx
That's great, thanks tiredmum
Here at last as promised what you can expect to pay back with social fund loans and what you can do if it all goes wrong!!!!!
It is long so I will spread it over a few posts, hope thats ok xxx
If a client has been awarded a crisis or budgeting loan from the social fund, s/he will have to repay this on a weekly basis. The client will be sent an offer letter, setting out the repayment terms. The client should sign and return the letter within 14 days, unless the application was for a crisis loan and was not made in writing (see next paragraph). If s/he is unhappy with the repayment terms, s/he should not sign the letter, but should make a complaint within this 14-day period. Alternatively, s/he could accept the loan and later request that the repayment terms are revised. The guidance suggests that a social fund loan should normally be repaid within 104 weeks (or within 78 weeks if the loan was granted before 3 April 2006).
The decision maker will base the amount of the repayments on:-
· the income support applicable amount appropriate to the client, whether or not s/he is receiving income support; and
the client's current and future financial commitments
The decision maker has discretion in fixing the repayment rates, although the maximum that can be paid is 20 per cent (25 per cent for loans granted before 3 April 2006) of available income. Available income is considered to be the income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA) or pension credit adult personal allowances and premiums received, plus any child tax credit or child benefit for any dependent children, but excluding housing costs. There are three standard weekly repayment rates. These are:-
· 12 per cent of the client's available income if the client has no continuing financial commitments. This rate was 15 per cent for loans granted before 3 April 2006; or
· 10 per cent of the client's available income if the client has other regular financial commitments which total less than 15 per cent of the income support personal allowance for someone aged 25 or over; or
· 5 per cent of the client's available income if the client has other regular financial commitments which total more than 15 per cent of the income support personal allowance for someone aged 25 or over.
A client whose income-based JSA is being paid at a reduced rate, for example, because s/he was found to be voluntarily unemployed, or because s/he has other income, may have to argue that her/his repayment rate be revised. The client will have to request this, as the decision maker will not automatically be informed of the rate of the client's income support or income-based JSA.
29
It is therefore important that the decision maker has full details of the client's ongoing financial commitments in order to ensure that the client can meet the repayment rate. There is no definition of financial commitments in either the directions or guidance, but examples of regular financial commitments are loans other than social fund loans, fines, fuel bills, water charges, council tax, catalogue payments, credit card payments and maintenance payments. The bureau should therefore include all the regular payments a client has to make. However, if a client has a large number of financial commitments to repay, the decision maker may refuse the loan.
A client who has no other financial commitments may wish to repay the loan at a higher rate, up to a maximum of 20 per cent of the client's available income. A client may wish to do this if, for example, s/he wishes to apply for another social fund loan in the future.
Repayments will normally continue at the same rate even if the client's circumstances change. However, the client can ask for her/his loan to be rescheduled if, for example, s/he:-
· is experiencing, or is likely to experience, hardship in keeping up the repayment rate; or
· can afford to repay at a higher rate; or
· is awarded a further social fund loan which would result in an unreasonably long repayment period.
If the client is unhappy about the rate of her/his repayments, s/he should request that they are rescheduled. If s/he is still unsatisfied, or if the request for rescheduling is refused, the client has no right to appeal or ask for a review. A client in this situation should be advised to write to the Customer Services Manager at the district office, within 14 days of being offered the loan, outlining her/his grounds for complaint. S/he should give as much information as possible about her/his financial circumstances. The initial decision will then be reconsidered in the light of any new information and the client may be interviewed, if necessary. If s/he has difficulty attending the local social security office, s/he should request a home visit. A client whose first language is not English should request that an interpreter be provided.
The client should receive a written response to her/his complaint and may be offered a new repayment rate. If so, s/he will have 14 days in which to accept it.
If the new repayment rate means that the loan cannot be repaid within the maximum time limit, the case will be passed to a decision maker for a review. This may mean that the loan will be reduced or withdrawn. The loan could also be reduced or withdrawn if there are doubts about the client's ability to repay the loan. The adviser should therefore establish how much the client can afford to pay each week and for how long the repayment period would be before complaining. A client who has had her/his loan reduced or withdrawn could then request a review.
If the client's income has increased and s/he wishes to increase her/his repayment rate, s/he should consider whether s/he has other financial commitments which should be paid off first, for example, a loan on which interest is charged.
A client can ask for details about the outstanding amount on her/his loan at any time.
A social fund loan will normally be recovered from the person who applied for the loan. However, it can also be recovered from:-
· the partner of the person who applied for, or benefited from, the loan
· someone else who benefited from the loan, for example, an ex-partner. This method of recovery should, in practice, only be used in exceptional circumstances, for example, if the client cannot be traced
· a sponsor of a person from abroad who has been awarded a crisis loan because the sponsor has failed to maintain her/him. This method of recovery should, however, only be used in exceptional circumstances, and, in practice, is very rarely used
Thats brilliant tiredmum, thankyou.
Did you get writers cramp hehe. xxx
Hi tiredmum, thanks for that, was that from your CAB friend?
Hi Louise, yes it was, it is up to date although things can and do change, if it does I will get the update for you xxx
hazeleyes, copy and paste ha ha xxx
Hi Hazeleyes
Shocking. poor you! I'm not surprised you were panicky - glad you are feeling calmer.
Wow tiredmum - that is some typing you've done there. :)
xxx
Dear Hazeleyes,
How awful. Have they given you a reason for the deduction? Is it a sanction or a change to your benefit in the longer term? Have they written to you?
I hope that the promised person phones you back soon. Do let me know how things go this afternoon.
Laura