During Advice Week 2009 (12-18th October) a consortium of advice agencies is highlighting the real difference that getting help with a problem can make, especially if it's tackled early on.
Advice UK, Age Concern and Help the Aged, Citizens Advice, the Law Centres Federation and Youth Access have all seen an increase in enquiries as a result of the recession, particularly in the fields of Debt, Employment, Housing, Benefits entitlements and Fuel Poverty.
David Harker, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice said: "Many people are often surprised at the level of help they can get for free from our impartial agencies and the earlier on an issue is identified, the easier it is to resolve. Even people at crisis point - for example people facing a court hearing for repossession of their home - can find their situation swiftly improved if they seek advice."
The following real-life stories demonstrate just how much people can benefit from seeking advice:
Benefits boost cushions blow after illness
An Age Concern in Staffordshire saw a 62 year old man and his wife who were worried about money after he was made redundant following a period of sick leave due to a chronic lung disorder. Age Concern did a benefits check and assisted the man in a successful application for Incapacity Benefit and Pension credit, as well as a backdated payment. They helped appeal previous rejections for Housing Benefit and Disability Living Allowance and in both cases the appeals were successful and the payments backdated. They also negotiated with a bailiff company about repaying a council tax bill that had fallen into arrears as a result of the client's hospital stay.
Due to the help and advice they received from Age Concern the client and his wife now have an income of £236 per week through their entitlements, as well as exemption from road tax, a blue badge for disabled parking and a Warm Front grant.
Lucy Harmer, Head of Information and Advice at Age Concern and Help the Aged said: "The information and advice needs of older people are many and varied ranging from managing their day to day finances to accessing the care and support they need to deal with health and disability problems. The dedication, professionalism and expertise of staff in local advice agencies, such as Age Concerns, results in many older people seeing real improvements in their standard of living, their income, their access to essential services and their involvement within their local community."
Avoiding repossession
A Citizens Advice Bureau in Derbyshire saw a client who earned good money as a truck driver but had been laid off three times in seven months. His debts had started to mount up and he was struggling with his mortgage repayments and facing a very real risk of homelessness. He had tried talking to his creditors but they wouldn't listen. His local CAB helped him sort out his debts and prevented him from losing his home by supporting him to undertake a voluntary bankruptcy. As the client was ex-army they were also able to help him apply for a grant though a partnership with the Royal British Legion - this covered the £2,000 he needed to pay the official receiver to cover the equity in his house. He now does shift work as a bus driver, earning a third of what he did as a truck driver, but has had a fresh start, has no debts and can afford to pay his mortgage.
A new start
A young girl who needed help with her housing, benefit and debt problems was eventually assisted by a specialist young person's solicitor affiliated to Youth Access.
The girl, who had dropped out of school and been thrown out of home by the age of 15, had been a victim of physical and sexual abuse and was a drug user. Aged 17 she found herself pregnant and homeless and was housed temporarily in unsuitable B&B accommodation, where she became involved in prostitution.
After seeking advice she is now claiming the benefits she is entitled to, has reduced her debts and is living in her own flat. She has also embarked on a youth development programme and has been able to access other services, including counselling, drug services, pregnancy advice and pre-parenting classes. She is no longer involved in prostitution and is confident she can cope better in looking after her child.
Barbara Rayment, Director of Youth Access, said: "Unfortunately, many young people find the thought of trying to resolve their problems extremely daunting, so put off dealing with them in the hope that they might go away. This can make their problems much harder to resolve by the time they reach a professional adviser. Our research shows that a third of vulnerable young people with social welfare problems regret not getting advice sooner and that whether or not they get good early advice can literally be a matter of life or death."
Tackling discrimination
Sheffield Law Centre assisted a man with a learning disability in saving his home by using the Disability Discrimination Act and the Human Rights Act. The man, 52, was a recluse and wasn't able to read or write. He had lived in the same house - previously his parents' - his whole life. The local council had been sending him council tax bills for many years, but the man couldn't deal with them, so after a meeting with council officers, they wrote off the debts as being uncollectible. However, in 2008, out of the blue,
Sheffield Law Centre helped him apply to the county court to overturn the bankruptcy order and argued that the council had discriminated against him, not assessed his exemption correctly and had breached his human rights. At the hearing on 9th June 2009, the council accepted that the bankruptcy order should be "annulled". They also agreed to meet the costs of the legal action they had started and to exempt the man from paying any council tax in the future.
Julie Bishop, Director of the Law Centres Federation, said: "Legal advice transforms people's lives, helping them to stay in their homes, keep their families together and get into employment or education. It also saves a lot of time and money. Each eviction avoided by Law Centres' solicitors is estimated to save the tax payer over £34,000."
Stopping the spiral of debt
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The advice centre made representations to the judge on her behalf and assured her landlords that she could obtain benefit entitlements to stop her arrears increasing. The client was able to receive Income Support and Housing Benefit. The adviser also successfully argued for her claims to be backdated due to her illness and the additional stress her son's sectioning caused. The client was also advised on her other debt matters and successfully reached agreements with her creditors to clear her debts. She plans to go back to work as a nurse once her health improves.
Steve Johnson, Chief Executive of AdviceUK, said: "Advice centres frequently help sort-out quite complex problems that have gradually been getting worse over weeks, months or even years. They often see people who feel life has hit them with one thing after another leading to depression and a feeling there's no way out. But skilled advisers know how to claim or negotiate extra time or resources even at the eleventh hour. And by dealing with the whole set of problems they can often halt a downward spiral, giving people the hope and motivation to get their lives back on track."
Date: 12th, October, 2009
Author: Charmaine L. Horan
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