To ensure all customers and tenants are claiming the right income related benefits, tax credits and benefits for people with disabilities and their carers, Yorkshire Housing employs a team of Benefits & Money Advisors.
The team offers free, impartial and confidential advice on a range of issues relating to money and debt management as well as problems with rent arrears.
The ‘D’ Word
When money is tight it’s sometimes tempting to put off paying an important bill. However Yorkshire Housing Benefits & Money Advisor (BMA) Soyab Karolia says that’s often the worst thing you can do and may result in serious debt problems.
“It’s easy to think about missing one payment and catching up later,” he said. “But if you arealready struggling financially, it often becomes impossible to catch up and that’s when your problems really start.
“If you are struggling to pay your rent the important message is don’t ignore the problem – please inform your income officer. You won’t be the first person with this problem and you won’t be the last. We will work with you to come to an arrangement that is manageable for you and will ensure your tenancy remains safe.”
Top tips to manage debt
- Don’t ignore debts.
- Check you are claiming all the benefits and tax credits you are entitled to.
- Pay priority bills first – rent, gas and electricity.
- Work out what money comes in and what money goes out of your home each week.
- If you owe money to any organisation, contact them as soon as possible.
- Know your personal budget and show this to people you owe money to as this will help you plan reasonable repayments.
- Even if you offer to make small regular payments – it’s better than paying nothing at all.
- Always keep copies of any letters or papers you send or receive and make a note of what’s mbeen agreed in a telephone conversation.
- Do not borrow money to pay off your bills without getting independent financial advice.
- If any organisation is taking you to court – seek independent advice.
- Remember – you don’t have to cope on your own – help and advice is available if you ask for it.
Frequently asked questions
Useful Links
Listed below are websites that we’ve used or been told about. This is not a full list of websites and we have not assessed each site. Yorkshire Housing do not recommend any of these sites in preference to others – just letting you know about some that we’ve found helpful.
If you have any suggestions for other websites you think might be helpful to people in a similar situation to you, please get in touch and let us know about them. Also, if you find any of these links not working, let us know and we’ll fix it.