Someone to help this Christmas
£17.12 could give quick advice in the local community to one person like Nila
£30.62 could give an appointment with an experienced adviser to one person like Nila
£75.62 could give an appointment with translation to one person like Nila
“I’ve got £10.10 left in my account and it has to last 10 days. I mix milk with water for my son to make it last longer.”
Nila, a single mother with a two-year-old son, was housed by Havering Council in privately-rented accommodation in Barnet. Despite being told her deposit and first month’s rent would be covered, she was harassed for payment by the letting agency days after she moved in. Afraid of being made homeless again, she paid what she could, leaving her with barely enough to survive. That’s when she got help from one of our experienced volunteer advisers, Ronnie.
With Ronnie’s help, Nila successfully requested an increase in the Housing Element of her Universal Credit of over £400 a month. Having repeatedly asked her housing officer for clarity on payment of the deposit and first-month’s rent, Ronnie supported Nila to submit a complaint. Her letting agency hasn’t asked her for money since.
“Without Citizens Advice Barnet I’d do what they’re demanding and live with fear. I now feel more comfortable – if I’m in a bad situation, I can call Citizens Advice Barnet…I know I have someone there trying to help.”
Nila was able to get the advice she needed, but there are many more people like her in desperate situations who are on their own and don’t know what to do.
It costs £30.62 to give someone like Nila an appointment with an experienced adviser.
For people like Nila, an appointment with an experienced adviser is the only way to move forward, but we currently have a three week wait for these appointments. We desperately need to train more volunteer advisers, and we can only do so with your help.
We have now reached our fundraising target of £4,000, including match-funding. This means we have raised enough to train four volunteers to give in-depth advice in appointments and help up to 150 people each (600 in total) in a year. While we no longer have match-funding available, you can still support our work and give life-changing advice to people in our community like Nila.
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helped to find a way forward
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Nila's Story
“I’ve got £10.10 left in my account and it has to last 10 days. I mix milk with water for my son to make it last longer.”
Nila, a single mother with a two-year-old son, came to Havering Council for help because she and her son were homeless. As they didn’t have social housing available, she was offered a privately rented accommodation in Barnet. Concerned she wouldn’t be able to afford the deposit and one month’s rent up-front, she only accepted the accommodation when her housing officer assured her Havering Council would cover these costs.
Despite this, she was harassed for payment by the letting agency days after she moved in:
“A woman rang demanding money. She said I need to pay today or I will have to move out. She wanted to take all the money I had. I asked if I could pay some and keep some: how does she expect me to survive without any money?…I have a two-year-old son. They don’t even care.”
Afraid she and her son would be made homeless again, Nila paid as much as she could, leaving them with barely enough to live on for the month. That’s when she got help from one of our advisers, Ronnie.
With her consent Ronnie called her housing officer to find out why the letting agency was demanding rent, and the housing officer said Nila had misunderstood – that she hadn’t said Havering Council would pay the deposit and first month’s rent.
“I didn’t expect her to say she never said that…I felt like I’d been called a liar and everything was my fault. It hit me so bad.”
The council hadn’t paid the first month’s rent, and Nila didn’t have anything in writing to prove what her housing officer had said. Ronnie emailed the housing officer, asking for an explanation, in writing, of exactly what Nila had been told when she accepted the property.
To help Nila make ends meet in the meantime, he advised her to inform the DWP about her change of address, asking them for an advance on her UC and to backdate an increase in Housing Element. He also supported her to apply for Discretionary Housing Payment to help with her housing costs.
After chasing Nila’s housing officer, Ronnie received a reply to say she had told Nila the council would pay the first month’s rent and that this payment had been sent.
“I broke down when I heard I hadn’t misunderstood…They accused me of spending their money. It put me through so much stress.”
Nila was still being harassed by the letting agency for the outstanding first-month’s rent, which hadn’t been paid in full. When she received her next instalment of UC, they demanded she give them the full amount.
“I had to beg for £17 to buy milk for my son.”
Ronnie requested further clarification from the housing officer, but it never came. As a result, he helped Nila write a formal letter of complaint. She’s not yet had a response, but there is some good news. She’s no longer being harassed by the letting agency and her Housing Element has been increased by £417.30 a month.
“The agency aren’t harassing me for the £400 now – they stopped since Ronnie started questioning the housing officer. If they were it would be even more stressful.
“He’s really really helpful – been asking if I’ve got this or have I got that. He’s been helping me a lot. I’m afraid I might make a mistake and it’ll become my fault – I was told I misunderstood before – I don’t want to do that. I really appreciate what he’s done.
“Without Citizens Advice Barnet I’d do what they’re demanding and live with fear. I now feel more comfortable – if I’m in a bad situation, I can call Citizens Advice Barnet rather than be on my own trying to figure it out. I know I have someone there trying to help. Ronnie has been absolutely-. He’s helped us a lot. I can’t put it into words.”