Meet Kev
Kev approached us when his only income was the standard element of Universal Credit. His mental health was suffering and he was struggling to manage anything by himself.
Both his property and vehicle were at risk. He had recently lost his job and had no knowledge of any benefit entitlement other than what he was already getting.
He entered formal Breathing Space to get a 60 day period of respite where creditors could not take further action and we began work on helping him untangle and improve his financial situation.
Through accessing our debt advice service, our specialist debt team helped him with benefit awards, income maximisation and cost reduction. We got his budget from being minus £835 per month, to plus £370 per month – a turnaround of over £1200 per month!
His debt level dropped from almost £20,000 to £7,000 due to creditors agreeing to cease collection as well as discounts and exemptions being secured on his council tax liability. We helped set up payment plans for priority and non priority creditors which continue to see his debts reduce. We helped stop Enforcement Agent action for penalty charge notices which have now been cleared and his vehicle is no longer at risk.
He is now in a much better position and has more control, not only over his finances but also over his general wellbeing as a result of engaging with our team.