Research and campaigns

Amber* was in debt. She had over £4,000 of rent and Council Tax arrears. She could see no way out of her situation and dreaded the bailiffs knocking on the door.

The debts were manageable until her partner was made redundant. To support themselves and their three children, they claimed Universal Credit and Amber took on a full time, but low paid, job. While adjusting to their lower income, the couple’s Payment Plan lapsed and their debts soared. The Council Tax arrears were placed with the bailiffs and Amber couldn’t face contacting her Housing Association landlord.

At this point she came to Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth. We explained that Council Tax and rent arrears are priority debts and must not be ignored. This could lead to their being taken to court and even evicted. We did a Benefit Check which confirmed that the family was receiving all the benefits they were entitled to. We encouraged Amber to put together a note of her family’s income and spending so she could make realistic plan to tackle her rent and Council Tax arrears. We told her how to seek further help if she needed to.

With the confidence our guidance gave her, she contacted the Housing Association who reinstated her Payment Plan at an achievable level. She also contacted the Council’s enforcement team and agreed a Payment Plan with them.

Some weeks later Amber contacted us saying ‘Thank you for providing this amazing service and if I ever come across someone in a similar situation that I was in, I will send them your way!’

*Names and identifying details have been changed to preserve confidentiality.

Eileen* loves her Colliers Wood flat. A widow in her late 70s, her 1 bedroom, ground floor flat is near her daughter and her family, the shops and everything she needs. Fiercely independent, she refused to apply for bereavement benefit when her husband died. Her medical conditions sometimes stop her from carrying out everyday tasks.

Helped by Housing Benefit and Pension Credit, she was able to pay the rent and make ends meet and has no outstanding debts. Towards the end of last year, her landlady’s agent contacted her wanting to increase the rent by £200 per month. Eileen could not afford this increase. After some to-ing and fro-ing between the agent, the landlady and Eileen, the increase was reduced to £150 – still out of reach.

Desperate to stay in her much loved flat, but worried about how she could afford the increased rent, Eileen came to us. We helped her check her eligibility for Attendance Allowance and showed her how to fill in the application form and return it to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). She seemed reluctant to do this, saying that the process appeared very intrusive and would increase her stress levels unbearably. We also told her how to apply to Merton Council for Discretionary Housing Payment. She agreed to take the completed form and all of the required evidence to the Merton Council offices in Morden to be processed.

We invited her to contact us again if her applications were unsuccessful. We would then look further at the changes she could make to allow her to manage each month’s extra rent. We said that if that did not work then we would help her look at other housing options such as sheltered housing provided by Merton Council.

*Name and identifying details have been changed to preserve confidentiality.

Herman* is in his late eighties and lives on his own in a one bedroom council flat in Lambeth. He has several mobility and medical conditions, one of which means that he has to bathe every morning and wash himself every evening.

In January, the boiler in his flat stopped working. He had to boil a kettle every time he needed hot water –for making tea, washing the dishes, doing his laundry, washing himself, and filling the bath. This required Herman to move kettles of boiling water around the flat - tiring, expensive, and potentially dangerous for this frail, elderly man.

Herman reported the problem with his boiler to Lambeth Council and they sent people to look at his boiler. They were unable to fix the problem. He contacted them several times, saying, ‘I make a complaint to them every 2 weeks’ but without success. Other units in the same building had similar problems. People were working to try to sort the problem but Herman was told that they were looking up to flat 14 but he lives at flat 18.

In July, in desperation, Herman came to us. We helped him write a formal complaint letter to Lambeth Council highlighting that, as his landlord, the Council had a duty to make repairs in a timely manner and that he first reported the problem over 6 months ago. He was also going to remind them just how often he had contacted them. Herman agreed to give them 8 weeks to respond to the complaint and, if they did not respond properly, he would contact the housing ombudsman.

*Name and identifying features have been changed for confidentiality reasons.

Katy* is a well-educated, articulate young woman. When she and her flat-mate moved into a privately rented flat over a year ago they noticed some signs of mould. They asked the property agent whether there were plans in place to sort the problem such as mending the extractor fan in the bathroom.

Nothing was done. The mould and damp grew worse over the winter – they could not use a storage cupboard, and a rotting window panel caused brown liquid to drip onto the draining board. Contractors investigated but could do nothing while the walls were so wet. They would not provide a dehumidifier.

All this time, Katy and her flat-mate did what they could to reduce the damp and mould. They scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom, used as much heating as they could afford, opened windows when possible, and dried their washing outside whenever they could. None the less, Katy suffered from more coughs and colds than ever before, while her flat-mate’s asthma worsened.

After a year, the landlord wanted to increase the rent by £400 per month but the flat-mates managed to negotiate a smaller increase. Their attempts to get their living conditions sorted, however, were going nowhere. They discussed withholding some rent to encourage the landlord to fix the problem.

Katy came to Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth for advice. We immediately told her of the dangers of not paying the rent. We showed her how to formally complain to the agent, engage with the council’s environmental health team, and seek compensation for any damage to their belongings, physical and mental health, and time spent waiting for contractors.

*Names and some details have been changed to preserve confidentiality

Paulette and Winston* were anxious and terrified about a court case. Paulette needs regular hospital treatment and is registered blind. Winston works long hours as NHS ‘bank staff’. His zero hours contract means his hours and income often change. They initially contacted the Citizens Advice Help to Claim service (HTC) for help with their benefits**.

In discussion they mentioned that Lambeth Council was taking them to court. Paulette hadn’t always updated the Council about Winston’s changing income and the Council had given them over £10,000 too much Council Tax Support – an overpayment. The HTC adviser put them in touch with Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth (CAML) and we scheduled an appointment with our GLA*** Cost of Living Crisis Prevention Adviser.

Our Adviser explored their circumstances and helped them put together an income and expenditure statement. We encouraged and supported them to attend court to explain how the overpayment had arisen. The court reduced the amount they had to repay the Council to just over £3,000.

They could hardly contain their excitement and delight when they told the GLA Cost of Living Crisis Prevention Adviser about this. With CAML’s support they now have an agreed monthly repayment plan for the remaining overpayment and will get in touch with us if they need more advice. Although the original overpayment was correct, their story shows why clients should seek and follow advice, and challenge decisions considered unfair.

* Names and some details have been changed to preserve confidentiality

** They were awarded Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment

(PIP) at the higher rate for daily living and mobility.

*** Greater London Authority

Rod* was in a tricky position. In recovery from a painkiller addiction, he has limited literacy and numeracy skills. He’s unable to work and receives medication and counselling for anxiety and depression.

During the pandemic, he built up debts including Council Tax arrears of well over £1,000. To make matters worse, severe mould in his rented flat had caused irreparable damage to his clothes, mattress and bedding and he had to throw them out.

He was struggling and visited CAML’s Mitcham office. Our Adviser completed an advice assessment and helped Rod apply to the Wimbledon Guild for a small grant towards the costs of replacing his belongings and making his flat liveable. The Adviser also scheduled an appointment for Rod to see our Merton Cost of Living Debt Adviser to help sort out his debt problems and maximise his income.

Rod preferred to have a face-to-face appointment and so the debt appointment was at Colliers Wood library (one of CAML’s Merton Cost of Living outreach venues). A debt assessment was completed, including a financial statement. Our debt adviser explained several options to how Rod could address debt issues including the pros and cons of each. Rod decided to go for a Debt Relief Order so he could make a fresh start.

Our Merton Cost of Living Debt Adviser also supported Rod maximise his income including contacting Thames Water for Waterhelp and completing a PIP** application. It looks as if Rod will qualify for at least the standard rate of the Daily Living component. At £68 per week, this will help Rod meet the costs of living. He’s continuing to receive debt support from CAML - including support from our Debt Relief Adviser.

* Names and some details have been changed to preserve confidentiality

** Personal Independence Payment

Samuel* lives with his wife and family in a two bedroom council flat. Poor health means he cannot work.

In mid-May he went to Lambeth Town Hall to apply for Council Tax Support and took the relevant documents with him. The Council’s server was down that day. A council officer scanned the documents and said they would phone him so he could apply for Council Tax Support.

The next he heard from the Council was when, a month later, they told him he had Council Tax arrears of over £900 and had 10 days to pay.

He visited our Well-Being bus seeking help to set up a payment plan to clear this supposed Council Tax debt. We contacted Lambeth’s benefits department and established that Samuel was entitled to Council Tax Support. We showed him how to apply for this support.

We also enabled Samuel to discover that his rent account was over £9,000 in surplus – some of which he would use to repay any alleged Council Tax arrears. We helped him apply for this refund and requested holding action until it was received.

None the less, in July, he was issued with a summons to repay his Council Tax arrears. However, later that month the Council told him that his application for Council Tax Support was successful and had been back-dated. This meant that his Council tax account was in credit and the summons no longer stood.

*Names and identifying details have been changed for confidentiality reasons.