14.01.22

One of the hardest parts of debt advice - and probably any advice - is people's desperation. Especially when there isn't a great deal you can do.

This week, bad news comes about a client's Discretionary Housing Payment application. The stated reason for the rejection is that the client has not been paying the full £1,000 of his UC Housing Element towards his rent - which is because his total UC award is £1,250 (due to the benefit cap and deductions), and, well, he needs to eat.

I'm hopeful that he will eventually get PIP and the UC support group element, which will make a big difference. But until that indeterminate point, there's not much I can do apart from refer him for housing advice. And that's difficult to know when someone is sobbing down the phone and begging you to tell him what to do now.

Elsewhere, we had the usual array of council departments not speaking to one another and clients deciding to keep buckling under the weight of their debt rather than risk any harm to their credit report... and in better news, confirmation that bankruptcy fees will be paid for one client. One of the perverse effects of the perverse £680 cost of bankruptcy is that it's very difficult to get charities to agree to pay the fees (you could pay for 7.5 DROs for that). The exception seems to be employment-related charities - which isn't much use if you've never worked, or if you've bounced between types of job, or even if you've made the foolish decision to work in a sector that lacks a benevolent fund.

But it's a great outcome for a client who's had a very tough few years. And in what's been a bit of a miserable week, it's a little chink of light.