Need advice about getting a crisis loan, while I wait for income support to be paid.

[DifferentFutureAhead]

I asked h to leave at the end of June ater years of domestic violence. Thanks to the involvement of the police he did.

NowI am in the process of claiming income support and hopefully, mortgage assistance. STBXH is paying the correct amount of child maintenance each week but refuses to help towards the mortgage. For some reason the income support want me to send them proof of my mortgage agreement and child maintenance payments. So I am waiting to receive these details before I can send back the application form. This is all taking time and I am running out of money.

Since he left I have received three weeks wages from work, child benefit for my two children and working and child tax credits. The working tax credits will stop soon though as I am no longer working. The last money I received from work was on the 27th July and that was two weeks wages because they didn't pay me for the week before due to an error in their system.

I have had to pay all the bills and the mortgage (which is over £800). I have budgeted my money for the rest of the month and am able to pay all the bills and the mortgage but it only leaves me about £15 a week for food.

I have to pay the mortgage otherwise I will be taken to court. As I am already in arrears, my building society have told me they will start repossession proceedings immediately if I do not make each payment on time.

Can I apply for a crisis loan even though I have £90 in the bank saved towards bills and the mortgage at the end of the month? And each week I will be getting Tax credits, child maintenance and child benefit monthly but putting most of this aside to pay the bills and mortgage?Once the income support and hopefully the mortgage assistance kicks in, I will be ok hopefully for a short period of time until I can look into selling (although we have no equity but that's a separate problem)

But atm, I need to just get through these next few weeks. So is it worth applying for a crisis loan?

Its worth a shot but tbh, I doubt you'd get it! They are really funny now about giving crisis loans out. Plus the fact that you don't have what is classed as "an active claim" atm (in that your IS isn't at the final stage as yet) will go against you. I know that as I'm on a joint claim with my OH I can't call and make an applicaation, he has to! Even though we are both claiming! Its madness!

Give them a call and explain. Its a free number to call, AFAIK so it always worth trying.

Good luck!

I literally have no money for food, only the £90 that is bill money. I know I can spend that but then how do I pay the bills?

I really don't think I can face all the questions if I'm not going to get it.How far back do they go into your finances? If I am going to phone, I need to get all the info ready.

I've made an application over the phone, they know my details and have sent me the form to sign and send back with the aforesaid documents. If I wait till I have sent the form back (hopefully in a couple of days when I received documents from mortgage company) would that help do you think?

I just don't know what to do.

No personal experience of this, but can Citizens Advice help? Food banks? Hopefully this will be a temporary thing, and hope it is soon sorted for you. It must be very hard.

Also when the schools go back (if you have school age children) tell the school and they will hopefully be able to give them breakfast if there is a club, and school dinners free of charge.

I don't think they do crisis loans now for living expenses, just food bank tokens

Yes you can.