I had £3,000 debt & couldn’t afford rent before realising I was eligible for benefits – now I’m £5,000 a year better off

A GRANDMA could barely afford to pay her rent until she realised she was entitled to benefits that topped up her income by almost £5,000 a year. 

Paulette Marie Flash racked up over £3,000 worth of debt after the pandemic hit and her bills skyrocketed. 

The 59-year-old former childcare worker from Peckham realised she couldn’t afford to stay afloat shortly after the first lockdown in 2020. 

Even before the pandemic, Paulette struggled to get by on the £230 Universal Credit payment she was getting every month. 

Paulette said: “I tried to budget the best I could, I was paying £90 in rent, £50 on gas £50 on electric and £40 on food a month,” she told The Sun.

“Most of the time this wasn’t enough to pay my rent in full but I was just about getting by.”

The majority of Paulette’s rent was covered by housing benefit but she had to make up the shortfall.

My family had no idea how much my debt was

Paulette Flash

Paulette was doing everything she could to cut costs opting for yellow sticker foods and comparing prices in supermarkets.

She said: “I usually shop in both Iceland and Marks and Spencer”, she added.

“People might think M&S is really expensive but I’ve noticed when it comes to some of the everyday items they have better prices than the other supermarkets.”

“I tried to bulk buy where I could, I even started going to food banks so I could put more money towards the rent but soon that became a struggle.”

HEALTH STRUGGLES

Paulette started developing arthritis after breaking her foot in an accident in 2021, and chest problems followed soon after which made getting around extremely difficult.

“I’d walk to the bus stop and have to stop two or three times to catch my breath, I couldn’t make it to the food banks anymore,” she said.

When Paulette tried to explain her health issues to DWP they asked for doctors’ notes as proof but even getting to her closest surgery was a struggle. 

Meanwhile, Paulette’s rent payments were well overdue, she wasn’t even close to making the £140 rent payments and was now deep in £3,000 worth of debt.

She said: “I had a lot of anxiety about the debt, it made me both stressed and depressed.

“I got help from my family where I could but they had no idea how much the debt was.”

“It felt like I had no one.”

BENEFIT BOOST

When Paulette finally came clean to a close friend, she found out about Christians Against Poverty (CAP). 

Paulette called CAP and was assigned a casework straight away.

CAP negotiated a debt relief order on Paulette’s behalf and the government agreed to wipe her debt.

A debt relief order will freeze your debt for 12 months. And creditors will not be able to contact you about money owed during this time.

If there is no uplift in your financial situation after the year, the debt is wiped off.

The arrangement is only an option if you owe less than £30,000.

You will need to show that you have £75 or less left over each month after paying for bills and other essentials.

You must also not have savings or a single possession worth more than £2,000.

CAP also helped Paulette fill out an application for personal independence payments (PIP).

Anyone with long-term illness, disability or mental health condition could get extra help through PIP of up to £172.75 a week. 

Paulette found out she was entitled to an extra £274 a month in PIP payments and her Universal Credit payments went up by £140 a month last year.

“I put the extra £140 on rent now and use the rest of the UC and PIP payments to cover food, gas and electricity,” she said.

“If I need a food bank delivery I can call PIP and ask which takes a lot of pressure off.”

CAP has an emergency aid service where they will provide things like food, phone top-ups (eg. to ring medical services) or essential items like ovens.

Paulette still has to be careful with the money she gets and works to ensure she never falls back into rent arrears. 

“If I can each month I try to pay extra rent even if it’s just £10, I’m hoping to build up credit of at least £1,000 so I can be less anxious,” she said.

“I give money to my mum every month or so and she keeps it safe for me, this way I’m not tempted to use it.

“I save it for special occasions like Christmas and birthdays so I can buy gifts for my kids and grandkids.”

THINKING AHEAD

Paulette also revealed she is worried about what will happen when she reaches pension age. 

“I am hoping that my pension covers my expenses. I am looking to start a course within the next year.

I’m hoping to improve my IT skills so it’s easier for me to manage my own finances.”

Visit gov. uk/universal-credit/how-to-claim to check how to claim Universal Credit.

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