Ben is single, in his 40s, and working full time. Due to the high cost of living and added cost of living alone ………….

Client Profile:

Ben is single, in his 40s, and working full time. Due to the high cost of living and the added cost of living alone, he accrued £11,500 of debt. He felt massive pressure to keep up with minimum payments on his credit cards and was going without food rather than missing a repayment to one of his creditors.  

Reason client needs advice:

Ben, felt his mental health declining and reached out to the GP who referred him to our service. Ben needed some medical treatment and discovered he was not entitled to full support with NHS costs. He described this as the moment he needed to do something about his financial situation, as his debts meant he could not eat properly or afford basic health necessities. 

What we have done to help the client:

Ben was given an appointment with our debt caseworker, who assisted him with drawing up a budget. This clearly showed that he had more going out than coming in. He described this as a massive relief for him, as he could see the problem was not “in his head” or his fault – it was due to the high cost of living and relatively low level of income. 

Ben was advised on all debt options available to him and decided to move forward with a DRO (Debt Relief Order). This will enable him to get a fresh start by clearing over £11,500 of debt and saving around £300 per month in repayments. 

Our adviser also helped Ben in identifying benefits which he may be entitled to, PIP (Personal Independence Allowance) and LCWRA (Limited Capability for Work Related Activities). If awarded this would increase his income by £337.29 per week. 

Further savings were identified by referring Ben to low and social tariffs for utilities. 

Outcome:

Ben is now able to budget, deal better with stress, and clinical anxiety. He has been able to deal with his debt and get a fresh start by way of a DRO.

Financial Outcomes are: 

• Debts written off via DRO £11,500  

• Repayments savings £300/month 

• Benefit entitlement £1460/month 

• Utilities and energy savings of £700/year 

• Client is now better off by £420.00 per week. 

NB: Names and certain details have been changed to protect our clients’ anonymity