Hi "forgottenone",
I have been running a
website dedicated to helping and advising people towards obtaining fair treatment from JCP when they apply for a Crisis Loan. I began this in January 2007 when my local JCP unlawfully refused to accept a paper claim or a face-to-face application from a friend of mine, I telephoned the JCP and was very persistent on this point of law until they finally allowed me to speak to the manageress (the third person I had to speak to), she capitulated and invited my friend for an almost immediate CL interview so that she could enter the claim onto the computer system straight away and get things moving.
A copy of the Social Fund (directions) guide (.pdf) used by the "Decision Makers" (DMs'/DM) is available c/o the DWP
here - the Crisis Loans section begins on page 62, I keep an (easier to browse) HTML version of the Crisis Loans section with navigation anchors
here, (right click on the link and open it in a new tab or window so that you can navigate between this pm and the guide as needed) any references to "items" or "directions" made in this pm are from the latter document.
Unfortunately I can't help with debt advice, however I wholly agree with what "PriorityOne" said regarding starting a new thread for this in the debt forums. As far as I can see (only my uninformed opinion - not to be followed in the place of more competent advice) you should check out an I.V.A., according to the advert on TV "under government legislation" you can have some of your debts reduced and others written off and have your repayments fixed at a more affordable amount. Furthermore I endorse the advice that you should apply for DLA, my schizophrenic Niece gets middle rate DLA and has no physical impairments at all!
The laws on Social Security and Social Fund payments are intended for your subsistence only and are quite clear that your creditors' aren't entitled to any part of these payments for the purposes of paying them off - especially where interest is being charged. There are just a few exceptions to the rule e.g. you still need to pay for on-going expenses such as utilities, taxes and mortgage interest if the government has agreed to award you some money for this purpose.
From reading your pm I'm getting the inference that the CL is a one-off due to some other delayed payment caused by the DWP's current inability to cope with the overall number of claims. This would come under item 189 (Hardship due to payment of regular income in arrears) However, I have found from experience of pm s' in these forums that the full circumstances are often more complex than described in the pm, and I'm also aware that applying for a CL can be a demeaning experience for most people, therefore I've enhanced my reply with some extra information for your benefit.
I would first like to point out that the £40 award seems rather mean - I say this because a CL for living expenses can be meant to last up to a fortnight and the maximum amount should correspond to 75% of the current rate of Income Support (see item 234.) The rules also stipulate that the maximum amount of CL debt must not exceed £1500 and that it can be repaid over (max. period) 104 weeks and that you can repeatedly submit an unlimited number of claims (as and when the need arises
due to changing circumstances (see direction 7, items 124 -128 ) until the £1500 limit is reached. You were right to refuse the repayment terms and decline the loan - I suggest that you re-apply and ask for a much longer repayment period.
You can also ask for an appeal against a CL decision, this should be done first via JCP, then, if you still disagree with the outcome - you may apply to The Independent Review Service for the Social Fund to overturn and improve JCP's ruling, at least 40% of appeals submitted to
IRS are changed in favour of the claimant - this process is fairly quick usually - due to IRS having a statutory obligation.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the IRS server seems to be unavailable due to technical problems -try again later e.g. Monday.
I'm surprised that the DM is taking into regard your IB because this benefit isn't even mentioned in the guidance for DMs', it only refers to IS, JSA and Pension Credits (see items 184-186) - however what may be operating against you could be home ownership (see items 191 &192, that is, assuming you're a home owner and that you have more than £8000 equity in your home, your pm didn't cover this point?) Another factor which DMs' have to take into consideration is your ability to repay (see items 253, 254 & 257)
I personally find the idea that someone should be forced to sell their home in order to 'make ends meet' somewhat perverse seeing as the waiting lists for social housing run into many years wait (6 years+ for a house following a repo according to latest surveys) my local housing authority made 37 single bedroom flats available last year - the waiting list is in excess of 3000 applicants! So then you try the private sector landlords and 99% refuse to accommodate benefit claimants as a matter of course. Thus you end up homeless without any duty on the local authority to help because selling your home is considered as "deliberately making yourself homeless" under the housing and homelessness acts - thereby absolving the LA's duty. In fact you would need to have your home repossessed for the LA to find you emergency B&B and get a CL to cover storage of your furniture, consumer durables etc. as a stop-gap.
It infuriates me that there has never been a legal precedent of a private landlord or lettings agency being sanctioned under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (and) 2005 (see
here for info).
If you re-apply for a CL and are only given the 0800 call centre number and find it impossible to get through to a human, it's worth knowing that JCP cannot refuse a clerical claim (form sf.401 down-loadable/printable c/o the DWP) or alternatively a face-to-face interview if circumstances demand e.g. as a matter of urgency. (See
here)
Here's another tip for you, it may help if you could open another separate bank account at another bank - specifically for clearing your benefits (inform JCP of the new bank details ASAP and preferably in writing) to prevent your usual bank charging you if you get overdrawn by accident or circumstances - even though it is unlawful for the bank to use your benefits to pay themselves they do it anyway - reclaiming the money back from them can be a nightmare and is best avoided if possible!
Furthermore might I suggest that you contact your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau and ask to speak with a debt adviser who can give you proper legal advice.
Hope this has helped,
kind regards,
L.R. Admin.
Crisis loan ... want me to repay back at £7.26 per week!! am on IB with multiple debtors!! urgent any advice, please?? 
