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Mary is a 55-year-old woman who was dismissed from work on medical grounds last year, and is now reliant on benefits (UC and PIP). She has mobility problems and severe mental health issues, which resulted from suffering various traumas over the last few years, including being a victim of stalking.
Mary lives in a mortgaged home, and whilst she is able to manage most of her essential bills, she was struggling to pay for much needed repairs and home adaptations. Mary said she used a backdated PIP payment to adapt her car and bathroom to make it easier for her to get around, but her old boiler now needs replacing and her bed and mattress are completely worn out, having been handed down by her parents.
She contacted us to ask whether taking a lump sum from her private pension pot to replace her boiler would affect her benefit claims, and she was also looking for help to replace her old bed and mattress.
What we did
We firstly carried out a benefits check for Mary, which showed that whilst she was already claiming everything she was entitled to, there may have been an issue with her council tax reduction not being applied properly. We advised Mary to contact her local council tax team and query her latest bill, as it seemed she had been overcharged.
We were also able to confirm that taking a lump sum from her pension to replace her old boiler would not affect her benefit entitlements.
Secondly, we referred Mary to our energy team for advice on boiler upgrade schemes and energy saving tips. During her appointment, Mary revealed that she had a large debt with her supplier, OVO, and that her smart meter was not working properly. Our adviser facilitated a three-way call with Mary and OVO, who promised to resolve the issue with her meter and refer her for debt advice to see if Mary’s debt could be written off.
Our adviser also completed an application for a £90 supermarket voucher through the local authority’s Household Support Fund on behalf of Mary.
Finally, Mary was referred to our Glasspool Frontline Fund team who confirmed that she was eligible to receive a grant for a new bed and mattress.