Money advice

What services does the Welfare Visiting Team provide?

The Welfare Visiting Team are available to help any local authority customers struggling with rent and/or council tax payments or repaying overpaid housing benefit.

We can negotiate affordable repayment rates and offer debt and budgeting advice. The team also carry out benefit checks to maximise our customers' income.

We offer a home visiting service or if you prefer, we can arrange an appointment at your local customer service centre. 

We offer home visits to help vulnerable pension age customers apply for housing and council tax benefit.

Please send an enquiry about benefits online (opens in new window), and a benefit and debt advisor will be in touch with you.

Alternatively you can contact us on (01482) 394633.

If you would like help with budgeting, please visit our Benefit and Money Advice Service page.

How do I open a bank account?

Basic bank accounts are offered by all high street banks and everyone is entitled to one. However only Barclays and Co-operative offer specialist accounts if you are an undischarged bankrupt. Credit Unions also offer a banking service. 

Barclays basic current account (external website)

Credit Union website (external website)

Co-operative cashminder account (external website)

What are priority debts and what are non-priority debts?

Priority debts are your most important debts - ones which cover your essential costs of living. Such essential costs include mortgage/rent, secured loans, council tax, gas, water, electricity, court fines and child maintenance. Non-priority debts include items such as sky television, mobile phones and store cards.

I cannot afford to pay my council tax/rent, what can I do?

You should contact the Welfare Visiting Team for confidential free advice and continue to pay as much towards your council tax/rent as you can until a visit or appointment can be arranged. 

Telephone: (01482) 394633.

Email: benefit.takeup@eastriding.gov.uk

I don't feel that I am able to accept my housing benefit payments and would like them to go directly to my landlord?

You should contact the Welfare Visiting Team who may be able to offer you help and support with accepting and managing your own payments or may be able to arrange for your payments to be sent directly to your landlord.

Telephone: (01482) 394633.

Email: benefit.takeup@eastriding.gov.uk

I have found myself in debt, what can I do?

If you are struggling to meet repayments on credit cards or loans, then this could have an adverse effect on your income and affect your ability to pay other debts, such as your rent or council tax.  

If this is the case and you are worried that you will not be able to pay these, please contact:

Welfare Visiting Team

We can contact you to carry out a full income and expenditure analysis and liaise with the relevant sections of the council on your behalf to make arrangements to repay the debts. These arrangements need to be both affordable to you and sustainable and will avoid court summons charges which are expensive and add what you owe. 

Rent and council tax are “priority” debts, so need to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. 

Debts such as credit or store cards are “non-priority” debts. Although we cannot make arrangements on these for you, we can give you advice and refer into organisations or charities that can; such as the Citizens Advice Bureau or StepChange. Please contact the Welfare Visiting Team on (01482) 394633 and we can discuss these with you.

To find online, face to face or telephone debt advice visit the money advice service online.

Where can I find information about debt, budgeting or other financial help? 

Online budgeting tool

Use our online budgeting tool to help you create your own personal budget plan to: 

• reduce your expenses 
• maximise your income 
• pay off your debts 
• save for a rainy day. 

Use our budgeting tool [CTA] 

Free and confidential advice

If you would like free and confidential help with budgeting from one of our benefit and debt advisors, simply email benefit.takeup@eastriding.gov.uk and we will contact you to make an appointment to see how we can help.

Further information and advice about debt, budgeting and other financial help is available on our welfare visiting team page. 

Free impartial debt advice

There are also a number of independent organisations who can provide useful advice and information for people who are experiencing financial problems.

Take a look at organisations that can offer financial and debt advice below.

What other organisations can provide financial advice?

There are a number of organisations who can provide useful advice and information for people who are experiencing financial problems:

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice offers free, confidential, and impartial debt advice as well as a range of other services including budgeting help and making sure you are claiming the benefits you are entitled to.

Visit the Citizens Advice website

StepChange debt charity

StepChange offers free debt advice, budgeting help and a range of debt solutions.

Visit the StepChange debt advice website

Hull and East Yorkshire (HEY) Credit Union

The Credit Union can help with basic bank accounts, give access to low cost loans and offer easy ways to start saving. You can contact them by telephone (01482) 778753 or visit their website:

Visit the HEY Credit Union website

MoneyHelper

MoneyHelper provide free, clear and unbiased advice to help you manage your money, including online and phone support.  

Visit MoneyHelper website

GOV.UK

This government website offers detailed and wide ranging information and advice on claiming benefits, job searching, further education, pensions and retirement planning, voting and much more.

Visit GOV.UK

Benefits

Find out if you might be eligible for free school meals and clothing grants. You can also use our benefits calculator to see if you are entitled to any other benefits.

Find out which benefits you might be entitled to

What is Breathing Space?

Can I request a hold on recovery action?

As of 4 May 2021, a new statutory Breathing Space scheme can assist people in problem debt better manage their finances and reach sustainable solutions by seeking professional debt advice. This scheme is designed to provide people with debt problems the right to legal protection from creditors for a limited period of time.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for Breathing space, an applicant cannot, or is unlikely to, repay all or some of their debt. If this is applicable, the applicant can then apply for one of two schemes. These are:

Standard Breathing Space

To be eligible for the Standard Breathing Space, applicants must be the following:

• Be an individual
• Owe a qualifying debt to a creditor
• Live or usually resides in England or Wales
• Not have a debt relief order (DRO), an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA), an interim order, or be an undischarged bankrupt at the time they apply
• Not already have a Breathing Space or have had a standard breathing space in the last 12 months at the time they apply. 

Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space

To be eligible for the Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space, you must meet the same criteria as the Standard Breathing Space. However, if an Approved Mental Health Professional can certify that you are in receiving mental health crisis treatment, then you may be eligible for protection provided under the Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space. 

How long does Breathing Space last?

If you are eligible for the Standard Breathing space, you will be provided with legal protection from creditors action/fees for up to 60 days. If you are eligible for the Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space, you will be provided with legal protection for as long as you are receiving mental health crisis treatment plus a further 30 days. This is applicable no matter how long the crisis treatment lasts.

How do I apply for Breathing Space?

To start a breathing space application, you must contact a debt advice provider who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) use the Money Advice Service debt advice locator to find online, telephone and face to face advice services.

What information will I need to provide?

When applying for a Breathing Space, you must provide your debt advisor with:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Usual residential address
• Details of the debts you owe including the name and contact details of the creditor and the type of debt that is owed to them. If the creditor has an agent acting on their behalf, you must also provide their details. 

When applying for a Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space, you must provide the same information. However, the following people can apply on your behalf:

• Your carer
• An approved mental health professional
• An appointed care co-ordinator
• A mental health nurse
• An appointed independent mental health advocate or mental capacity advocate
• A representative acting on your behalf