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Surviving the Credit Crunch

Help for businesses

Harlow Council is commited to creating the right conditions where business can thrive and prosper. Our website's business pages provide links to a variety of information to support businesses. This information is intended to help existing business in the area, those planning to start their own business, and those thinking of locating in Harlow.

For further information follow this link to our Business in Harlow page or contact 01279 446445.

Help for residents

Coping with debt

Harlow Council advisors are on hand to offer advice and support if you are finding it hard to pay rent or Council tax. If you're having difficulty keeping on top of your bills the Council can help you find out what benefits you might be entitled to, and advise you on coping with your payments.

If you are experiencing problems, please contact the Council immediately on 01279 446655.

People grappling with the words 'Surviving the Credit Crunch'

Alternatively follow these links to the Citizens Advice Bureau, Financial Services Authority or Bankruptcy-Insolvency Debt Advice Service websites for advice on coping with debt and managing your money.

Housing Benefit

You may be entitled to Housing Benefit if you rent your property and are on a low income, even if you are currently working. Housing Benefit is awarded to help you pay your rent, but it cannot be awarded to help you with a mortgage. Housing Benefit does not cover your water rates or other charges and you will have to pay these yourself.

You can make a claim for Housing Benefit by filling in a claim form or if you are on state benefit, completing the form in the pack that you will be given by the DWP (Department of Works and Pensions), at the Job Centre Plus Office. Visit our Housing benefit page for more information.

What happens if I miss a rent payment?

Contact the Rents and Service Charges department immediately on 446523 and ask to speak to the Rent Arrears Officer for your area.

If you miss a payment and do not contact your Rent Arrears Officer

The Council will write to you to request payment. If further payments are missed then we will visit you at home to discuss your difficulties in paying your rent. We understand that there could be several reasons why you have fallen behind with your rent.

Don’t Lose Your Home!

One of the risks from the Credit Crunch is that residents may be unable to maintain the mortgage or rental payments on their homes.

In many cases, re-possession or eviction can be avoided, so don’t let it happen to you. Take action now. The people at highest risk are those who are having problems but ignore them until it’s too late. If you are having difficulties keeping up with your mortgage or rent payments you need to act now to protect your home. Firstly, speak to your mortgage lender or landlord.

Seeking repossession of your home is a last resort for most councils or lenders and if you are able to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement at an early stage then court action can be avoided. If you cannot come to a satisfactory arrangement with your mortgage lender or landlord then seek specialist housing, legal or financial advice through organisations such as Shelter or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

If you are homeless, or threatened with homelessness, then you should contact the Council on 01279 446655 to make an appointment for an interview with one of our homelessness advisors. Whilst the Council may have a duty to assist vulnerable homeless people, we can also give advice and assistance to any household in housing need.

Help Harlow Council to keep a roof over your head. Don’t lose your home: Act now!

Follow this link to the Shelter website. -

Follow this link to the Citizens Advice Bureau website.-

Help with mortgages

Harlow Council's Mortgage Rescue Scheme

The Mortgage Rescue Scheme is a Government scheme, which is operated by local councils. The scheme has been introduced to prevent some of the most vulnerable families losing their homes and to avoid the trauma of repossession.

This scheme is aimed at those who would be eligible for homelessness assistance and meet a range of eligibility criteria. If you are eligible, you could get financial help to stay in your home. The scheme aims to help up to 6,000 vulnerable households over two years.

Harlow Council's mortgage rescue package has three elements:

Shared equity - This is designed to help householders who have experienced an unexpected increase in their mortgage payments. A registered social landlord provides an equity loan enabling the householders' mortgage repayments to be reduced.
Government Mortgage to Rent - This is designed to help the most vulnerable households on low incomes with little chance of keeping up mortgage payments. A registered social landlord (RSL) clears the secured debt completely and the applicant pays rent to the RSL at a level they can afford.
Shared Ownership - This is designed to help those unable to meet their mortgage payments but still able to make a contribution to monthly payments. A registered social landlord buys a share and converts the property to shared ownership by issuing a shared ownership lease.

If you require further information about the scheme or are facing mortgage difficulties please visit: www.realhelpnow.gov.uk or contact Harlow Council's Housing Options & Advicene Team on (01279) 446655.

Other mortgage schemes

Homeowners Mortgage Support (HMS) will enable eligible borrowers who suffer a temporary loss of income to cut their mortgage interest payments for up to two years to help them get back on track with their finances.

For more information on the HMS scheme follow this link to the Home and Community section of the Directgov website.

Council Tax

If you fall into any of the categories listed we may be able to reduce your Council Tax bill in the following ways;

Single resident discount (25%) for those living alone
Disregards for students, carers, second home owners, hospital patients etc
Reductions for people with disabilities where certain adaptations to their property have been made
Exemption for empty properties for up to six months

Council Tax Benefit

If you are in work and on a low income or are receiving state benefits you may be entitled to further reductions in your Council Tax.

For full details of what you are entitled to and how to claim follow this link to our Council Tax benefit page where you will also find an online calculator which will enable you to perform a trial calculation.

Advice and help filling out claim forms can be obtained from Contact Harlow or the Housing Benefit Department please telephone 01279 446633 or e-mail benefits@harlow.gov.uk for more information.

We encourage everyone who can to pay their Council tax by Direct Debit. This is the most efficient and economic method of payment for you and the Council. Payment can be made on the following dates 1st, 15th and 25th of the month. For further information please contact 01279 446688 or visit the Council Tax pages on the Council’s website.

Alternatively you can make automated Council tax payments using your credit/debit card via the automated 24/7 payment service on 01279 446600. See the back of your Council Tax bill for details.

Council tax is split into eight bands. Band A is the lowest band and band H the highest. If you feel that your property is in the wrong band and you wish to query this, you should contact the Valuation Office on 01245 541200.

You can also work out what Housing or Council Tax benefits you might be eligible for, just follow this link to our online benefits calculator.

Claiming other benefits

Many people are not claiming their full benefit entitlement, and could be missing out on hundreds of pounds in Government assistance. Even if you are working you may be able to access benefits if you are on a low income.

For full details of what benefits you may be entitled to follow this link to the Council's Benefit Help and Advice pages.

To search for other free advice and legal service providers in the local areas follow this link to the Community Legal Services website.

*It is important that you contact the Council as early as possible if you are struggling, so that Council advisors have the best chance of helping you manage your debt.

Help for elderly & disabled residents

The Council and its partners offer a range of services and benefits to help elderly and disabled residents.

Community Transport

Transport services designed especially for the eldery and disabled are provided through a few different schemes, for more information follow this link to the Community Transport pages.

Concessionary Bus Pass Scheme

From 1 April 2008 all local pensioners have been able to travel off peak, between 9.30am - 11pm, anywhere in England for free by local bus.

The pass is free to all residents of Harlow over the age of 60. This means that you won't have to pay for the for the pass or for any journeys made. There is also a scheme for registered disabled residents.

For more information follow this link to the Concessionary Bus Pass Scheme.

Pension Credit

Who is eligible?

If you're aged 60 or over and living in Great Britain, you may be entitled to the 'Guarantee Credit' element (which

guarantees a minimum income if you're on a low income) if either of the following applies to you:

you're single and your weekly income is below £124.05
you have a partner and your joint weekly income is below £189.35

To find out more follow this link to the Pensions section of the Directgov website.

Cold Weather Payments

If you are a pensioner of on certain benefits you may qualify for Cold Weather Payment (CWP). CWPs are one off payments from the Government which are available if the temperature in you area falls below a certain level.

For more information on Cold Weather Payments and other benefits follow this link to the Benefits section of the Directgov website.

Reducing Energy Bills

There are lots of ways you can reduce your home energy bills, by simply using less power (switching off lights and unused appliance) and using less gas (turn down thermostat and draw curtains, etc). But there are also lots of grants and advice available to improve the energy efficiency of your home, including help towards the cost of loft and cavity wall insulation, new heating systems and draught proofing.

For information on making your home energy efficient and to find out what grants are available follow this link to the Energy Savings Trust website.

Budgeting

One simple way of preventing debt is to budget effectively. Many people spend far more than they can afford, and will find that keeping track of their spending can make a real difference.

Calculate your actual monthly expenditure - be honest about what you spend
Priority bills should be paid first eg. Council Tax, rent, mortgage, etc.
Contact your creditors as soon as possible explaining why you are in debt
Contact advice agencies to help with dealing with creditors, the Citizens' Advice Bureau offers a range of advice and support services
Borrowing to repay existing debts is a bad idea, consider ways of making extra money
You may be entitled to certain benefits if you are on a low income - Harlow Council can help you find out about Housing and Council Tax Benefit or other welfare benefits

For help to work out your monthly expenditure follow this link to use the FSA budget calculator.

Managing Bills

Find out if there are cheaper ways of meeting your needs, comparison websites are a good way to make sure you are paying minimum prices for utilities, services and retail purchases.

Uswitch, moneysupermarket and similar websites are a great way to make sure you are getting the best prices on gas, electricity, phones tariffs, Internet connections and insurance.

You can also juggle your debts to make sure you are paying the minimum amount of interest - compare credit cards and consider transferring to cards offering 0% interest rates. Store cards usually charge higher rates of interest so it might be wise to transfer these debts to 0% credit cards (but read the small print carefully to make sure there are no charges or transfer fees) or if possible arrange a low interest loan to reduce the amount you are paying in interest.

Sell your unwanted items

Many people have houses full of stuff they don't use or don't have room for, but these items might be just what someone else needs. Make some extra cash by selling your unwanted items - either online through auction sites or at local car boot sales and cards in local shop windows.

Save money with Credit Unions

Credit unions provide a good alternative to banks by providing a professional, secure and local way to save and borrow money.

Harlowsave is your local credit union. Membership is available if you live, work or study within postcodes CM17, CM18, CM19 or CM20.

The credit union currently offers a low cost flexible loan scheme; easy savings, flexi credit scheme and a Young Savers account for local people. Members of the credit union get free life insurance and a dividend is paid on savings.

As savings and loans cooperatives, credit unions are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and all members' savings are protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Credit Unions operate differently to banks - as cooperatives they don't have outside shareholders and don't pay large bonuses to directors. As part of their local community, credit unions harness their members' savings to provide affordable loans to other members of the cooperative.

Harlowsave Credit Union

Registered Office address:

2 Wych Elm, Harlow CM20 1QP

Telephone: 01279 451234, email: admin@harlowsave.coop or visit the website: http://www.harlowsave.coop/.

Dealing with redundancy

If you've been made redundant or are facing redundancy you should contact Jobcentre Plus to make an application for Job seekers Allowance, whilst you look for employment.

Follow this link to visit the Jobcentre Plus website.

The Council has a dedicated Rapid Response Group (RRG) for helping people and businesses facing the prospect of redundancies. The RRG has prepared a guide to dealing with redundancy, and also provides advice and support for managing job losses, helping workers move into alternative employment and/or training and help in accessing funds for training.

Follow this link to download a copy of the Coping with Redundancy Guide.