Working in partnership with Wulvern Housing, we offer free advice to people over 60 about their benefit entitlement. 

Many people have no idea about what benefits they should be getting and in some cases people have been misinformed.  The CAB offers a free benefit check to anyone over 60 to see if they are getting all they are entitled to.  So far over £1 million pounds has been reclaimed for people in the local area.  This has a distinct affect on the quality of their lives. 

This scheme is part of the Healthy, Wealthy and Wise scheme and is funded by the Big Lottery Fund.

If you, or your partner are over 60 then get in touch with your local CAB and ask to be referred to John Bellamy for a benefit check.

Macmillan Benefits Advice Service

Working in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support and Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT, we offer free, confidential, impartial advice about entitlement to benefits to people living with cancer and their families. 

The service can offer a free benefits check to help ensure you are getting all the benefits that you are entitled to.  We can also help you to compete forms when applying for benefits and grants. 

We advise on a wide range of issues and work closely with colleagues to ensure seamless access to our other specialist services for instance Money Advice and Employment Rights. 

The Macmillan Benefits Advice Service offers ‘drop in’ sessions at the Macmillan Unit, Leighton Hospital on Tuesdays and Wednesday 9.30 to 11.30, no appointment needed. Or you can ask your Macmillan professional to refer you to Tracey Aston, the Macmillan Benefits Adviser.   

Telephone 01270 303006 for more information.

Wulvern Tenants Supportive Services

Wulvern Housing Ltd fund two dedicated CAB Advisers who provide free and independent help to their tenants who have problems paying their rent.

Wulvern Housing Officers will identify tenants who are struggling to keep up payments on their rent or who are having problems getting the benefits that they are entitled to. 

The Housing Officer will make an appointment for the tenant to see the appropriate CAB Adviser.

Wulvern Tenants Welfare Rights Adviser - Phyllis

The adviser will help you by doing any or all of the following:

• Check that you are getting all the benefits that you are entitled to
• Helping with any claims or appeals for benefit
• Advising you how to budget effectively by considering which payments should take priority
• Helping you to manage your money effectively by considering different payment options
• Helping you to reschedule debts by negotiating with creditors, helping with court action, etc.
• Helping you to apply to charities for financial help
• Advise you how to save money by considering different payment schemes, banks and encouraging use of the Credit Union.

The service is for all tenants that are struggling to pay their rent for whatever reason. Phyllis will make home visits and work with the tenant to ensure that they stay in the property wherever possible.

Phyllis is an experienced Benefits Adviser with sound knowledge of securing backdated payments for benefits where an entitlement can be shown.

She also has experience of dealing with debts and can work with creditors to negotiate affordable repayments.

For any tenant that feels they are losing control of their rent payments and could face losing their home as a result, you can request a visit from Phyllis through the Income Management Team at Wulvern – telephone number 01270 303003.

Wulvern Tenants Money Advice Adviser – Judy

The service is exclusively for new Wulvern Tenants and all referrals are made through the Income Management Team at Wulvern – telephone number 01270 303003.

The service delivers help to tenants to set up payment plans for household bills and works with them to ensure that they have a secure tenancy.

If you are new to living on your own and have never had responsibility for your own place, there are a number of things that need to be sorted out from the start. These include applying for a TV licence, setting up arrangements with heating companies for your water, gas and electric supply and also, deciding how you would like to pay for these services. Weekly, monthly, quarterly – whatever suits your budget the best?

It is also cheaper to pay bills by direct debit and if you do not have a bank account, we can assist you with opening one and setting up direct debits.

The most important thing for anyone is to be able to budget their money effectively. The only way to do this is to know where your money is going. We recommend keeping a spending diary for a week/month depending how often you receive your income. This will tell you straight away how/why you are spending your money and enable you to take control if you need to.  If you would like to see and plan your weekly spend, you can down load a budget planner.

Any debt issues are dealt with either through direct contact with creditors or, where the debt is made up of many different creditors, a referral to our Money Advice Unit can be made.

Income is also looked into to ensure that all benefits and grants are being claimed where appropriate and assistance can be given to apply for these.

If you are a new Wulvern Tenant and you feel you could do with some help, contact the Income Management Team at Wulvern on 01270 303003.

Court Service Adviser

Cheshire East CAB has a desk at Crewe County Court on the dates of some possession hearings. If you have rent* or mortgage arrears and you have a court date for possession, we can help you negotiate with your landlord or lender to prevent the loss of your home and even if we are unable to help you reach an agreement with your landlord or lender, we can ask the court to make an order that gives you more time to seek independent advice regarding your financial position, taking your personal circumstances into account.

Our experienced adviser will help you to assess your financial position, discuss your options and, if appropriate, work out an affordable and sustainable repayment schedule to offer to your landlord or lender. We may also be able to offer you representation at your hearing

If you would like to take advantage of this free, independent and impartial service contact Katie on 01270 303006 On Tuesdays or Wednesdays each week

*This service is not for Wulvern tenants. Wulvern tenants should access the bureau in the usual way.

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