A customer story from our Income and Moneywise team’s
Nazreen has only recently become a Raven tenant, but she has already been in touch to say thank you for the help she has received from our Income and Moneywise teams.
Nazreen had been working until she became ill. She had been fiercely and financially independent until her income dropped significantly when she went onto benefits. When Nazreen moved into her home, she contacted her income officer, Tracey, to let her know she was struggling to pay the rent on top of anything else she needed. Tracey, who has these conversations everyday with residents, reassured Nazreen and asked for more details about what she needed. Nazreen explained that she did not have much furniture and so Tracey applied to the Raven hardship fund for a sofa to help ease Nazreen’s back problems. Realising that Nazreen would probably also need support to help her manage her money, she referred Nazreen on to our Moneywise team.
The Moneywise team contacted Nazreen and arranged for her to speak to an adviser the next day. When Owen from Moneywise spoke to Nazreen, he made sure that she had told Universal Credit about her change of address and that she was getting all the benefits she was entitled to. Fortunately, she was. Owen also discussed with Nazreen how to come up with a budget plan and about setting up standing orders to pay her bills. Finally, Owen applied to a charity for a grant to help her with the cost of a wardrobe. Owen said, “my goal is for Nazreen to be settled in her new home, with all the furniture she needs for her time there, and to have her bills and budget set up so that she is able to become financially resilient again”.
“My goal is for Nazreen to be settled in her new home, with all the furniture she needs for her time there, and to have her bills and budget set up so that she is able to become financially resilient again”.
Nazreen admitted that she ‘was worried about being judged for struggling with her rent and bills’ but didn’t feel like that at all when talking to the staff at Raven. She had no idea there was that much help available to her and hopes others will also ask for help and not struggle on their own.
Since April 2020, our Moneywise Team have dealt with over 660 queries from residents and helped them claim over £1.5m in additional benefits and grants. If you are worried about your money or think there may be benefits you are entitled to that you haven’t claimed, you can receive free, confidential advice by contacting our Moneywise team on 0300 123 3399. The team are also licenced by the Financial Conduct Authority (631440) to provide debt advice and negotiate with your creditors. Alternatively, Reigate and Banstead Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) have a dedicated Raven Debt Project Team that any Raven resident (even if you don’t live in Reigate and Banstead borough) can contact to discuss worries about debt. The telephone number for the CAB is 03444 111 444.
If you are struggling with, or worried about, paying your rent then please contact your Income Officer who can work with you to ensure you get any support you need and agree a payment plan.
We will be sending out some surveys in the coming months to find out more about how we can support you with paying rent and managing your money, please keep an eye out for this and respond. This will help us improve the services we offer.
