At Citizens Advice Brent, we are dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of individuals and communities across the borough.
Our impact can be seen through the extensive support and services we provide, ensuring that everyone has access to the information and assistance they need.
Citizens Advice Brent provides services at four Brent Council Hubs and eight Family Wellbeing centres
Issues & Background: Ms. D, a single parent and social tenant, approached us in January facing eviction in February due to over £15,000 in rent arrears. She also had other debts, including council tax, energy, and water arrears. Ms. D stopped working due to limited job availability, impacting her health and financial management. Additionally, she could not access certain benefits due to ill health and lack of cooperation from her Housing Association regarding universal credit and rent costs, worsening her debt situation. Ms. D sought help to prevent homelessness and resolve her debts.
Support Provided: Upon further exploration, Ms. D’s total debt exceeded £26,000. She faced eviction, enforcement action for council tax from the local authority, and the threat of disconnection of energy supplies.
Outcomes: We provided Ms. D with comprehensive debt advice and took emergency action by entering her into the Debt Respite Scheme to delay eviction and suspend enforcement. This allowed her to apply for Universal Credit and Council Tax Reduction, resulting in an annual award of approximately £23,500. The Universal Credit entitlement also qualified her for legal aid for housing advice and court representation.
Our intervention prevented her eviction and homelessness, suspended enforcement action, and maximized her household income. We also encouraged her to seek medical advice, potentially making her eligible for Personal Independent Payment. Ms. D is on her way to becoming debt-free and will benefit from the waiver of the £90 DRO fee as announced in the spring budget 2024, minimizing the adverse impact on her health.
Issues & Background: Ms. O sought our help through a Brent Family Wellbeing Centre. She and her husband had been claiming Universal Credit (UC) for their housing costs since April 2023. After their rent increased and they separated, Ms. O applied for UC again in August, seeking to cover her share of the rent. Despite their separation and different living arrangements within the same house, UC rejected her claim, citing insufficient evidence of her living situation and rental payments.
Support Provided: We thoroughly reviewed Ms. O’s housing situation, including her joint tenancy agreement with her former partner. Using the facts and applicable laws, we wrote to UC requesting a Mandatory Reconsideration. We highlighted errors in UC’s assessment of her claim and provided supporting documents, including the original tenancy agreement, letters from the landlord, and Ms. O’s bank statements.
Outcomes: The Mandatory Reconsideration was successful. Ms. O received £3,250 in arrears for her housing costs and had her monthly payment of £650 (£7,800 annually) reinstated. This intervention helped prevent her from becoming homeless and enabled her to continue supporting her child and manage the cost-of-living crisis.
Issue & Background: Ms. B, a single parent, moved into temporary accommodation with her five children and registered for energy with EDF. She received a bill for £3,000 for a period before she lived there, which was later put in her name. Despite informing EDF of the mistake, they continued to demand payment. To manage the situation, Ms. B requested prepayment meters, which were installed quickly. Afterwards, she received another bill for £807.93 for just 16 days of energy. When she complained about the excessive charges, EDF ignored her complaint, added the debt to her prepayment meter, and started immediate recovery.
Support Provided: Ms. B sought our help to dispute her energy charges. We assessed her financial and debt situation and provided comprehensive advice on her liabilities and options. Following her guidance, we helped her file a detailed complaint with EDF to contest her responsibility for the charges.
Outcomes: EDF upheld a complaint, corrected the erroneous bill, and wrote off £3807.93 debt from prepayment meters. They refunded all recovered money and compensated the individual £50 for the distress caused. As a result, she has more disposable income and is now stress-free, expressing gratitude for the professional service received from Brent CA.
Issues & Background: Ms. M was severely injured when hit by a drunk motorcyclist while crossing the road. She spent several months in the hospital and had multiple surgeries. Due to her injuries, she couldn’t manage in her new first-floor flat and applied for housing assistance. Placed in a low priority band, she requested a review but experienced significant delays and confusion from the housing authorities, who hadn’t logged her request properly.
Support Provided: We worked with Ms. M and her family to compile her medical evidence and filed a complaint with the Council. We highlighted their failure to respond to her review request within the required timeframe and detailed her extensive injuries and surgeries. We argued that her current accommodation was unsuitable and unsafe due to her inability to use the stairs. We requested an immediate review decision and recommended placing her in a higher priority band (band B) based on medical grounds.
Outcomes: After multiple follow-up letters, the Council referred Ms. M to their District Medical Officer. Five months later, they agreed with our request and moved Ms. M to a higher priority band (band B). This change allows Ms. M to bid for ground-floor properties with a wet room, closer to her daughter’s school, facilitating a more suitable living arrangement.
