Money help and advice

Yes there are. Local authorities have funds to help those who are particularly struggling financially. More information around criteria can be found on each local authorities websites. You can also see some of the main links below:

• Cornwall Council Household Support Fund
• East Devon Hardship and Household Support fund
• Exeter City Council Household Support Fund
• Mid Devon Household Support Fund
• North Devon Support (northdevon.gov.uk) and Household Support Fund (northdevon.gov.uk)
• Plymouth Household support fund
• South Hams Household Support Fund
• Torridge Household Fund - Encompass
• West Devon Household Support Fund

We also provide a fund to assist our customers who are impacted in the rises to the cost of living. Click here for more information.

You could be eligible for a Discretionary Housing Payment – these were introduced as welfare reform began and are still available where individuals are struggling to afford payments towards their rent account. In order to qualify, you must be in receipt of a benefit to help with your housing costs (either Housing Benefit or Universal Credit). Payments are administered by local authorities and more information is on each local authority’s website.

Contact who you owe money to and request an affordable repayment plan.

If that worries you then contact an independent organisation that offers help and advice to advocate on your behalf, such as:

• Step Change: Part of the Money Advice Service. Ring 0800 138 1111 or complete a contact form via the website. Available Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm.
• National Debtline: For help and advice managing debt. Ring 0808 808 4000 or use their webchat. Available Monday to Friday  9am to 8pm  and Saturday  9:30am to 1pm.
• Turn to Us:Website provides information and tools about benefit entitlement, grants advice and debt advice and will tailor advise to fit your situation.
• Citizens Advice: Find your local centre, ring 0800 144 8848 or use their webchat. Available Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.

If you are struggling with your energy bills tell your energy company - if you do, that means you are legally protected and they have to work out a payment plan with you.

You can get other grants and benefits too. Your options will depend on your situation.

• Simple Energy Advice is a government website with an energy efficiency calculator and links to grants.
• There are some useful tips here from Money Helper and here from Ofgem.
• Household Support Fund - check your local authority website for links to it. You can get help towards heating and lighting costs and any household expenses you are struggling with. There is more information further up this page. 
• Warm Home Discount Scheme supports low income and vulnerable households at a time when people are having to choose between food and heating.
• Cold Weather Payment is hard to get in our part of the world but offers a payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0° or below for seven consecutive days.
• Winter Fuel Payment should arrive automatically in bank accounts for those who are eligible. If you were born before 25 September 1957 you could get between £250 and £600 to help you pay your heating bills. 
•  If you need to buy oil in Devon see if you can join to get a better price deal: Devon Oil Collective. 

You can compare prices on comparison websites for almost everything, but some key household bills are a great place to start e.g. utility bills, broadband and insurance. Money Saving Expert is a great place to start with this.

Even better, some of these sites, like uSwitch, make the switch for you.

Sometimes companies may be able to offer you discounted tariffs e.g. check if you are entitled to a reduced tariff with South West Water.

Other ideas include looking at reducing food bills by changing brands, for example to a supermarket own brand. 

You can complete a benefits calculation online to find out. These are really useful tools that do all of the hard work for you. We recommend the online versions that can be found at Turn2Us and Entitled To. 

Organisations such as Age UK and Citizens Advice can offer advice regarding entitlement. Your benefit entitlement will depend on your personal circumstances e.g. age, household members and if you are you a carer or disabled.

South West Water: Support is available. When you notify South West Water about your circumstances, they can work out what tariff would be most suitable for you. Fill out their application form here. Or ring 0344 346 1010. Help available Monday to Friday 8.00am to 6.00pm and Saturday 9.00am to 1.00pm.

Royal British Legion: Help specifically for ex-service personnel and their families. Financial, emotional and grant support available. Ring 0808 802 8080. Help available Monday to Sunday 8.00am to 8.00pm

SAFFA: Help specifically for ex-service personnel and their families. Financial, emotional and grant support available. Ring 0800 260 6767. Help available Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm

NHS: For advice about prescriptions charges or getting a prepayment certificate or other items needed for your condition. You might be eligible for help with other products; speak to your doctor or nurse at your surgery.

Marie Curie: Help for people facing terminal illness and help and support from recent diagnosis to ongoing treatments. Ring 0800 090 2309.  Help available Monday to Friday 8.00am to 6.00pm and Saturday 11.00am to 5.00pm 

Check out this government website which provides a huge range of options: Help for Households - Get government cost of living support

Sometimes there are others in your household who aren't contributing to your household income but ought to be asked? e.g. asking adult children to contribute to the household income.

If you have a spare room, it may be possible to offer this out to a lodger. You will need your landlord’s permission for this but it may be worth thinking about as it does not affect any universal credit that you may be receiving.  

There are organisations such as the Trussell Trust across Devon and Cornwall that provide information on how to access foodbanks and where to get help with money in an emergency.

You can also just search 'foodbanks' online or contact your Local Authority for emergency support.

We also offer a household support fund which all customers are able to apply for, learn more and apply here. Local authorities also offer household support fund which you can see further up this page. 

There are lots of these online but you will probably do best with the Money Helper Budget Planner which is a free and easy to complete form that you can save and refer back to. We also have our own budget planner if you would prefer to print and fill out. 

Listing all of your income and expenditure will help you with your budgeting as you’ll be able to see where you can possibly increase your household income by reducing what you spend in other areas.

Payday loans can be a very expensive way to borrow money. If you need to take out credit you should consider your alternatives.

If you're already struggling to get by, then taking out a payday loan will probably only make your situation worse. The best solution is to get free and impartial debt help and a practical solution.

What are the alternatives to payday loans?

• Your local credit union: they provide affordable financial products and are likely to be far cheaper than payday loans, so take a look at rates on Westcountry Savings & Loans
• Sell your unwanted items: have a clear out and turn these into cash through a free sales site such as Facebook Marketplace
• Cut back: StepChange debt charity offers great advice on how to reduce your spending as this might be just enough to avoid needing the payday loan trap
• Ask friends or family: if considered carefully a friends and family loan could save you a lot of worry when trying to repay a payday loan. However, first make sure that you’re able to afford the repayments. Before you do anything, you should talk about what might happen if you can’t afford to pay it back and how this could affect your relationship as it might not be worth it
• Get debt advice: if you're considering a payday loan to deal with an existing problem then you'd be much better getting some free and impartial debt advice from StepChange, Citizens Advice or Money Helper.

Use a managed account to pay your priority bills

If you are dealing with a reduced income, or income that changes all the time, then you may find a managed account works for you.

It will ensure that the money is taken to pay your priority bills and leave you with the money that is left over to spend.

It’s a useful way of budgeting when you aren’t sure what your income is going to be regularly.

There is more information regarding eligible charitable funding here.

We are here to help you. 

If you think or know that your rent account is in arrears and you have not set up an arrangement with us, it is now more important than ever that you contact us to discuss your situation. We will make sure that you feel you can manage the payments and that they are realistic for you.

There are many ways that we can help you to begin resolving the financial problems that you may be facing, but we are unable to do this without you speaking to us. We don't want you to lose your home and it's never too late to get in touch.

Our Westward Assurance is:

If you fall behind with your rent payments because you are struggling financially due to the impact of the cost of living crisis, you will not lose your home so long as you are talking to us and working with us.

If you are struggling…don’t hesitate, talk to us now and book that conversation! Please use our contact form below or call us on 0300 100 1010.

If you are a support customer, please arrange this through your support / housing worker.