Case Studies
Mrs B
Mrs B suffered anxiety and depression following the death of her husband and claimed Employment & Support Allowance from the Department for Work & Pensions. Mrs B was sent for a medical examination by the Department for Work & Pensions’ Health Care Professional who deemed that Mrs B was fit for work and therefore no longer entitled to Employment & Support Allowance, which was stopped.
Mrs B visited the Citizens Advice and was assisted to challenge the Department for Work & Pensions decision through an unsuccessful Mandatory Reconsideration followed by an appeal to an independent Tribunal. The Citizens Advice also assisted Mrs B in claiming benefits to ensure she continued to have a weekly income.
The Citizens Advice assisted Mrs B to prepare her case and gather medical evidence to support her case. The Citizens Advice went on to represent her at the Tribunal which overturned the Department for Work & Pensions decision that she was fit for work.
Mrs B was placed back onto the full rate of Employment & Support Allowance and was paid £1,000 in arrears.
Mr G
Mr G separated from his partner and was re-housed into an unfurnished property. As a couple they already had some joint debts that were being managed, but the additional debts incurred by Mr G in setting up his own home meant that he could no longer manage his repayments for both his priority and non-priority debts. A number of debts had been transferred to a debt collection agency and interest was being added all the time, increasing Mr G’s debts. The pressure of his debts and the threats from his creditors were affecting Mr G’s mental health and well-being.
Mr G visited the Citizens Advice and we completed an income and expenditure form and prioritised his debts to ensure he remained in his home and out of court. The Citizens Advice contacted all his creditors on his behalf and had all of the interest charges frozen.
Following negotiations with all of Mr G’s creditors on his behalf they all agreed a repayment plan that was affordable to him. As a result Mr G has the money to pay his priority debts, such as rent, while maintaining affordable payments to his other creditors. Mr G can now mange his finances and his health and well-being is greatly improved allowing him to enjoy life once again.
Mr H
Mr H worked for his employer for 7 years with a good history. He went on holiday and on his return he was told he had been dismissed without any prior notice or valid reason being given. Mr H received no payments in respect of redundancy, notice or outstanding holidays, and his former employer denied any liability in this regard.
The Citizens Advice assisted Mr H in a claim against his former employer for unfair dismissal and other outstanding entitlements in respect of monies owed represented him in a hearing at Newcastle Employment Tribunal. The decision of the Employment Tribunal was that Mr H had been unfairly dismissed and he was awarded over £2,500 in compensation and other monies owed.
The employer subsequently applied for a reconsideration of the Employment Tribunal’s decision and with the Citizens Advice’s assistance this application was dismissed as having no reasonable prospects of success. Mr H’s successful claim and award was therefore upheld.
