Our Money Advice team provide free, confidential and impartial advice to all Jigsaw residents and their non-dependents.
Below are some of the successful outcomes of our residents after working with the Money Advice team.
Whether you’re in employment or in receipt of benefit payments, money issues can affect anyone. If you need financial assistance, call our Money Advice team on 0161 331 2000 / 0300 011 1144 or email MoneyAdviceTeam@jigsawhomes.org.uk
We are here to help!
We have a dedicated Money Advice team who are on hand to offer welfare and debt advice to residents who may need a bit of extra support.
One of our residents was referred to our Money Advice Team as her Employment Support Allowance (ESA), Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support were stopped once she reached pension age.
Our Money Advisor worked with the resident, who suffers from a terminal illness, and submitted a Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support claim.
The Advisor found that before reaching pension age, the ESA entitled to our resident was contribution based rather than income-related which meant she never received the Severe Disability Premium (SDP) to which she was entitled to.
We followed up on her expired ESA and SDP claims and discovered that our resident met the criteria throughout. After a lot of back and forth trying to get the SDP claim accepted and paid out, our resident was eventually awarded a backdated payment of £21,800.
She also received a backdated Pension Credit payment of £1,118 and a £933 refund from her rent account.
As a result, our resident has now been able to buy a mobility scooter to help her easily get back outside.
Our Money Advice team is available for residents to access welfare and debt advice if and when they need it, with many residents already having benefitted from the service.
One of our residents, Mr J, has serious, long-standing health conditions and asked our Money Advice team to help with a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) review form.
Our Money Advice (MA) Supervisor visited his home and worked with him to complete the PIP form whilst also discussing his cost of living payments.
After checking whether Mr J was receiving these payments, our MA discovered that he was not getting the right amount of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
Our MA then made a call to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and found they had not actioned a form sent to them before lockdown regarding Mr J’s Severe Disability Premium.
As a result of our work, Mr J will now receive a backdated ESA payment of up to £9,500 alongside an increase in his award of £69.40 per week.
If you would like to find out more about our Money Advice team and learn about the ways they can help you, click here>>.
Our Money Advice team is available to provide welfare and debt advice to many who may need a bit of extra support. Many residents who have used the service have already benefitted from the help they have been given.
Mrs B, one of our residents in Wigan, suffered two strokes and was struggling to make ends meet so she got in touch with our Money Advice team for help.
She had around £1,500 in rent arrears and one of our Money Advisors noticed she was only receiving a Universal Credit payment for half of her rent amount as she was a joint tenant with her ex-partner.
However, our Money Advice team contacted both the local council and Universal Credit to secure a Discretionary Housing Payment which managed to clear her rent arrears and cover her full housing cost.
This is a big weight off Mrs B’s shoulders and now she has a clean slate and is receiving the full housing costs she is entitled to.
If you would like to find out more about our Money Advice team and learn about the ways they can help you, click here>>.
Our Money Advice team has been working hard to offer residents welfare and debt advice, providing help if and when they need it. Many residents who have used the service have already benefitted from the support they have been given.
One of our residents, Mrs A in Chorley, has learning difficulties and was struggling to fill in forms to claim Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
One of our Money Advice Officers assisted Mrs A and through their help, she was awarded an enhanced rate for Care and Mobility and received a £5000 backdate.
Using this backdated payment, she has now been able to purchase a washing machine, a mobile phone, and new clothing and can afford a when shopping.
Mrs A has also received enhancements to her Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) thanks to the help of our Money Advice team.
If you would like to find out more about our Money Advice team and learn about the ways they can help you, click here>>.
One of our residents migrated from ESA (Support Group) with Severe Disability Premium to Universal Credit in April. Unfortunately, their UC payments were missing both the LCWRA element and Transitional Protection.
Despite our resident raising queries and chasing updates, the case remained stuck with a specialist team due to technical issues. This meant several months without the correct entitlement, causing stress and financial uncertainty.
We stepped in to monitor the case, liaised with Universal Credit and kept the residents informed. After persistent follow-up and technical adjustments, both LCWRA and Transitional Protection were backdated, and underpayments were issued. The resident’s correct entitlement was restored, giving them peace of mind.
A resident with serious health challenges, including daily infusion therapy, phototherapy and recent seizures, migrated to UC in October. Because the ESA Support Group status hadn’t transferred yet, UC incorrectly applied work commitments.
The resident missed a Jobcentre appointment due to hospital treatment, and despite clear evidence of their ESA status, commitments remained in place. This added unnecessary stress during a very difficult time.
Our Money Advice Team acted quickly, providing evidence and liaising with UC to remove the commitments. ESA status was confirmed, migration protection maintained, and the resident could focus on their health without worrying about inappropriate requirements.
We helped to support a resident with dementia who had suffered a serious head injury and had multiple hospital admissions. Their main support – a family member caring for two children and living with ADHD – requested extensions to the UC migration deadline, but these were not granted.
No help came from hospital social care teams, so our team worked with the family to submit the UC claim online. A home visit was requested in September, but key elements like LCWRA and Transitional Protection were not applied, leading to ESA and Housing Benefit overpayments.
Without our intervention, this process would have been overwhelming for the family. We guided them through every step, liaised with UC, and ensured the claim was successfully submitted. This support made a huge difference during an incredibly challenging time.
