Tobi’s Story

Citizens Advice in North & West Kent Tobi's Story

Tobi,  is a single man in his mid-thirties who lives in a 1-bedroom rental property. He is unemployed and seeking paid employment and is reliant on benefits Universal Credit (UC) and Council Tax Reduction (CTR) as sources of income. However, this does not cover his essential living costs. Tobi has been diagnosed with epilepsy, and was hospitalised last year following a double seizure, and was cautioned to manage his stress levels.

Tobi contacted Citizens Advice for money advice due to having rent arrears amounting to £1650 and £300 that he owed the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for UC over-payment. He also wanted advice on what benefits he could be eligible for. 

We successfully supported Tobi in writing off the previous year’s rent arrears amounting to £462. He was very happy about this as it allowed him to pay reduced monthly payments going forward. In addition, he has been presented with further options on managing his current financial situation, such as requesting DWP to lower his deductions.

We also discovered that Tobi had electricity rent arrears amounting to £890. Currently, we have helped him submit an Energy Trust grant application to help towards his energy costs. Ongoing advice and support is being provided to him.

All stories have been given different names and certain details have been omitted or changed to preserve their anonymity.