Loans and savings and jsa and housing benefit?

Question

i have worked for 13 years and never once been on the dole before people start slating me. i was harrassed at my last job and left because it made me ill. apparantly i can still try and get some sort of support while i look for a new job. my question is about savings tho. i am deeply in debt with secured and unsecured loans which i got out a while ago. i have 20k in my account but i will have a penalty if i pay the the loans of early so makes more sense financially for this to be in a high interest account. will housing benefit/income support class this as savings even tho it is clearly a loan (have paperwork for it ) thanks

Answer 1

it seems strange for you to face a penalty for paying off any loans early, but then companies will try most anything to get that high interest. That said, i would try to pay off any loan that has a prepayment penalty, then sue said company in small claims court (very inexpensive for you to do this) and sue for the prepayment penalty. Even if you signed a contract agreeing to this penalty, a small claims judge may consider this illegal--especially if you have an account with money (the 20k you have)--it sounds like you could pay the bill, but not without paying the prepayment penalty, so i'd would think you have a good small claims case. Whether a housing/income support classify your 20k as savings is really up to them, but if this savings hurts you, all the more reason for a small claims case. And in small claims, you don't even need an attorney--and the other side cannot have one either--so seriously consider that avenue--but keep in mind, you will need documentation regarding any loan with a prepayment penalty. Hope i understood your question/situation correctly and was able to help. Good luck!