Social fund debt

A question about : Social fund debt

hi i am currently in about 4000 worth of debt and about to apply for a debt relief order i have mental health issues which has contributed greatly to my debt.i have been told that a social fund debt can not go on a d.r.o i currently owe the dwp 1300 pound which they take 13.50 a week off me is there any way i can apply or anything i can do to get this debt written off thanks dan.i currently get 130 a fortnight and am left with 10 pounds a fortnight after all essentials like food and bills

Best answers:

• I doubt you'll manage to get anything written off from the government. I think you'll even struggle to get the weekly payments down much lower...
• No, you cannot get the Social Fund debt written off. If you are in hardship you can apply to reduce your payments, but as you have money left over that does not appear to be the case.
• i thought 10 a fortnight left over to live on would be hardship?
• Hi mrdcway, thank you for yourquery regarding social fund loans.
  As mentioned above the law regarding debt relief orders changed in March 2012 and social fund debts are now excluded from applications which means they can still make deductions from benefit even if you have a debt relief order. If you are already seeing a debt adviser to assist you with a debt relief order they should be able to write to social fund to ask for reduction in deductions on your behalf or give you a copy of your financial statement so you can write yourself. If you do not currently have a debt adviser assisting you you can contact social fund and ask them to reduce deductions and they will send you a form to complete with all your incomings and outgoings and debts and reduce the deductions although this will mean the loan will take longer to pay off.
  Hope this is of assistance