A budgeting loan is a form of crisis loan that enables those individuals or families that can prove they are on low income and have been claiming specific types of low income benefits. The money comes from the specially created Social Fund and budgeting loan forms can be requested from the Jobcentre Plus or your pension office. Alternatively, you can download a budgeting loan application form from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) website. You can also download the application form below.
Application Form Information
The budgeting loan application form aims to provide all of the information that you need in order to successfully complete the form in its entirety. You will be asked to provide information regarding your benefits, the reason for the loan, and your personal circumstances. This information will be used when assessing your application so it is important that you provide as much information as possible to help increase your chances of application success and to ensure you get the funds quickly.
Repayment Details
These loans are interest free but they do need to be repaid. During your application, the assessor will consider whether you are a suitable candidate and, at the same time, they will consider the terms that accompany your loan. You will usually be given up to two years, or 104 weeks, in which to repay the amount that you borrow.
Budgeting Loan Address
Once you have completed the application forms you should return them to your local Jobcentre Plus who will forward them to the appropriate budgeting loan address. In any case, the sooner you return the forms the quicker you will receive a decision and the faster you will receive the cash if you are made an offer. You can look in your local phone directory to find the budgeting loan address that you should use.
Rejections
If your application is unsuccessful you will receive a letter to inform you of the decision. The most common reasons for rejection are that you, and your partner, already owe the maximum amount to the social fund. You may also be rejected because you have not been collecting the appropriate income support benefits for a period of 26 weeks or more. This is a prerequisite for the borrowing of money.
Appealing The Decision
If your application is rejected then you will be able to formally appeal that decision. In this instance, your case will be assessed by an independent third party. You have up to 28 days to lodge and appeal and you will receive a decision with 12 days of your appeal being processed. If the independent assessor believes that you are, in fact, entitled to the funds from a loan then you will receive a letter notifying you of this change in decision.
Loan Offers
If your budgeting loan application form is successful then you will receive at least one offer up to a maximum of three from the Social Fund. These offers will include details of the amount you can borrow and the amount you will need to repay on a weekly basis. Repayments are typically taken directly from your benefits. This is done to ensure that the Social Fund receives your payments and it makes the repayments more convenient for you too.
Social Fund Loans
Budgeting loan forms are reasonably simple to complete but they do require a lot of information about you, your finances, and the benefits that you claim. This information is used to help determine whether or not you are entitled to the money from a Social Fund loan so it is important that you provide accurate information. Once completed, return your forms to the Jobcentre Plus as soon as possible so a decision can be made quickly and your funds provided as soon as possible.
You can download the form directly from the DWP website or here Budgeting Loan Application Form.