Specialist Advice
Caseworkers can give assistance and advice to people who qualify for legal aid in the areas of housing, welfare benefits and debt law. If you don’t think you qualify for legal aid, don’t worry - we also have other specialist advisers and you might qualify for assistance with them.
Debt
Specialist debt advisers can:
- Help you prepare a manageable budget
- Advise to ensure maximisation of your income
- Negotiate with your creditors
- Agree repayments that you can afford
- Help you with court procedures
- Advise on bankruptcy, Individual Voluntary Arrangements, Debt Relief Orders
Housing
Specialist Housing Caseworkers can assist with issues such as:
- Homelessness (including reviews of local authority decisions)
- Disrepair problems
- Housing benefit problems
- Wrongful eviction
- Rent Arrears
- Mortgage Repossessions
- Security of tenure
- Allocation of social housing
- Defending Possession Proceedings
- Negotiating with both housing associations and private landlords regarding tenancy disputes
Welfare Benefits
Specialist Welfare Benefits Caseworkers can:
- Advise on entitlement to benefits
- Help with benefits problems such as over payments, reduction/refusal of benefit
- Help with benefit revisions and appeals
- Advise and assist in order to prepare for tribunal hearings including;
- Social Security Appeals, e.g. overpayment appeals, cohabiting appeals, Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance
- Housing Benefit Appeals
- Incapacity Appeals – including Employment Support Allowance Appeals
- Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance Appeals
- Appeals to the Upper Tribunal following and unsuccessful Appeal.
- Advice and assistance on applications for Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance
Going to Court?
The service provides a Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme at Worcester Combined Court (see Outreach). We employ a Solicitor who can represent clients in more complex cases if you are financially eligible for this help.
Contact Us
Phone: 0844 4111 303*
Fax: 01905 23354
*(Calls from BT landlines are charged at 5p per minute, calls from cable and other networks may be charged at a higher rate, calls from mobile phones will be directed to call an 0300 number which is charged at the network operators' standard rate)