Case study: Responding to customer financial hardship during an internal move.

What was the issue? 

• It was an internal transfer of a vulnerable customer with sight impairment.
• Customer was billed for full Council Tax at the new address when entitled to a reduction – this money going out left the customer in hardship during the move and is still to be resolved/refunded.
• Customer had already been referred for food parcel assistance, and advised us that they were struggling whilst waiting for this issue to be resolved.
• Customer had to pay for removals as they did not have the option of doing any of this themselves due to a visual impairment.
• Having to use a removal firm led to an overlap of both tenancies with rent being charged on both.

Why this mattered:

This took into account customers vulnerabilities, and reduced the customer’s immediate financial pressure during the move. The £231.83 award covered one week’s rent at the former address, reducing the burden of paying rent on two homes while the Council Tax issue remained unresolved.

What action did we take: 

Whilst the hardship fund is not for covering rent overlaps a discussion with the customer revealed that the issues caused by Council Tax created financial hardship at the time of the move. Following a referral (completed by the Neighbourhood Team; and supported by the Former Tenant Debt Officer – cross team approach) to the fund an award was made for £231.83 (1 weeks rent onto the former address).

What difference did it make:

The £231.83 hardship award reduced the financial pressure on the customer during her move by covering one week’s rent at her former home. This meant they did not have to meet that cost from money already stretched by Council Tax payments and removal expenses. Listening to their circumstances meant they received support based on their individual needs, despite rent overlaps not normally being covered by the fund.

How does this support compliance with the Consumer Standard: 

1.1.1 – Fairness and respect: listening to the customer’s circumstances and considering the hardship behind the request, rather than simply applying the usual exclusion for rent overlaps.

1.2.1 – Diverse needs: making an award based on the customer’s individual circumstances supports a fair and equitable outcome. 2.1.1 also requires landlords to use relevant information to understand tenants’ needs and assess whether services deliver equitable outcomes.

There is also a secondary link to the Tenancy Standard, particularly 1.2.1 and 2.2.1 – tenancy sustainment. The £231.83 award addressed financial pressure during the transfer, which supports tenancy sustainment.

Feedback from the customer 

“Thank you so much for this” – customer quote.