Benefits Britain 40 Grand in Debt

[Music] in britain our personal debts add up to over 190 billion pounds and the average household owes a record 13 grand when you're on benefits debts can be easier to rack up and much harder to pay off being on benefits that need to be in there to realize what it's like and it's not easy it's really not once you're deep in the red how much you owe is always on your mind more another 24 7 money box another payday loan but it can be hard to escape the debt trap it's not good to have getting debt and getting my loans out now but like i said i only live once or meet the ex-gambling addict who can't control his spending but isn't sure if it's worth taking a job um well if i took the job it would have basically made us worse off i reckon the aspiring rapper who's spent thousands on music equipment but now he's on benefits can't pay the bills i'd notice of summons of arrears payday loans and the former nightclub singer and single mum who owes so much she's now facing eviction they're saying that i've got to pay 807 pounds or they're going to take possession of health between them they owe over 40 grand and the debt is about to come knocking when life gives you lemon make lemonade that's my motto in the uk we're drowning in debt and many benefit claimants find themselves in the red [Music] hartlepool in the northeast of england 29 year old unemployed david lives with his partner rebecca they started a family five years ago and have three children [Music] david's been in and out of work for the last few years but has managed to rack up around 30 000 pounds in loans and unpaid bills like if i had the money i'll just spend we are gone yeah i'll just spend time spending not just basically i'll spend this way no i just like going shopping buying buying stuff what i don't need the couple have been spending thousands on high interest loans on stuff for the house including the latest top of the range washing machine my girlfriend wanted this one but i wasn't bothered which one i wanted i just went in the washer she wanted this because it's got a super speed super eagle earth wash you can bedding and like all your baby care in your dog and it's got like a bubble wash but just actually it's a steam remover it's like get your stains off the this 700 pound washing machine will eventually cost two and a half thousand pounds nearly four times its normal sale price pier 13 quid a week earth like for free yeah i let him to be about navy with because it's like obviously interesting about two and a half grand two and a half grand to run david's also bought his high spec computer on the never never which one the best best ones off you can use for other things but it's mainly for games the computer is also going to take three years to pay off and with interest cost another two and a half grand it's 13 quid a week or something new basically just repaired every cycle well it's my thing obviously i don't i don't need it but i like it i've always had a computer david's now spending around half of their 450 pound a month job seekers allowance paying off his household items so if you work out that a month let's say i think that's worked out 220 quid i think 220 quid a month for like four items to be in the house which is crazy but it's not just david's spending that's a problem he also developed a gambling habit started gambling about six years ago just went in the booth he's one day didn't have a clue what i was doing then i'll start winning big money and i just got addicted to it as the gambling became an addiction david got into even more debt to fund his habit it's destroyed my life i wish i never laid eyes on the place david might regret his gambling but he's unrepentant about his 30 grand debts it's not good to have getting dead and getting my lawns out now like the older brother would say if you haven't got you should just don't have basically but like i said i only live once or that's what i think i'd do it for two [Music] just a few miles up the northeast coast from hartlepool is the town of seoum 43 year old former factory worker and nightclub singer julie has piled up nearly 2 000 pounds in debt and renter ears which he's struggling to pay off with her benefits but i i absolutely love singing around the clubs that's one of them when i was in the club at a club in sunderland that one there [Music] when i was younger i would never have dreamed for one moment that i would ever be on benefits i worked from being 16. and i worked weeks weekends i did act and i did singing i did everything and as well as working full-time i would never ever have dreamed that i would ever have come to this julie ended up on benefits due to a dramatic change of circumstances ten years ago after being told that she could never have children she felt unexpectedly pregnant with son alex say tonight son you be careful say night son i was just absolutely over the moon elated that i could actually have this one child that i've basically wanted it just me it just meant that i had gone from being like an independent woman who was working full time and had a crease singing around the clubs and like acting on the side on nights and stuff and just doing all these things to like having to pack all that in because i had a child to look after i ended up on benefits because i couldn't work i haven't had nobody to look after alex or help me with alex at all as a single mum with no family support julie was forced to give up work to look after her new baby but she soon found it a struggle on benefits i couldn't afford to pay a television license i couldn't afford to pay water rates so i got caught not having a television license and i could find 250 pound things like that and it's just it all mounts up doesn't it with her debts piling up julie got desperate five years ago she started working on the side again as a singer without telling the benefits office i shouldn't have done it but i started singing again to try and make some money and i didn't declare it and i should have and obviously i did it for a while for a few months and i got somebody told me when i got caught it was the fraud squad somebody phoned the fraud squad and said i was singing julie's failure to declare her income meant she says she got landed with a 3 000 pound fine her benefits were cut to pay it back adding to her debt woes they put me money down a 90 pound a fortnight to live on and i had and i got that to live on for five years and the deaths just mounted up and mounted up that was when i went on rockworm that was when i just i just i couldn't i couldn't carry on [Music] julie's struggling to find a solution to her debts meanwhile in maidstone kent father of six diaz has been claiming sickness benefits for the last four months diaz is an aspiring rapper and musician and hopes one day to make it big in the music business [Music] despite his love of urban music three years ago diaz decided to move out of the city for what he hoped would be a better quality of life left london because of all the crime and drugs and violence and all that stuff to you know raise the kids somewhere decent you know so yeah but diaz's big move has ended up with him relying on benefits and in 10 grand of debt the stress of the daily commute caused him to become depressed so he quit his 30 000 pound a year job in it i was travelling from maidstone all the way to farringdon every day sitting on a coach for about two hours um that's two hours there two hours back um my health started to deteriorate you know and then not seeing the kids was also a big issue for me as well so there was lots of things you know that was really affected me so i ended up having to quit and that was it he now claims 17 000 pounds a year in benefits and diaz's debts are threatening to spiral out of control i've got a gas bill an electric bill which is about 2 000 pounds at the moment i'm in a bit of rent arrears at the moment i owe 375 pounds from last month's rent and this month's rent of 875 pounds yeah not looking too good uh my kettle's broke so um i've gone back to the basics [Music] of how to make a cup of tea diaz now spends more time with his kids but two months ago he split with the mother of his two youngest children [Music] my ex-partner has just come around and dropped off the kids and uh we've had another little bit of a route the breakup has caused added financial strain there's still a lot of raw feelings and a lot of raw emotions and differ from the fact that we mounted up a lot of debt together and it's gonna need to be addressed you know and we've got these two beauties that gonna need both of us to look after the debts the emotions that's the reason another reason why i'm going for therapy for depression you know so yeah there's a lot going on that's it all right come on push push daddy push for daddy with the bills piling up and diaz also now behind on his rent he's just received some devastating news his landlord has given him notice of eviction he needs to be out in a month you know they want they want me out but hey ho when life gives you lemons make lemonade that's my motto coming up could david have found a job to help clear his debts take it's going to be for driving for them but self-employed delivering parcels diaz chooses funding his music career over paying his rent i had drawn out almost 300 pounds to get the camera and stay and save my camera and julie gets a bombshell letter from the council they're only giving me 14 pound benefit towards me rent [Music] the average household debt in the uk is increasing by over a thousand pounds a year but when you're on benefits juggling your finances is even more challenging in hartlepool david has wrapped up around 30 grand in debt due to his gambling and spending girlfriend rebecca has had to take control of their 23 000 pound a year benefit to stop them getting deeper in debt yeah well if i had it i'd get the urge to gamble so that's why i don't have it normal all goes in my bank and it's all probably worked out you see how we've got left to spend like family and the kids shopping wherever else so it's not allowed unless i actually give them power to go at the bank [Music] thing for me is not to have money because i do get the urge all the time and like i said it's a devil david hasn't had permanent work in years but while job hunting online you may have found the perfect vacancy your earnings from 400 pounds or 650 pound per week up to seven days a week today david's going to find out about the job at a seminar but he hasn't left enough time to get suited and booted i was going to put a shirt on and now i'm going to tighten my hand the seminar is at a hotel in gateshead an hour's drive north it could be the answer to all his prayers dream job i love the different types of jobs but the realistic job is like driving i love driving so obviously i would like us i won't be stuck in one place or standing a place in the factory for eight hours a day or 12 hours a day i'd be on the boards well what i like doing david's hoping if the seminar goes well he'll be offered an interview if you get interviewed you gotta go for it if you don't get you don't care but i'm hoping i get it because i love driving [Music] as david heads towards the possibility of coming off benefits in seam county durham single mum julie says her benefits have been cut after she failed to declare her earnings as a nightclub singer as a result she's nearly two grand in debt to boost her finances she's found a part-time job as a receptionist in sunderland i work on a wednesday friday and a saturday and it's from nine til two wednesday and friday and saturday is nine till three which is ideal for me you know so i can get alex from school it means she's 23 pounds a week better off than on income support it's not much but julie's delighted to be earning again when i got my job after being out of work for so long it made me feel like a person again i didn't just feel like a mom and because i'd sunk so low under depression from not working it made me feel good but today she's come home to an unwelcome letter from the council now she's working they're reducing her housing benefit they're only giving me 14 pound benefit towards me rent so i think they expect me on 120 pounds a week to pay 78 pound 44 rent and full council tax and i just you literally i don't know how they expect you to pay it on such a low wage it's um i'm gonna have to go down tomorrow and see what's going on as well as cutting off her benefits the letter says she must pay off her renter ears or she could be out on the street um and i've they're saying that i've got to pay 807 pound or they're going to take possession of the house i'm gonna have to go to citizen's advice and see what them say back in maidstone aspiring musician diaz is 10 grand in debt he quit his job due to depression when he was working he spent thousands buying equipment for his home studio to try and achieve his dream of making it big i brought one thing one thing one thing all the time like every paycheck they say all right i want to get this let's pay a check when i get that and you know little by little i managed to to get all the things i wanted to help build an online fan base diaz films himself performing his music [Music] but with money tight now he's decided to pawn his video camera to raise extra cash [Music] diaz has had a call from the pawn shop i'm sure you said it was less last time like 2 30. he's in renter ears of 375 pounds and has been threatened with eviction now he has to decide whether to pay off the bulk of his arrears or buy back his camera for 270 pounds basically i'd drawn out almost 300 pounds to get the camera and stay and save my camera to lose it would be like losing half of my creative power so i have to get it out [Music] in gateshead david's arrived for his job seminar he's hoping it will lead to an offer of work as a self-employed delivery driver and eventually to a route out of his 30 grand debt after a couple of hours the seminar is over but david's not impressed by what he's heard um well when all right but yeah i've got up here 60 quid for application form for all out then i've got to go down leads next thursday for like a drugs test and like a test and do some paperwork right don't lead david's worried that being self-employed means his weekly pay packet isn't guaranteed um you get a work fund from them in that you can come out with 150 quid 190 quid but if you get then you've got to pay all your stuff your accountants and your fan yeah tax and everything but yeah you do that every 13 weeks and you can earn like 22 grand nearly 23 grand a year david says if he wants to proceed he has to fork out the cash for the company to carry out background checks on him there's a catch to it as in i've got a pier 60 pound he said i think it was a bit more a bit less and then i've got i've got leads next thursday i've never been the leader before he's finding the application process overwhelming i'm gonna talk my girlfriend and see what happens david has a big decision to make in seoum single mum julie has just received a letter saying her housing benefits are being reduced due to her part-time receptionist job she's also being threatened with eviction if she doesn't pay off her rent arrears basically i want to go in and get it sorted because it's going to make a massive impact on my life if i don't get this sorted julie is desperately hoping the council have got their sums wrong so she's off to the council offices with friend emma for moral support just like at the end of the tunnel basically sort out these debts and see where i can go from there see what i can do and just someone's got to be wrong somewhere if that's that's him nobody else that i know has that kind of like rent and council tax julie needs to persuade the council not to evict her but 30 minutes later she's out and the meeting hasn't gone well i told her how much i was struggling and in a way at first she was a little bit rude she was saying well you're going to have to do it or you're out and i'll say well how if i've got to pull out all of my wages for this how am i going to live i'm going to buy food and she won't go to a food bank a food bank i know but i've got meal for the bed for school as well i'll have to go up the food bank with the burn i'll pick the bed up maybe pick the banner from school then the food bank yeah we'll drop you off first we'll go get the bed and i'll come what julie says she's been told she'll face eviction unless she pays off 800 pounds of her renter is by the end of the month she fears that means having no money left to buy food i've got to use every penny that i get to pay it and i've got to go to the food banks for me food and gas electric so i've got to go along there now to the food bank coming up david thinks he might be better off on benefits after all um well if i took the job it would have basically made us worse off i reckon diaz has a chance meeting with a music manager who's promising to make him a star do you want to go on a journey yeah and i can help you go on the journey and julie's debts have forced her onto the breadline i'm distraught because obviously i didn't think things would get this [Music] bad in britain it's estimated one in four of us don't have anything put aside for a rainy day and our debts are on the up and up in hartlepool unemployed dad of three david has racked up thirty thousand pounds debt in loans unpaid bills and higher purchase agreements now he's been offered an interview for a job as a delivery driver but it comes with a few catches having chewed it over with girlfriend rebecca is decided against going for the interview um well if i took the job it would have basically made us worse off i reckon because i've got my own van time i paid me fine the insurance kept money from your own taxes you have to pay your own tax on that and i would have been left with nothing if you don't get any work in one day or two days or three days i'm gonna work for three days and i've got no money to pay bills and stuff like that which is not whatever they said is guaranteed work but when i read up reviews and looked looked into my interview just wasn't worth it david says he would even have to pay a 60 pound fee to apply for the job but there's no guarantee of work he thinks he's better off signing on when it happened i felt angry and i was pissed pissed off differently when like a couple of days ago but now i'm all right now i just have to carry on and still look for work but like obviously people know i'm looking for work so i can't say oh at least um he's trying to look for work obviously which i am [Music] in maidstone unemployed dad diaz is weeks away from eviction at the moment the only money he has coming in are his benefits in order to carry on claiming every three weeks he needs a doctor's note to say he's unfit to work hello um i was phoning to get a repeat um medical pros um certificate please diaz has booked an appointment to see his gp thank you very much yeah cheers bye he's hoping the doctor will continue to sign him off sick and has decided to smile no for his appointment my mom always said whenever you go to see the government you should try and dress up smart i don't know why but i've always listened to what she said diaz heads out to the doctors after a short wait he's got the medical certificate he was hoping for right just got my certificate now i'm going to um send this off by bringing it down to the job center and then fax this to the esa head office diaz's benefits are sorted for now but he's still no closer to paying off his renter ears [Music] in seoum former nightclub singer julie is also facing eviction unless she can clear 800 pounds of the renter ears she owes to the council with only 14 pounds a week housing benefit coming in she's been forced to use a food bank for the first time in her life i'm distraught because obviously i didn't think things would get this bad bad but um i need to sort i need to sort my bills out i've got to get on top of it and being on benefits people that's what happens to you when you want benefits bills pile up and you can't manage you know what soon [Music] with julie needing to save every penny to avoid eviction she's stocked up on the basics from the local food bank necessities like pasta cereals rice tins jams um saw powder just normal family things um i think it's because of someone that's worked my whole life you don't want anybody know that you can't afford food you don't want anybody to know that you're going forward hating enough having to go in there and show people how vulnerable you are julie now realizes she made a big mistake five years ago by not declaring her income it's left her in a far worse situation [Music] a 2 [Music] million see i suppose in a way i shouldn't have a few years ago when i did decide this thing i shouldn't have done it but by god i shouldn't have to pay all these years later and i got off here [Music] [Music] the unpaid bills keep piling up that's [Music] good notice of summons of arrears payday loans which i would never advise anybody to get a payday loan more debts more more debt collectors more another 24 7 money box another payday loan uh yeah so there's a lot to sort out a lot diaz has been trying to make it as a singer now he's hoping an unexpected meeting outside a local supermarket could lead to a successful music career and a way out of his 10 grand debt i bumped into this guy coming out of tesco's and i was asked i just turned around to mr dart so what's your plans for christmas and then we ended up having a talk the man diaz met in a car park told him that he's a music manager and he says he's interested in signing diaz up i sent him over my website link [Music] and yes this morning he sends me a message back basically saying to me he wants to talk to me asap filled with hope diaz has set up a meeting no i really feel good today you know i mean like um i really feel like my luck is changing you know definitely security company director mick has recently set up a management agency all right man he's told diaz that he's interested in signing up talented artists and he could fit the bill what is the name of your record company or your agency or whatever well i'm forming a company called uh kite flow music international kite floor music international okay and that's it my favorite singer is al gero and i just heard a bit of belgium diaz and mick are having their big meeting in the local pub and diaz is giving it his best shot obviously uh we only met briefly yesterday yes and it was quite a good conversation yeah he was excited i was excited yeah you want to go on a journey yeah and i can help you go on the journey so i need to know a bit about your journey where you want to go what you've done who you are that's it really okay well i've been doing music all my life um i would say i'm just a born entertainer and what i would really like to be as a household name you know for my music to touch as many people as possible you know how many of you touched at the moment um god i would say over a hundred thousand now mick thinks he's the man to help diaz reach the stars and record with the greats my favorite singers at george benson i love you to sing with them well of course they've got a studio down in maui which i saw george benson performing so something like that would be a dream for me to see you do that as well so we'll have to get in touch with him let's hope i can help you do that then i'm sure i can with your talent mick's got big plans and bigger dreams in in in my business i'm called a facilitator which means i help people i'm called a maverick because i do things special same as that that's my dream thank you very much diaz has walked away from today's meeting with a copy of a management contract after years of trying to make it big it's all come as a shock all right what an amazing day oh my gosh i'm i'm still overwhelmed right now um i've just had an amazing lunch last dinner um spoken about my what i want my aspirations in the music uh he seems to understand what i want and what i want to do and um it looks very positive like thank you god what can i say [Music] in seam single mum julie has joined the ranks of the estimated half a million people who use food banks she needs to save money to help clear her renters with a council debt has affected my life massively because um you get you you seek into a depression that you feel like you can't get out of and i'm still struggling with it now i'm still trying to like deal with it for years of being like this and not being able to work and not get any help it's uh it's so destroyed but a routine trip to the dentist has given julie something potentially much more serious to worry about yeah i went to the i went to the dentist and it was just for a regular checkup and he noticed the back of my throat and he sent me uh he got an emergency appointment at chesley street hospital and i had to go through and get the camera down and when she's put the camera down she said that um all down the right side of my body we write tonsil me right vortal cord doesn't work and it's the mirror tonsils got a growth on it the doctors have told julie she could have throat cancer [Music] she's now nervously awaiting the results of more tests obviously i get the scan on thursday because i want to rule out if it is in my lymph glands and how far it's gonna melt glands and the doctor wants all of that checking before she does the surgeries just to be on the safe side with a potential cancer diagnosis julie's feeling even more isolated and fearful for what the future might hold i haven't told alex noyes he doesn't he's only nine he doesn't need to know um i've told him i'm getting my tonsils out so just in case the worst com worst scenario i just think that this month's been the worst month of my life to be quite honest coming up diaz gets his big break the asmr duke is in the building but there's no one there to watch [Music] david's piling up even more debt pre-legal assessment and julie gets the results of her tests [Music] aspiring musician diaz has put his debt where he's aside and traveled to london's west end for what he hopes will be his big break he's been told he'll perform at a glamorous casino and nightclub in front of hundreds of diners if it goes well diaz is hoping music manager mick who we met outside tesco will sign him up this is something that's life-changing at the end of this performance i could have a contract with a manager and then some point this year i could have a major recording deal this will change my life and it will change the life not only for myself but for my kids and for my family so i'm going to give it 100 i'm going to give it 1 000. [Music] at the venue mick has got some bad news diaz is going to be performing to an empty room we're not doing the diners okay so you've got just an open space to do what you want to do wow which is a showcase to me there it is diaz is disappointed as he believed his performance was going to be watched by someone who might book him for future gigs it's a bloody shame man this guy made us go do all of this stuff and he doesn't even tell me but he's missing the live performance so kind of like he was the one who who pushed us to do this he's a bit upset i must admit he's sitting there and he's a bit right there and he said i mean i wish i'd come back home but mick doesn't want today to be a complete waste of time he's decided to shoot some promotional video on his mobile phone and diaz is still keen to impress the idea is to perform to my manager so he can see what he's signing and um hopefully the rest will be history all right let's do this this track is called do you really have to go [Music] [Music] that's it come and sign a contract now if you want whoa really perfect performance over now it's down to business oh my god well diaz one song is good enough for me mate seriously yeah you know i came with like six though oh we might even have a couple in a minute and then party later right this is a contract we've gone through right yes we're all happy with it yeah everything's great yeah we're gonna sign it now and that's it i'm your manager i'm gonna take you on your journey you wanna go well this is amazing then seriously i've done my bit you've got to sign it and well you're saying already no no no i signed it within the first verse oh gosh well all right that's me diaz is hoping that having mick as his manager will be his ticket to stardom and out of debt in see him julie's recently been told by doctors she might have throat cancer best friend courtney has been an ever-present shoulder to cry on today julie's just received the test results she's been waiting for and thankfully she's got the all clear i don't think i don't think i've ever been happy because i just thought get in and i just i couldn't be happier now everything seems to be falling into place it kind of puts everything in perspective i was thinking you know there is a light at the end of the tunnel as long as you you get on top of things and you sort out plans payment plans and you keep your job as long as you can keep your job and you can get on you you end up you know you get out of the debt that you're in that's that's not what matters it's all right keep the roof over your head it's what matters in life is being healthy been alive and being a good man being a good friend and being there for your friends and just getting on with life and i'm never gonna let things trust me up anymore [Music] when i went in the hospital and found out that it wasn't cancer what a massive relief i just thank god thank god i'm still here for me soon now julie's cancer worries are behind her she's also had some more good news she's just had a letter from the council to say some of her housing benefits are being reinstated the extra cash means she can start paying off her rent arrears it says you were underpaid 182.54 from the period of the 25th to 7th extra 20 pound a month which is an extra 20 pound a month on me raise i can pay yeah i'll just pay exactly the same amount just then it'll get it it'll get it down quick i want it yeah so that's that's a weight off your mind [Music] in hartley pool after turning down an interview david's 30 grand debts aren't going away birthdays and christmas have proven expensive because i said i only want to spend about 150 quid on each of them and i think we probably spent about 250 quid on each of them so that's like 750 quid on three kids it's because of some of the presents what you buy like 50 odd quid to fund his spending on the children david has turned to yet more borrowing and i took another law now just before christmas and mcgovern took another loan out to focus but was we were seeing people now it was just really a renew and obviously we didn't really want to board obviously we want that the extra money just over christmas period because obviously we didn't know what we're going to be doing as the loans tot up so do the red letters [Music] um it's just a pre-legal assessment saying that or [Music] 247 pound 56 pence if i had the money i said it wouldn't allow me i would pay off on the day something i would never get knee that there's not like that and i get my credit back but obviously i don't win the lobby because i don't put the lobby on stuff with no chance of striking it lucky david hasn't got the money to pay his bills i've never had beerus like i said that there 247 pound 56 pins it would cost more than percent me a quart than them actually trying to get the money for us [Music] back in maidstone diaz has finally had some good news despite performing to an empty room in a london casino he's now been promised a paid gig after doing the showcase my manager mick has managed to secure a few bookings now at the casino but the money won't be enough for diaz to avoid his looming eviction today he's off into town to try and find somewhere new to rent i'm gonna go into a couple of estate agents and basically see if there's any properties that you know can suit my budget but after meeting the estate agent diaz is shocked by how much a move will cost him the total figure that i'm gonna need to get to move in is say about 3200 i would have to be earning 32 000 to be able to move in without having to get a guarantor involved basically i mean i don't have the money right now to be able to do this i would have nowhere to go to right this minute with his debts and no job for now diaz will have to juggle dreams of stardom with a search for work obviously my my back's against the wall regarding the situation i'm in um so i put my cv out there and i can't rely on anybody to to bail me out of this situation i've been to a job interview yesterday which looks quite promising as well um back in it what i usually do and this is the first interview i've been to um but it seems like there's quite a few lined up as well in the future diaz hopes coming off benefits will lead to a debt-free future regarding the debt situation i mean when i go back to work you know obviously i'll be able to increase the payments i'm making and i do think you know before the end of the year i should be able to be debt-free [Music] [Music] [Music] his sudden death on christmas day shocked the world take a look at the last days of george michael brand new next the doc dodgers finally cave and check in for a proper checkup and you don't tell the doctor over on five star next whilst on five usa even firehouse 51 isn't safe from corruption in new chicago fire [Music]

Channel: Galactic Defender

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Length: 45min 8sec (2708 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 27 2022