Diary of a tenant: No money, no food and no phone credit | Money | guardian.co.uk

Diary of a tenant: No money, no food and no phone credit | Money | guardian.co.uk

A red-letter day looms. Finally I am due to be paid some jobseeker's allowance, and so I set off to buy some food (the cupboards are actually bare). First I check my balance. Some money was credited, but more was taken out. It's bank charges.

I then realise that what has been credited is not jobseeker's allowance but a portion of housing benefit – or local housing allowance, as it is now known, and the reason defies belief. Frantic phone calls ascertain that "Somebody forgot to press a key," when I signed on, and so my payment did not go through. At the jobcentre, stoic staff do what they can. I mention the bank charges, and one adviser suggests moving my account and complaining. Inwardly, I consider offering staff lessons on pressing the right button, but hold my silence.