Back Dating Advice - Misinformed by Belfast

Hi all,

My situation is a little unorthodox and I'm unsure what to do next.

I had a change of circumstance in my JSA claim on the 22nd December, I contacted the JSA phone line on the 12th January (I think) and they told me to inform my Work Coach of this at my next appointment. On the 25th January, I had my appointment with my Work Coach, informed him of my change of circumstance and he gave me a new claim to complete which was looked over by him and sent off to Belfast. I received a call from Belfast on the 30th January informing me that I cannot claim JSA and must claim UC instead and that my application for JSA would be declined.

From here I tried to apply for UC online and input my postcode but was redirected to a page saying "You can't get Universal Credit at the moment." After a number of calls to the UC phone line I eventually got through to a human being and they informed my that I live in a "Live Service Area" I was misinformed by Belfast and I should be claiming JSA.

I went back online and completed a new JSA claim on the 1st February, which I had my interview for on the 8th February. At this interview I explained how I'd been sent back and forth to the new Work Coach and she gave me a Back Dating form to complete to ensure I get my back payment for the Change of Circumstance which happened on the 22nd December.

More recently I have received a letter saying my payment will be back dated to the 1st February, which alines with when I reapplied for JSA. I heard nothing about the back dating for the 22nd December so called the JSA Phone Line for some advice. I was told that I should have been receiving JSA since my first application which was 6th December and have been sent a Back Dating form to complete. The advisor on the phone told me to detail the misinformation I received etc. but I'm unsure how to do this with the structure of the form.

The whole process has been longwinded and confusing and at the minute I'm at a loss! If I could have any advice on what to do I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.