JSA claims taking 6 weeks?

Rich44_2

Just had a phone from the JCP and apparently for the entire EIGHT WEEKS we're entitled to £180

Eight weeks £180 what a joke so even though i've paid my NI stamp for 15 years because my partner is self employed i'm not entitled to contributions based JSA

£180 that barely covers the cost of the repeated phone calls and travelling nearly 40 miles each time to the damn job centre for all the little twiddly things they've had me do on top of my normal signing on.

The manager of the JCP called and couldn't give me the exact breakdown on what I will get just that he has released £180 to me which I should get in about 3 days time (middle of next week)

I wish I hadn't bothered signing on now and just taken the car off the road it would have actually SAVED me money.

Well guess I have to wait for the paperwork now to see !!!!!! is going on.

Can I appeal this and get a single claim for contributions based instead of this, I didnt at any point say I wanted a joint claim or ask for IB or contributions based they've done all this on their own

skintchick

Rich44 - I have no idea what you can do. As per my own thread, I was wrongly paid only £6.07 for a month in December and am STILL waiting for the dept to sort it out! I have got my MP involved and they have written for me to the area manager (if they'd give out contact details I could have done that myself).

The DWP is a complete joke. They have lied to me and failed to return calls. I agree with another poster that it's a way to keep people off the unemployed register as I can't even begin to contemplate that this is just mass incompetence on a grand scale, as it depresses me too much.

Rich44_2

Incredible isn't it well all I can do now is wait and see what the paperwork says then get back in touch with them and argue the point.

It's like dealing with CTC/WTC where you can't ever speak to the real people behind the system just the poor joes who answer the phones

AsknAnswer

Any claim you submit should be assessed firstly for contributions based, and if you don't qualify for that they look at Income Based, whereby they have to take into account the entire houshold income, and any savings.

Rich44_2

But I do qualify for contributions based as an individual as no gaps in work for over 15 years but as a couple we don't qualify

My point was I was never asked what I wanted to claim nor was it explained to me the differences etc.

Apart from CTC/CB etc our income is nothing

I fail to see why I should not be entitled to the full £64.30 per week seeing as I have paid in to the system

Like I said i'll have to wait and see when the paperwork comes and challenge it

costaerer

i applied for JSA on may 4th!!!! weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks went past and i kept signing on and nothing happened...saw no money.......

so i called, and they called me back and low and behold they sent me a nice giro cheque the day after.... sometimes they need a push in the right direction...

we also applied for housing benefits at the same time, the council wrote to us asking for some imformation which i never even sent them so i prosumed i wouldnt get it because i didnt reply...
then yesterday i get a letter saying ive been awarded housing and council tax benefits!!! and nearly 1k will be in my account on monday.....unbelievable...
felt like i had won the lotttery....im just waiting till monday to see if the money is there.....


but just hold out and hopefully you should get your money soon enough :-)

oh , and also, u can ask to change job centres if there is one nearer u.i actually asked for one slightly further that had free parking coz the nearer one was costing me 3 quid each time i signed on!

Tigsteroonie

Rich, from what you've said, it would seem that they've automatically considered you for a joint claim for JSA - you need to insist that the re-consider your claim for (C)JSA on a single basis, if you've got two complete calendar years (06-07 & 07-08) of NI contributions then you should be entitled. That's certainly what I was claiming for the first couple of months until our circumstances changed.

Good luck making the next call, I presume by now you are insisting on being put straight through to a Team Leader.

Rich44_2

I have the name of the JCP Norwich office manager now so I will just ask for him

Once the paperwork arrives I will presumably have something in there which details how to make an appeal of my award so I will go back to them and insist they award me JSA (C) instead as the difference between 8 weeks = £180 and 8 weeks = £514 is not exactly insigificant in fact it will be the difference between keeping the car on the road and not I expect as it's in need of a little TLC (new front ball joint and top engine mount) neither of which is particularly expensive but.....

NASA_2

Rich, when the claim is assessed it is assessed JSA(C) only or JSA(C and IB) so you will always get some element of JSA(C) (Assuming NIC's are paid).

Its so much easier, and quicker, to process a JSA(C) claim than it is a JSA(C and IR) claim. They should have advised of this at the start.

Rich44_2

Nope no one even advised me of the different types of JSA or whether I wanted to make a joint or single claim if they had i'd have said single JSA (C). Oh well nevermind will try to sort it out once I have the paperwork.

Do you think it's doable to fix?