JSA & Morgage Interest Support

cazzybabe

dmg24 wrote: »

I wonder if they have changed his claim to income based JSA only, which is why your usual payment has stopped (this should not happen until 26 weeks) but you are still getting SMI.

The only way you will know for sure is to pursue the matter with the JCP.

Right, he has again made a call and this is the response:

JSA has been switched to IB from Cont based, this happened when SMI kicked in at 13 weeks.

She then said " SMI is only available to people on IB JSA, it can be reverted back to Cont based JSA if he so wishes, however, SMI would not then be payable until week 26"

He has also today rec'd a letter dated 16th Nov from the JC saying " We told you we would take money off your JSA to pay the interest on your mortgage/homeloan. As a result of a change in your circumstances we will stop taking this money from your allowance on 11th February'"

So it seems that we will have the interest or most of it paid on the mortgage but we will struggle to put food on the table?? It really does not seem to be fair especially given his work history.

Please tell me if this sounds correct. Any help is appreciated.

On another note, if my hubby were to get a temporary part time xmas job would 1. SMI still be received 2. Would he be allowd to keep his earnings?

So sorry for all the questions.

karenx

On JSA you can work up to 16 hours but you are only allowed to keep the first £5. So I asume you would still recieve SMI but you would only be £5 better off per week

cazzybabe

But how would you give them the remaining amount? ie. earn £80, keep £5 and pay over £75 when you sign on?

karenx

You tell them how much you are earning, so say for example its £20 per week. So they deduct £15 from your JSA. So you get £49.50 JSA ( I assume its still £64.50 for JSA) and then you keep your £20 wages. So altogether you are getting £69.50.

cazzybabe

But, as i said previously he is only now getting 10p per week JSA because the 13 week qualifier has kicked in he has been moved from contributions based jsa to Income based Jsa and because i earn £100.62 per week he gets nothing. But hey on the upside we do get some interest on our mortgage paid!!! just not enough to feed the kids !!!

dmg24

The woman you spoke to is wrong, he is still entitled to CB JSA, with an underlying entitlement to IB JSA. However, I think I know what they have done. How much is your outstanding mortgage for (the amount that they are covering, before any additional borrowing)?

cazzybabe

dmg24 wrote: »

The woman you spoke to is wrong, he is still entitled to CB JSA, with an underlying entitlement to IB JSA. However, I think I know what they have done. How much is your outstanding mortgage for (the amount that they are covering, before any additional borrowing)?

Its approx 153k.

I asked him to phone again when i was here quoting the following taken from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmtreasy/438/438we12.htm

After the 13 week stage, if the contribution-based JSA claimant meets the qualifying criteria for income-based JSA (and housing costs will now be taken into account in the assessment), they can be awarded SMI. If they are still entitled to contribution based JSA they will continue to receive this, with income-based JSA as a top up until their six month period is completed, at which point they would be transferred to income-based JSA. Note that income-based JSA, unlike its contributory variant, takes into account both savings, and the financial circumstances of any partner. A person on contribution based JSA with significant savings, or a working partner, may therefore not be eligible for income based JSA....

She was not at all impressed. She said that because i earn £102.31 taking into account the £10 disregard (as i said previously my wage slips provided in August were higher than normal due to extra hours) and because there is an income of 96.32pw (i think that is the CTC although it is not that amount now it is £71.71pw) this all means that because it is IB my wages out do the £64.30 . She did then say he could change back to Cont Based but we will not get the SMI. He said to leave it as it is.

Needless to say she was extremely condesending which i find totally out of order, my husband is the nicest person going and at the age of 51 has never upset anyone in industry and then to have this person speak to him like he is a piece of dirt is so degrading.

dmg24

The problem with some JCP call centre staff (and indeed, many other call centres) is that if they do not understand a subject, they go on the defensive. Rather than going away and getting a proper explanation, they would rather just talk down to the person. It is not on, and I would be making a complaint, in order to get an apology, and for the person to get the relevant soft skills training that she clearly needs.

OK, working on very rough figures, your entitlement is as follows:

CB JSA £64.30
IB JSA £36.65
SMI £180
Total £280.95

Income from employment £102.31
Payment to Lender £180

Total (Nearly!) £0.10

What they have done, is rather than deducting your earnings from the payment to the lender, they have paid the full amount to the lender, and deducted the 'overpayment' (not strictly an overpayment) from the amount you receive. This is correct, but you are the first case I have come across where someone has been left with nothing.

If that doesn't make sense let me know and I'll rephrase - it is the first time I have got it straight in my head since the underlying entitlement was introduced in January (if indeed I have got it correct )!

cazzybabe

People skills or lack of them aside!! - have they paid the correct amount in total?

Sorry - feeling a bit thick and really fed up with the system....

Also, sorry to ask but are you able to tell me the sort of position? you hold within the benefit system?

dmg24

cazzybabe wrote: »

People skills or lack of them aside!! - have they paid the correct amount in total?

Sorry - feeling a bit thick and really fed up with the system....

Also, sorry to ask but are you able to tell me the sort of position? you hold within the benefit system?

The amount does sound correct to me. I think the confusion lies in that they deduct your income from your CB part of your JSA, not the IB part that it actually relates to!

I don't work in the benefits system at present, but am studying it as part of my postgrad studies, and have previously claimed SMI (albeit before the underlying entitlement came in).