went for esa medical 5 months ago

dmg24

Another thought, which I should have remembered to tell you before you saw anyone - make sure you get a receipt for all documents you hand in, even if they only take copies of them. Also, ask them to note down which forms you have filled in, just in case any are lost!

nottinghamshirelad

dmg24 wrote: »

Tell the LA that you wish to claim LHA/ HB on the basis of your low income. Unless you have other income or capital over £6,000, the type of JSA you receive will not make a difference to your claim (but one is easier for them to process than the other, hence why they would rather wait ). You do not have to wait until your JSA claim has been processed.

I can't see why your initial JSA claim will take longer than anybody elses. It may take a bit longer to get your backdated payment, but the rest of your claim should be straightforward. Also don't worry if the first letter you receive does not refer to the backdating period, the letters are standard so may not reflect that you still have an outstanding claim.

Why are you worried about your eligibility? Going on the information you have given, there isn't anything that stands out as unusual.

I know it doesn't seem like it now, but 2-3 weeks is very good compared to some areas (and some benefits).

Any luck with the courses, or any potential jobs?

thanks again dmg, i just worry alot about money not really tryed with the courses, i have rang around some contractors and agencys, just in the process of updating my cv and sending it out

i aint got reciepts of the forms they have taken, i enquired about them doing it on the basis of nill income, but she kind of dodged the question

she also said that the jcp should have sorted the housing side of things too, i felt like she expected me to know that, i felt quite angry about that (think its just me worrying and being over sensitive )

what do i do now?

ring them and tell them i want the housing doing on low income?

also what info will they need if they do it that way? thanks again dmg

dmg24

You could have done it through the JCP, but it should be easier to do it directly - all depends on how much the LA wants to help you (I have a low opinion of LA benefit depts!).

Have they said that they will process your HB/ LHA application prior to you getting your JSA award? If so, you don't need to do anything. If not, you should take in evidence of any bank accounts, savings etc.

Without wanting to worry you even more, if they don't do anything until you get your JSA award, you are then looking at another few weeks to get your LHA award - I would be surprised if you got anything before Christmas doing it this way.

It irritates me that many LA's give the impression that they cannot process applications without proof of other benefit entitlement. Maybe if they realised that, if this was the case it would make much more sense for the DWP to also administer housing benefits (and so leaving them without a job), they may be a bit more helpful!

nottinghamshirelad

dmg24 wrote: »

You could have done it through the JCP, but it should be easier to do it directly - all depends on how much the LA wants to help you (I have a low opinion of LA benefit depts!).

Have they said that they will process your HB/ LHA application prior to you getting your JSA award? If so, you don't need to do anything. If not, you should take in evidence of any bank accounts, savings etc.

Without wanting to worry you even more, if they don't do anything until you get your JSA award, you are then looking at another few weeks to get your LHA award - I would be surprised if you got anything before Christmas doing it this way.

It irritates me that many LA's give the impression that they cannot process applications without proof of other benefit entitlement. Maybe if they realised that, if this was the case it would make much more sense for the DWP to also administer housing benefits (and so leaving them without a job), they may be a bit more helpful!

they have filled the form out and asked me to provide the landlord certificate (which i will get him to fill in this week) and then provide them with my details of what jsa i am getting

thats all, i have made an appointment for next wednesday to go back and hopefully have details of the award.

im going the job centre tomorrow to fill out the jsa 5 form, is there anything i should ask when im there?

or is there anything i can be doing to speed it all up?

dmg24

I think you are doing all that you can.

If you have not received your JSA award by Wednesday take your bank statements to the LA and insist that they assess your award based on your current (lack of) income.

nottinghamshirelad

dmg24 wrote: »

I think you are doing all that you can.

If you have not received your JSA award by Wednesday take your bank statements to the LA and insist that they assess your award based on your current (lack of) income.

i will do, i will ring my bank tomorrow and get them to send the statements through. tomorrow

nottinghamshirelad

one last think dmg if you have any idea about this side of housing benefit;

i recieved a letter saying it has been suspended from 10/11/09 and my last payment recieved was on the 6th, so does that mean i am owed any money off them??

if so do you have any idea of how many days?

dmg24

If your benefit was paid fortnightly then it is likely that it would be fortnightly in arrears. If your claim was suspended on the 10th, then you should still have a payment outstanding. However, I've said that before and then the LA has produced a calculation to prove me wrong, so best to ask when you go in what period the last payment was to cover.

nottinghamshirelad

dmg24 wrote: »

If your benefit was paid fortnightly then it is likely that it would be fortnightly in arrears. If your claim was suspended on the 10th, then you should still have a payment outstanding. However, I've said that before and then the LA has produced a calculation to prove me wrong, so best to ask when you go in what period the last payment was to cover.

thanks again, i was payed fortnightlydirectly to my account, i assume i will get a final payment on 20th, if not i will ring them and find out.

god i will feel better when all this is sorted , thanks again for all your help its been fantastic

Macro_3

Have they actually said that they won't assess your HB claim without proof of entitlement to JSA?

In my LA, we often pay on either nil income or notional JSAC (to prevent overpayment) - when I say often, I mean it's something most assessors do as routine. However, we also ask for proof of JSA as routine because it is needed to amend the claim evenually. That doesn't mean that we don't get the claim into payment in the meantime.

I'd be surprised if the LA doesn't pay on nil/notional - considering the pressures on LA's regarding their stats.