A little rant and a bit of advice regarding JSA

busy_mom_2

People who live together are a 'couple' no difference where husband is during the week i'm afraid.
If he was in the forces same thing when away, if you had children together you couldn't claim as a lone parent because he works away from home.

Just_a_girl

woodbine wrote: »

The big difference is that she lives with a parent and step parent and not her boyfriend and his parents as you do.You are as you say in a catch 22 situation which is not the fault of the benefits people,my advice would be get any full time job you can anywhere and move on with your life.Whilst I fully appreciate that jobs arent easy to come by it isnt impossible

I have been trying very hard, I dont want to be out of work and i dont really want to have to rely on benefits, but how am i suppose to live on nothing, I apply on average to 2 jobs a week - and I still havent managed to get one.

I appreciate the advice, but i really feel everyone has missed my point, im not a scrounge bag i just need some help finacially. cheers

Jomo

Just_a_girl wrote: »

I have been trying very hard, I dont want to be out of work and i dont really want to have to rely on benefits, but how am i suppose to live on nothing, I apply on average to 2 jobs a week - and I still havent managed to get one.

I appreciate the advice, but i really feel everyone has missed my point, im not a scrounge bag i just need some help finacially. cheers

I think people have fully explained to you why you aren't able to claim whilst your boyfriends sister can and have also offered you ways of improving your situation, it is up to you now!

Good luck with your job hunt

busy_mom_2

Just_a_girl wrote: »

I have been trying very hard, I dont want to be out of work and i dont really want to have to rely on benefits, but how am i suppose to live on nothing, I apply on average to 2 jobs a week - and I still havent managed to get one.

I appreciate the advice, but i really feel everyone has missed my point, im not a scrounge bag i just need some help finacially. cheers

Not saying you are not trying but what I am saying is you are a couple, can't your partner offer you financial help?

Just_a_girl

Jomo wrote: »

I think people have fully explained to you why you aren't able to claim whilst your boyfriends sister can and have also offered you ways of improving your situation, it is up to you now!

Good luck with your job hunt

I do fully understand why i cant claim, hence why i said i think people missed my point, I understand where they are coming from totally, my point was the system to me seemed a little unfair.

Of corse parents are going to support there kids. My point being, i suppose to put it in a different way, why should 'kids' be able to claim while living at home with there parents? because in my view and the view of some of my friends who claim, they are being supported, but when you claim for JSA this isnt taken into consideration.

So for example lets say remove my situation and put in a hyperthetical one (which im sure must exist). Mr A lives with his girlfriend who works, he just finished studying as an adult learner and cant claim as his girlfriend works. Shes on a very low wage, they now have to struggle paying rent, bills and other stuff untill he can find work.

Miss B just finished her degree, ran up debts cos she like to party, moves back home where she pays no rent and both her parents have high paying jobs and happily give her 'pocket money' if she needs stuff. she claims and now recieves £50 a week.

My point is this is slightly unfair but is basically what happens Mr A and his girlfriend are finacially worse off than Miss A, yet she still qualifies for the help while they dont.

It was just a rant, really, I honestly didnt mean to offend anyone or imply that some people shouldnt be allowed to claim, I just wanted to get the point across.

I know my situation is quite rare, it just saddened me that i payed my NI for many years before university, I never claimed back anything health wise or work wise. I payed my way, and when i tried to improve my prospects I left university and was told by some rude person down the telephone i was not entitled to anything and made to feel like i was in the wrong for even asking for the help in the first place. I understand the rules are out there for a reason and a lot of people do try to fraud the system, but when genuine people are refused help i feel this is very sad.

Jomo

Just_a_girl wrote: »

I do fully understand why i cant claim, hence why i said i think people missed my point, I understand where they are coming from totally, my point was the system to me seemed a little unfair.

Of corse parents are going to support there kids. My point being, i suppose to put it in a different way, why should 'kids' be able to claim while living at home with there parents? because in my view and the view of some of my friends who claim, they are being supported, but when you claim for JSA this isnt taken into consideration.

So for example lets say remove my situation and put in a hyperthetical one (which im sure must exist). Mr A lives with his girlfriend who works, he just finished studying as an adult learner and cant claim as his girlfriend works. Shes on a very low wage, they now have to struggle paying rent, bills and other stuff untill he can find work.

Miss B just finished her degree, ran up debts cos she like to party, moves back home where she pays no rent and both her parents have high paying jobs and happily give her 'pocket money' if she needs stuff. she claims and now recieves £50 a week.

My point is this is slightly unfair but is basically what happens Mr A and his girlfriend are finacially worse off than Miss A, yet she still qualifies for the help while they dont.

It was just a rant, really, I honestly didnt mean to offend anyone or imply that some people shouldnt be allowed to claim, I just wanted to get the point across.

I know my situation is quite rare, it just saddened me that i payed my NI for many years before university, I never claimed back anything health wise or work wise. I payed my way, and when i tried to improve my prospects I left university and was told by some rude person down the telephone i was not entitled to anything and made to feel like i was in the wrong for even asking for the help in the first place. I understand the rules are out there for a reason and a lot of people do try to fraud the system, but when genuine people are refused help i feel this is very sad.

Don't worry, there are a lot of unjusts with benefits system, the people who gain the most have never contributed a thing

busy_mom_2

Just_a_girl wrote: »

I do fully understand why i cant claim, hence why i said i think people missed my point, I understand where they are coming from totally, my point was the system to me seemed a little unfair.

Of corse parents are going to support there kids. My point being, i suppose to put it in a different way, why should 'kids' be able to claim while living at home with there parents? because in my view and the view of some of my friends who claim, they are being supported, but when you claim for JSA this isnt taken into consideration.

So for example lets say remove my situation and put in a hyperthetical one (which im sure must exist). Mr A lives with his girlfriend who works, he just finished studying as an adult learner and cant claim as his girlfriend works. Shes on a very low wage, they now have to struggle paying rent, bills and other stuff untill he can find work.

Miss B just finished her degree, ran up debts cos she like to party, moves back home where she pays no rent and both her parents have high paying jobs and happily give her 'pocket money' if she needs stuff. she claims and now recieves £50 a week.

My point is this is slightly unfair but is basically what happens Mr A and his girlfriend are finacially worse off than Miss A, yet she still qualifies for the help while they dont.

It was just a rant, really, I honestly didnt mean to offend anyone or imply that some people shouldnt be allowed to claim, I just wanted to get the point across.

I know my situation is quite rare, it just saddened me that i payed my NI for many years before university, I never claimed back anything health wise or work wise. I payed my way, and when i tried to improve my prospects I left university and was told by some rude person down the telephone i was not entitled to anything and made to feel like i was in the wrong for even asking for the help in the first place. I understand the rules are out there for a reason and a lot of people do try to fraud the system, but when genuine people are refused help i feel this is very sad.

Mr. A and girlfriend would claim working tax credit as low income and help towards rent and council tax, no worse off that the £60 jsa he would or wouldn't get.

Edinburgh-foodie

Hallo Just-a-girl.

I totally get your rant. I recently graduated and tried to claim JSA. At the time I was living with friends, so I qualified. They lost my application, and by the time they'd admitted this and I'd reapplied, I'd run out of money for the rent and been forced to move in with my boyfriend.

So now I don't qualify. It's not so bad as my boyfriend has quite a decent job and is happy to support me. The thing I think is unfair is that no one at the benefits office has asked me this. They have no idea how much he earns, or whether he is willing to support me.

Theoretically, he could be an absolute b*st*rd. He could use the fact that he has all the money to make my life a misery. He buys all the food, and decides when the heating comes on. He bought me some shoes the other day as my old ones were falling apart and had holes in. However, he could have equally chosen to not buy food for me, not turn the heating on, and let me walk around with wet feet.

To get on the hyperbole, the DWP is forcing some people in to "prostitution". I can't afford to move out, and I don't have any friends or family in this area that I could live with. I can't even afford to get a train to my mum's house. So I have to stay with my boyfriend (whether I like him or not) because if I break up with him, my only option is some kind of homeless shelter or battered women's home. Luckily I do want to stay with him, but the DWP don't know that.

I'm well-educated and have worked in the civil service in the past, but I find the benefits system tricky to navigate. A lot of advisers in the job centre don't seem to know that much (certainly not the ones I've asked anyway), and just pass you to a phone number, who usually tell you to ask at the job centre. I have internet access, and can use sites like MSE to find other grants or credits that I might be entitled to, but again, this is dependent on my boyfriend allowing me to use his computer and internet!

So if I can't get anywhere with the system, how is someone who hasn't had the education I've had meant to understand it? How is someone in an abusive relationship who is struggling to get out going to magically save up enough money from nowhere to support themselves while they make their escape? Find lots of grants using their non-existent internet access?

I think the presumption that as you have slept with someone they will look after you financially is a pretty unstable premise on which to base entitlement.

(rant over now)

busy_mom_2

Edinburgh-foodie wrote: »

Hallo Just-a-girl.



I'm well-educated and have worked in the civil service in the past, but I find the benefits system tricky to navigate. A lot of advisers in the job centre don't seem to know that much (certainly not the ones I've asked anyway), and just pass you to a phone number, who usually tell you to ask at the job centre. I have internet access, and can use sites like MSE to find other grants or credits that I might be entitled to, but again, this is dependent on my boyfriend allowing me to use his computer and internet!

(rant over now)

I'm sorry but if you have worked for the DWP in the past you will know jobcentre staff recieve no benefit training what-so-ever, we don't process claims we don't tell people whether they are entitled or not. We deal with labour market conditions. We direct you the phones because it is benefit processers and benfit decision makers who are trained in benefits and they alone decide if you are entitled to any financial assistance

rant over

Edinburgh-foodie

I wasn't having a go at Jobcentre staff as such, more the faulty premises used by the DWP.

However, the two questions I have asked so far are a) how do I change my address and b) what do I have to tell you when I do get a job and both of them were met with blank looks. I don't expect a full analysis of my financial situation, but a little bit of guidance wouldn't hurt.