Minimum JSA Payment allowed?

LumpyCustard_2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Nobody has to pay rent out of JSA/IS, they get rent and council tax paid on top of that! When claimants say they have only 50/64 per week to live on they always ignore the fact that they receive this as well.

If you have over 16K in savings you won't get any help with council tax or housing costs. If you have over 6K you get a reduced amount on a sliding scale.

I live alone in my own place and was just unemployed for 13 months. All I was entitled to was 6 months of JSA (contribution-based) - that was it. Certainly not enough to live on - £25 of the £64.30 was going towards council tax for a start.

BLT_2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Nobody has to pay rent out of JSA/IS, they get rent and council tax paid on top of that! When claimants say they have only 50/64 per week to live on they always ignore the fact that they receive this as well.

I stand corrected on that point, however that is still not a vast amount of money to cover electric, gas, water etc etc and buy food. To tell someone to cut their cloth when they are receiving 200 pounds a month to cover food, utilities, TV licence, and all the other peripherals is just ludicrous. I should imagine half of it is gone before you even consider visiting the supermarket

seven-day-weekend

Your circumstances had changed before you got paid. Your employers would pay you for that time, so you shouldn't have claimed it from the State as well.

Anyway, that's all water under the bridge, I think all you can do now is ask them to reduce the payments while you are unemployed and then pay it back in instalments from your wages when you find work.

I suppose taking it from your JSA they know you will pay it, they have no assurance otherwise, especially as you didn't offer to pay it all the time you were at work.

Rosemary7391

Is it just you you have to support? I would've thought £50 a week was plenty! £25ish on food, £15 on bills, still £10 a week to spare for toiletries etc. It is definitely doable. Maybe ask on the OS board for cheap food ideas?

AngelBadger

BLT wrote: »

I stand corrected on that point, however that is still not a vast amount of money to cover electric, gas, water etc etc and buy food. To tell someone to cut their cloth when they are receiving 200 pounds a month to cover food, utilities, TV licence, and all the other peripherals is just ludicrous. I should imagine half of it is gone before you even consider visiting the supermarket

It's not a lot of money no, but it is possible to do it. Thousands of people do it every week. It's difficult, you have to cut back on everything. It's not supposed to enable people to live in luxury although many people surviving on this amount still manage to have small luxuries.

OP, look around the board and see where you can cut back to save money.

Oldernotwiser

LumpyCustard wrote: »

If you have over 16K in savings you won't get any help with council tax or housing costs. If you have over 6K you get a reduced amount on a sliding scale.

I live alone in my own place and was just unemployed for 13 months. All I was entitled to was 6 months of JSA (contribution-based) - that was it. Certainly not enough to live on - £25 of the £64.30 was going towards council tax for a start.

But you had savings to live on so you still didn't have to pay rent and council tax out of JSA.

Amistoso_2

BLT wrote: »

I stand corrected on that point, however that is still not a vast amount of money to cover electric, gas, water etc etc and buy food. To tell someone to cut their cloth when they are receiving 200 pounds a month to cover food, utilities, TV licence, and all the other peripherals is just ludicrous. I should imagine half of it is gone before you even consider visiting the supermarket

lol, that's life on benefts mate!!!

Kaleidoscope27

I think the best option is just to speak to them about it. See if they can reduce your payments a little bit as it would be better than nothing. Explain you can't afford the fares to get to interviews which is seriously hindering your job seeking.

I'm not feeling too hopeful that they'll help. The whole JSA system doesn't care about this stuff. But it never hurts to ask somebody (or several someones! It once took me 4 months and asking at least 4 different people before I got an answer to one simple question. It's ridiculous.)

Best of luck.

Lillyme

I am trying to get it reduced but not holding my breath - Hopefully I will get a job soon, had 2 interviews this week - as minimum bus fare is £2.50 for a single I got the bus there and walked back. And I am living very much within my means, one decent healthy meal a day, barely use the cooker never the oven, never use the emersion heater,luckily I have a shower.Don't smoke.Don't drink.Friend cuts my hair ready for interviews.

Even £65 pw is a small amount to live on for anyone especially when youv've paid *in* all your life.

.Now I have a contact address for paying back the money I can continue to do so when I am working

Isagorn

Little point she stated that she would have to pay for fare to job interviews.Not so,there is a job interview fares scheme.Its at minimum public transport rates,plus it has to be agreed with the jobcentre prior to the interview .It has to be agreed several days in advance.
But she sounds very lucky if she is going to be inundated with interviews .If your getting a few then you very close to getting that job .