jsa process taking too long

confused_and_need_help

Well where do i start? Im a single mother who has been swapped from income support onto jsa as my child is over 7.
They decided to do this on 30/11 which was fine by me until now i still have received no payment and its now 30/12!!
Nobody at the jobcentre told me the process would take this long i just assumed my money would be there the following week as usual, as ive only been swapped over from income support.
So today has been 4 weeks ive waited, totally ruined my christmas, my daughter has had no presents so we have had a totally horrible christmas, i am still a single parent!! where is the logic swapping me over a few weeks before christmas knowing full well id have no money, thank god ive still had child tax credit off £55 per week which barely covers gas/elec and food!
Could anybody tell me how much longer ill have to wait as they dont seem to know, thankyou

confused_and_need_help

the only thing they told me on the phone is to ask for a crisis loan which i have tried and tried but the line is constantly engaged, i am quite angry as i have attended my interviews etc, and now i have to sort it out by 6th jan or they will be demanding rent and council tax from me, even if i could get through for a loan i shouldnt have to as its them who im waiting for, none of this is my doing, i already owe money to friends and family, if it wasnt for them i dont know what id of done, but now they want their money back as it was only a short term thing, if only id realized on 30/11 that it would take this long, i feel like giving up

Kimitatsu

Can I suggest that you call JC+ and ask them for a time frame? You should have a lone parent adviser attached to your case who will have been able to fast track it all. Also call the CAB and ask them to take your case on.

JSA claims are notoriously bad at being processed during holiday periods and the mail has been very slow due to adverse weather conditions.

Call the council and explain the situation to them so they will not stop your HB and CTB - they can verify your account by calling the JC and ensuring there is no reason for your claim to be stopped.

NickyBat

they have 12 days to process a claim from start to finish. given that this time frame is well overdue, i would be ringing them and a) asking what exactly is the delay and b) for an emergency payment, this is part of your benefit that is not paid back and can be paid the same day either by giro for you to cash at a post office or by same day bank transfer, i think you have been more than patient.

Also when you ring explain it is an emergency and you want an immediate calllback.

duchy

If you get nowhere google for the email address of your MP and email them with FULL details including dates reference numbers etc It is amazing how things speed up once an MP gets involved. I had a tax credit issue roll on for over 6 months -once my MP got involved the owed money was in my bank in just over a week. I simply emailed him and asked if there was anything he could do-He replied in three days -almost wish I'd voted for him now

confused_and_need_help

I called the jobcentre a few days before christmas to see what was going on? im not sure who i spoke to...whoever i seem to speak to in the jc dont seem to have a clue about anything! It wouldnt be so bad if i was on my own but i have my daughter to think about, we have gone without long enough especially over christmas and obviously new year the way its looking, ive done everything they asked me to do, i dont understand why its taking so long, they say "the law says you and your child need such and such amount to live on" What a big load of crap im so stressed out its unreal, my little girl might actually get her belated christmas present some time next year, until then were just about scraping by.
I will call the jc back and ask to speak to my lone parent advisor (another thing they forgot to tell me about) so thankyou for letting me know, if that doesnt work i might just do what you said about calling my mp, it just seems a lot of running round in circles!! i understand the time of year and weather so i dont know why they didnt make the change to jsa until january?? As im probably not the only single parent in this position

NickyBat

It's not really the jobcentre its your local processing centre (wherever that may be) that are responsible for processing the claim. If you ring them now and just be pleasant but insistent they can pay you today. Also always keep a note of the name of the person you speak to -if you feel you are getting nowhere ask to speak to a supervisor.

dmg24

To be fair, you knew the change to JSA was coming long before it actually did, and so should have budgeted for it. How is your job search going?

Oldernotwiser

Couldn't you have asked about it when you went in to sign on? It's not as simple as just changing the name of the benefit.

NickyBat

dmg24 wrote: »

To be fair, you knew the change to JSA was coming long before it actually did, and so should have budgeted for it. How is your job search going?

That's irrelevant, by law they have 12 days........it's been a month!!!!!!!!!!!

dmg24

NickyBat wrote: »

That's irrelevant, by law they have 12 days........it's been a month!!!!!!!!!!!

No, it is not. Whilst there clearly has been a delay in payment, people need to take responsibility for their own finances, and ensuring that you have savings sufficient to see you through a month or so is certainly not unreasonable.