Support for Mortgage Interest query

timgallon

Hi - if anyone can help with the following query it would be much appreciated.

I have been on contribution based JSA for just over 5 months now and will need to apply for income based JSA shortly.

I should be OK to receive this as I have under 6K savings.

As i understand i if i am in receipt of income JSA i should be able to claim support for mortgage interest.

However, i have read you have to wait 13 weeks. Does this 13 weeks apply from when i start receiving income based JSA or does the fact that i have been out of work for 6 months mean i qualify for SMI payments immediately?

If i have to wait 13 weeks from when i receive income JSA is there any other benefits towards my housing costs that could help me?

Thanks.

tcr_3

Assuming you're on your own, no other income & no savings over £16,000 at the time of your original claim ... they should have advised you to claim income based JSA, plus contributory JSA, right at the very beginning. That way you could've been sent an MI12 form to claim help with your mortgage at week 9, with help for your mortgage kicking in from week 13 onwards. That help would've been in addition to what you've already received.

As it stands, you need to apply for income based JSA immediately. Call them to claim that & request an MI12 application form for mortgage assistance be sent out immediately ... you'll need to complete the first few parts of that, then send it onto your lender. They'll return it to DWP. Assuming you told your adviser about your mortgage at your original interview, you've got good grounds to apply for mortgage assistance to be backdated to week 13 so you don't lose out.

I think they'll book you into the local Job Centre to apply for income based JSA, thinks it's a JSA3 they'll complete with you.

timgallon

Thanks TCR.

Yes i am on my own and have no other income, although i did have back then over £16k i cant remember them asking me this, they just said i was to go on contribution JSA which isnt income/savings related. When i signed on nearly 6 months ago i did ask whether i could go on income JSA because i knew this was the only way i could get SMI but they said i had to use the contribution JSA bit up first before i went to income. I had no diea you could apply for both at the same time. I am pretty sure i told them about my mortgage back then.

From what you are saying it sounds like i have been badly advised here. I'll do what you say with the forms. What do i need to do to request the back dating of SMI from week 13? Also is there anyone else you would advise i speak to about this if there are any problems? All of a sudden i dont feel very confident in the JC plus people doing what is best for me!

Cheers

Tim

tcr_3

If you had over £16k at the time you originally claimed contributory JSA, you wouldn't have qualified for income based JSA & help with your mortgage anyway. That's because your savings were too high. But if you mentioned you had a mortgage at your new claims interview, they should've advised you to claim income based JSA once your savings had reduced to under £16k.

But from what you're saying, your savings have gone down by £10k in 5 months, is that right ? So that adds another complication. They're OK if your savings reduce gradually due to normal day to day living expenses, they're less amused if you have to claim income based benefits if your savings get hammered. Is there any particular reason why your savings have fallen so steeply over such a short period of time ?

I'm not being nosey, the reason I ask is that they have to consider whether you've deprived yourself of capital with the intention of claiming benefits, or a higher rate of benefits, than you'd otherwise be entitled to. And that's going to make your income based JSA claim & any backdating much less straightforward to process.

timgallon

Thanks again tcr.

No they did not say i should apply for income jsa if my savings went under £16K - they never asked about my savings anyway. They just said my first 6 months would be contribution jsa. As i mentioned i asked if i could go income jsa before that i remember them saying not until the contributionary period had finished.

My mortgage is pretty big and i have other debts i have to pay off and is the reason why my cash has gone down so much. Without a job things are clearly unsustainable so I am process of trying to sell my house in Brum and move in with family.Problem is trying to get a decent price for my house to cover what i owe the building society.

tcr_3

Well, I think you should still apply for JSA(IB) & request that claim be backdated to when your savings went under £16,000. They'll ask you to provide proof for how you've spent your savings during the intervening period so you'll have to dig out bank statements, receipts etc & explain what you spent and why.

Assuming they consider your spending reasonable & once you're over that particular hurdle they'll then consider help with your mortgage. You'll be applying for backdating on the grounds you weren't correctly advised at the start of the claim.

So. Call them up & get the income based JSA claim in. Request an MI12 be sent to you. Attend the JC interview & request backdating for your claim, supply them with the savings/expenditure info they need. And swing by here if you've any problems or queries.

timgallon

Thanks again tcr. I'll ring up and ask for the forms today.

fiona12345_2

Hi, I have a similar problem, I'm in the process of being made redundant at the moment and I've spoken to 4 different people at Job Centre plus and none of them can tell me if I can get IB JSA or SMI as I will qualify for CB JSA. I would qualify for IB JSA as I have no partner/savings. I really want to plan for the worst (being out of work) and want to speak to my mortgage company now to discuss possible options whilst I'm out of work, but need to know what my money situation will be.

Has anyone actually been able to get SMI whilst qualifying for CB JSA, as I can't seem to find anyone who has, only people thinking they should get it and the job centre who told me I'd just have to put a claim in and see what happens!!

I'm grateful for any help, thanks

timgallon

Hi Fiona. I exchanged a few PMs with TCR that were helpful. I'll cobble them together and send you a PM of what i know in the next couple of days.

My experiences so far with people at Job Centre Plus is that half of them are completely incompetent. The latest fiasco is trying to sort out is their failure to advise me in that making a back dated claim for IB JSA they failed to give me a JSA 5 form. So i did it all on a JSA 3 form when it should have been JSA 3 plus a JSA 5.

tcr_3

fiona12345 wrote: »

Hi, I have a similar problem, I'm in the process of being made redundant at the moment and I've spoken to 4 different people at Job Centre plus and none of them can tell me if I can get IB JSA or SMI as I will qualify for CB JSA. I would qualify for IB JSA as I have no partner/savings. I really want to plan for the worst (being out of work) and want to speak to my mortgage company now to discuss possible options whilst I'm out of work, but need to know what my money situation will be.

Has anyone actually been able to get SMI whilst qualifying for CB JSA, as I can't seem to find anyone who has, only people thinking they should get it and the job centre who told me I'd just have to put a claim in and see what happens!!

I'm grateful for any help, thanks

Sorry, Fiona, I didn't see your contribution to this thread until tonight.

Yes, people can claim both JSA(C) and JSA(IB) at the same time. In your case that's the best thing to do anyway, so long as any redundancy payment doesn't take you over the £16k limit.

You can apply for both elements by phone on 0800 055 6688 or online here http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_178228. Make sure you tell them you have a mortgage. At about 9 weeks into your claim, DWP should send you out form MI12. That's the claim form for help with your mortgage. Complete parts 1-6, then send it onto your mortgage lender, they'll complete the rest of the form & they'll return it to DWP. If you haven't had the MI12 by week 9, phone DWP and ask them to send one out.

Poor Tim. Can't believe you're still getting grief about this. Time to take things a bit higher, maybe make a complaint to the customer service manager at your local benefit delivery centre, see if that concentrates minds.

fiona12345_2

Thank you! I will do that when the time comes. :j

Its just crazy how difficult basic advice is to get from the JCP, the system is so complex that most of the staff don't even understand it!