Applied for Self-Employment Credit and still waiting

999mph

Hi

I applied for Self Employment Credit on the 28th of March, just 2 days before the SEC program closure on the 31st of March this year. Just a few days later I get sent an invitation to come in for an interview with one of the representives at the Job Centre. The interview was scheduled for May. When I go in, I am told that the invite was sent out by some "unknown person" in error and that according to their records that I had been discharged from JSA as of the 26th of March (which was when I declared myself self employed). The form was filled at the Jobcentre for this and all I had to do was send in the UTR number but I did manage to do this as well after a few prolonged phone calls with the Tax Office.
So according to the Job Centre I have been discharged and have been put down as "found employment". I told them that I declared myself self-employed on such as such a date and asked them that I hadn't received any SEC payments nor have I received any communication informing me about the situation with my application.
They told me that it takes several weeks or perhaps even a few months for the application to be processed and approved. When I asked them if there was anyone I could speak to about the progress of the application I was told that I cannot speak to them directly and I have to let the application take it's course for now.

Does anyone know how I can followup on this? And if there's anyone I could phone to find out the progress of the application (if it was ever forwarded)?

Cheers.

Horace

I must admit that I have never heard of Self Employment Credit. I have heard about Working Tax Credits that you claim from the HMRC.

I think that if you have told the jobcentre that you are self employed they will remove you from their system as having found employment because you are no longer actively looking for work which is what JSA is for.

emsywoo123

Cannot guarantee the source, but this is what I found:

http://www.artquest.org.uk/money/benefits/self-employment-credit.htm

999mph

Appreciate all the advice.

calamity-j

999


Have you declared yourself self-emplyed with the Inland Revenue? I only asked because this is what happend to me. I was left waiting and it turns out that the people actually dealing with my claim were waiting for that information. This is no longer in the hands of the job centre, you need to go the people dealing with self employemnt credit ( I can't remember who now it was a while ago) and deal with them directly, it may be something really simple.

You should be able to get this info from your old adviser.