Been refused JSA need advice urgently

meme2012

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Have you applied for HB/LHA for help with your rent?

Hi,

Yes. I already get £40 knocked of my rent per week (full rent is £100.06 pw). This is based on my student loan income. I will only be eligible to full housing benefit if I'm in receipt of JSA or income support Bit of a catch 22 all round. Tbh, if I could get full housing benefit I could easily survive the summer on £70 pw, but there is no way I can survive on £10pw.

The whole situation is incredibly frustrating. I made sure that I put aside enough of my student loan to cover basic utility bills for the summer, I didn't think to save more as the advice given by DSS, NUS, Cpag etc is that full time lone parents students with a child over 8 can claim JSA during the summer vacation. Obviously had I known I would end up in the current situation I would have tried to put more money aside. Plus, there is a distinct shortage of suitable jobs, and I can't extend my available working hours or travel distance until I have enough funds to pay a child minder..and I need a job to get the funds...grrrr

meme2012

Anubis wrote: »

Is there anything in the rules that would prevent you from re- applying? It has to be quicker than appeal. Also put a note in regarding the law.

Hi, I am not sure on that, hadn't though of it...I will look into it. Thanks very much.

sandraroffey

if you are a student, and have children, you can get housing benefit. my daughter did. a student on their own?? nothing, but having a child means you can apply. it takes a bit of time so get the claim in quick.

you can also apply to your uni for a hardship payment. they can be very generous.

meme2012

sandraroffey wrote: »

if you are a student, and have children, you can get housing benefit. my daughter did. a student on their own?? nothing, but having a child means you can apply. it takes a bit of time so get the claim in quick.

you can also apply to your uni for a hardship payment. they can be very generous.

Hi,

Yes, I already get a % of my rent paid via housing benefit, but they won't pay the full rent unless I get JSA or income support. Rent is £100 pw, HB pay £40 and I pay remainder.

I'm hoping to get an appointment with student advisory either today or Monday and I intend to ask about the hardship fund. However, I'm not holding out to much hope on this as it is the end of year and by this stage the fund is pretty much empty.

crystaltipps

Have you tried phoning Jobseekers again and speaking to a different person? As you already know, you are definitely entitled. I went through this last year - computer said no. Then about three or four days later, I phoned back up, after checking my facts and they apologised and booked me in at my local job centre there and then. My claim was then verified and it was backdated to the original claim date.

It also seems strange that you are paying more than half your rent - I had a lot more than that covered. My council made errors in my claim. They counted SSG when they should not. They also counted bursary payments in error. I had a bit of a battle to sort it all out too! They did not discount for books and travel either. Again though, after much faffing, to and froing and photocopying, they 'acknowledged' their error and I had it backdated. I do know it is different if you are on NHS bursary though?

As a lone parent with a young child, you won't be expected to seek for work and shifts over the whole 24 hour period. I told them I couldn't work nights and regular weekend work may be difficult and they were fine with that - although to be fair, I was more than happy to work some weekends - just not every one!

I wish you well - hope you get sorted!

meme2012

Hi,

Thanks. I will contact HB and see if all is in order. I'm not on a NHS bursary, but I do get parental learning allowance and special support grant.

At last count, I have spoken with 5 different people at DWP about the matter...they all say 'no', but none of them (two of whom are managers) are able to explain why I have been refused when all available info states that I can claim. I was told by one of the managers that the text on page 17 of the JSA guidance handbook is ambiguous...it states, "Most full-time students at college or university can't get Jobseeker's Allowance either. Certain students with responsibility for children can claim Jobseeker's Allowance during the summer holiday. This includes single people and couples who are both full-time students"....ambiguous?? I asked the same manager if there had been any further amendments to regulation 15 since 2008....he said "I don't know"....and these are the people employed to determine who's eligible for JSA...shakes head. Honestly, it's like I am hitting my head against a brick wall.

crystaltipps

This is absolutely shocking! There is no ambiguity what so ever. I would contact your MP and try and get intervention. It might help. My Student Union Welfare advisor was invaluable, so contacting them as soon as possible is a good idea too. Mine offered to intervene with the council on my behalf if I got no joy myself.

As for HB - get your award notice out and work out exactly what they are saying your weekly amount is and check they are not including SSG and PLA - they should not be doing so. Maintenance loan/grant and CTC is all they can count, minus allowance for books and travel, then they divide total by 43 or 45 (I forget which but is should be on your award notice). Take off the allowance you are entitled to live off by law. The balance left is then your applicable amount and you have to pay 65% of it towards your rent. Are you entitled to the full amount of your rent if you are not a student? Or are you in a property/rent bracket that exceeds maximum amounts they can pay for your circumstances?

It is a real freaking minefield, isn't it!

meme2012

crystaltipps wrote: »

It is a real freaking minefield, isn't it!

Not half!

I need to thank you for your advice on HB. I just got off the phone to them, it appears they have included grants that should have been disregarded. Also, they told me that I can re-apply for HB based on my current income - £70pw (made up of Child tax credits and child benefit) - as the current benefit based on student loans etc is calculated over a 38 week period. Effectively this will mean that I should qualify for full housing benefit....wooohooo I do not need to be in receipt of JSA or Income Support to qualify, another untruth relayed to me by Job Centre Plus is exposed.

crystaltipps

Great news - now you need to ask/appeal a backdate - if you gave them the correct information at the time of applying and they have made an error you should get it back, in theory.

When I first applied, I had saved a lot of money before starting uni as I was not sure what I would be entitled to and I wanted to cover bills. This meant that for the four months (!) I was struggling to get sorted, I carried on paying rent and council tax. This was due to the fact that the student loans people had swapped over to a new system and there was huge delays on award notices etc. When I finally got all the documentation through and the award sorted, they backdated it to the beginning of my course start date. Result was I finally plucked up the courage to book a big block of driving lessons and my theory test!

crystaltipps

Oh, and child benefit is disregarded now.