Been refused JSA need advice urgently

Oldernotwiser

meme2012 wrote: »

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.

I think that this is a mistake rather than an untruth.

You must be eligible for HB/LHA because you're already getting it and so it seems obvious that you've been assessed on the incorrect income.

Some people working full time get substantial help towards their rent with LHA.

meme2012

crystaltipps wrote: »

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.

Yep, I'm already on that, can confirm they had the correct info from the start, they took copies of my student finance confirmation letter which breaks all the awards down

meme2012

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I think that this is a mistake rather than an untruth.

You must be eligible for HB/LHA because you're already getting it and so it seems obvious that you've been assessed on the incorrect income.

Some people working full time get substantial help towards their rent with LHA.

I was informed by a JSA adviser that I could not claim FULL HB unless I was in receipt of JSA or Income Support - this is untrue, as confirmed by HB today. I have already stated elsewhere in the thread that my existing HB claim is based on student finance income. In respect of HB, student finance income is meant to last 38 weeks of the year, not 52.

Oldernotwiser

meme2012 wrote: »

I was informed by a JSA adviser that I could not claim FULL HB unless I was in receipt of JSA or Income Support - this is untrue, as confirmed by HB today. I have already stated elsewhere in the thread that my existing HB claim is based on student finance income. In respect of HB, student finance income is meant to last 38 weeks of the year, not 52.

You seem to think I'm arguing with you, which I'm not. I'm just saying that you've spoken to someone who doesn't know what s/he's talking about. There's no such thing as only being eligible for part HB rather than full HB - the whole thing is simply means tested on income.

oldmotherreilly

Although you are not attending university at the moment, what is the official end date of your course that has been given to DWP? The universities supply them with a list of the dates as you would definitely not be allowed to claim JSA until after this date has passed.

dookar

meme2012 wrote: »

Hi,

Yes, it does appear that an error in law has been made. I have discussed the legal aspect with the assessment team, they informed me that I would have to appeal...according to them there is no other way around it....even though they agreed that the JSA guidance & the 2008 amendment to regulation 15 makes its clear that full time loan parent students can claim JSA during the summer vacation! After contacting several other departments to seek clarification on this matter, this does appear to be the case. I was told the appeals process will take some time (weeks, not days), no definite time frame was given nor can it be given. I am preparing an appeal letter at present, I'm also considering making an application to ECHR's on the matter.

Many thanks for the good luck.

Have you actually spoken to a decision maker? They are the only people who can make this decision.

Ask for a detailed explanation, they will call you explain the law they used to make their decision, if they have something wrong about your situation/circumstance they should be able to revise the decision on the same day.

meme2012

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You seem to think I'm arguing with you, which I'm not. I'm just saying that you've spoken to someone who doesn't know what s/he's talking about. There's no such thing as only being eligible for part HB rather than full HB - the whole thing is simply means tested on income.

Yes, I'm well aware HB is means tested. However, there is 'such a thing as' partial HB and full HB entitlement. If one is in receipt of JSA or Income Support then generally, provided ones rent falls within the specified threshold, they qualify for full HB entitlement. As my current HB is based on my university loan income, which is higher than JSA or Income Support, I have only been awarded partial HB.

JCP have informed me in the last week that I am not entitled to claim JSA as I am a full time student with a child over eight years of age - this is untrue
JCP also informed me that I would not qualify for full HB entitlement unless I was in receipt of JSA - this is also untrue.

My intention is not to imply that JCP were purposefully lying, rather that the advice given screams incompetance - I find this worrying, considering they deal with some of the most vulnerable in society.

meme2012

dookar wrote: »

Have you actually spoken to a decision maker? They are the only people who can make this decision.

Ask for a detailed explanation, they will call you explain the law they used to make their decision, if they have something wrong about your situation/circumstance they should be able to revise the decision on the same day.

Ha...I was told that the department responsible for making JSA decisions do not deal directly with the public and that I must therefore submit an appeal...another untruth?

meme2012

oldmotherreilly wrote: »

Although you are not attending university at the moment, what is the official end date of your course that has been given to DWP? The universities supply them with a list of the dates as you would definitely not be allowed to claim JSA until after this date has passed.

My offical end date is June 2012. However, legislation states that full-time lone parent students can claim JSA during summer vacations. Prior to 2008, only full-time student couples with one or more dependent children could claim JSA during this period. A full-time lone parent student with a child under the age of 12 (reduced to 10 in 2009, then 7 in 2010) could claim Income Support during this period - As I did last year. However, in 2008, regulation 15 of the JSA Act was amended to include loan parents under the advice of ECHR. Essentially, this action was taken to remove the discriminatory effect towards women whom form the largest proportion of full-time lone parent students.

dktreesea

The DWP is a disgrace. Incompetent jobsworths who don't know the law and seem to be incentivised on keeping as many people off the JSA as possible, regardless of the law.

The previous poster who suggested going to your MP is giving you good advice. When we first came back to the UK I didn't have a national insurance number, because I had left before I was 16. The DWP refused to issue them to us "because if we had a national insurance number we would be able to claim benefits", and we couldn't get jobs because we didn't have NI numbers. We went to see our MP, who, to his credit, was horrified. He wasted no time getting onto whichever of his colleagues dealt with the DWP. We had NI numbers within ten days.

Failing that, the citizens advice bureau can be useful for sorting out this kind of thing. Shelter are pretty good too.