New Enterprise Allowance scheme - My story

s450

@TruBlue1965, thank you for the clarification.
I have also just come across the StartUPLoan mentioned at the Website of DWP.

As far as my NEA is concerned, it seems that everything is working well. I was able to keep in touch with my business adviser, who fortunately is very kind. I have been working on my business plan which is supposed to be submitted for the approval on 20 th October.
So, afterwards what happens? How long will it take before I get an answer? And how does it work with the sign off procedure?
Of course, I want to be sure that I am on NEA first, before signig off.
As far as I have understood and read here:

https://www.gov.uk/new-enterprise-allowance

NEA does not affect Housing Benefit. It is a reliable information? Will I get my Housing Benefit for sure?
Of course, I hope my business will be successful as soon as possible and bring me lots of money :beer:
BUT the start will surely be not an easy thing, will it?
That's the reason why we need some support at the beginning. So, are we sure that HB won't be affected?
But when we are on NEA we have to trade and we can even earn 1000000000 per month :rotfl: but get the NEA. Would it be the same with the HB ?
Another question, I have read somewhere here in the forum about a bonus for signing off. Is it true and how do you apply for it?
Regards

This_Year

s450 wrote: »

So, afterwards what happens? How long will it take before I get an answer? And how does it work with the sign off procedure?
Of course, I want to be sure that I am on NEA first, before signig off.
As far as I have understood and read here:

https://www.gov.uk/new-enterprise-allowance

I don't know the answers to all your questions but I do know that you will be told you've been accepted onto NEA and your start date agreed - you then sign off JSA at the next signing day before you start. (think you'll be told to ask your advisor for an NEA2 [but not sure! few weeks ago]

I had my meeting with my advisor and was told there and then but it may be different in other areas.

You won't be on NEA before your JSA claim ends as they have to do something to convert the claim to a "training allowance" as my JSA advisor put it. :cool:

My NEA took 10 days from my start to be paid and I've just had the letter to confirm I'm still trading.

Good luck! If you're anything like me you'll be thinking about your business all the time even when you're not working! :rotfl:

s450

This_Year wrote: »

I don't know the answers to all your questions but I do know that you will be told you've been accepted onto NEA and your start date agreed - you then sign off JSA at the next signing day before you start. (think you'll be told to ask your advisor for an NEA2 [but not sure! few weeks ago]

I had my meeting with my advisor and was told there and then but it may be different in other areas.

You won't be on NEA before your JSA claim ends as they have to do something to convert the claim to a "training allowance" as my JSA advisor put it. :cool:

My NEA took 10 days from my start to be paid and I've just had the letter to confirm I'm still trading.

Good luck! If you're anything like me you'll be thinking about your business all the time even when you're not working! :rotfl:

Thank you for your answer.
You said your NEA took 10 days from your start to be paid. Does it mean that in the meanwhile you had already signed off thus lost one week of allowance?
And do you get HB?

pinkypoopydoo

I don;t get HB, but I do get council tax help (whatever it's called now!!), which (my council at least) deals with on the same form. I phoned the council the day I signed off, and they sent me the appropriate forms to fill out (you have to fill out a self employed form, in which you have to estimate your income, expenditure etc) and got a decision made on my council tax within an couple of days. I'm still enititled to full help with my council tax, so I would assume, if I was on HB, it would be the same.

My first NEA payment came through about 10 days after I signed off, and was a two week payment, then I got it weekly going forward.

This_Year

s450 wrote: »

Thank you for your answer.
You said your NEA took 10 days from your start to be paid. Does it mean that in the meanwhile you had already signed off thus lost one week of allowance?
And do you get HB?

No. I signed off w.e.f the day before my official start date, and when my NEA payment came through, the first payment was a double payment as by then I had been trading for 2 Mondays, if that makes sense?

I don't claim HB.

TrueBlue1965

Seems to be some interesting developments regarding the NEA loan. However, there is not much being said about it and not to me by my NEA providers. It seems that we can from the 1st October get a loan from Startup loans for £2,500 and payed back at 6% interest over 3 years.

Still very scetchy but some info on www.startup.co.uk on the FAQs area and a little more at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/adviser/updates/new-enterprise-allowance/

I will be asking a few more question in the next few day and will post the info i get on here.

TrueBlue1965

Had a chat with the Startup provider for my area and they say that those on NEA can now get a Startup loan. They suggest that the changes to NEA/Startup have been roled out in 10 of the 46 areas as a pilot for 6 weeks. The person i spoke to did not know the maximum size of the loan or how NEA and Startup will work together. Im just being told to apply for a Startup loan.

The reason given for there not being much publisizesd information about the changes to the NEA loans was because they are worried that they will be flooded by people trying to get the higher loans from the over 30s on NEA. Amazing!

I,ve asked my NEA providers about the changes to the loan and they are saying they dont know much about it but they are now making enquiries. It seems NEA are the last to know about the changes and how to get the higher loans or how they are going to be linked.

amy8191amy

TrueBlue1965 wrote: »

Had a chat with the Startup provider for my area and they say that those on NEA can now get a Startup loan. They suggest that the changes to NEA/Startup have been roled out in 10 of the 46 areas as a pilot for 6 weeks. The person i spoke to did not know the maximum size of the loan or how NEA and Startup will work together. Im just being told to apply for a Startup loan.

The reason given for there not being much publisizesd information about the changes to the NEA loans was because they are worried that they will be flooded by people trying to get the higher loans from the over 30s on NEA. Amazing!

I,ve asked my NEA providers about the changes to the loan and they are saying they dont know much about it but they are now making enquiries. It seems NEA are the last to know about the changes and how to get the higher loans or how they are going to be linked.

Hi there, I have finally had all the confusion over NEA and Start up sorted out. Basically, as you said from October 1st 2013 you can apply for an NEA loan of up to 2500 now as they have been gven more funding.
But NEA and StartUp are now working together so that people on the NEA scheme can apply for loans through StartUp for up to 10000 and then once completing BP, CF and application and being accepted for the loan, you can go back to your NEA advisor who will get you signed off and onto NEA payments. So basically, people on NEA are getting the best of both as they can apply for bigger loans, with better repayment terms from StartUp and still come back for our NEA weekly payments.
I thought i was going to be in trouble at first as my NEA advisor wouldnt clearly tell me if I should tell me jobcentre advisor that i was usng StartUp but he has now rang my advisor and informed her and its all good:D
Hope other people are told all this information and can get this advantage. It seems theres so much confusion between NEA and job centres and StartUp as it is. Info needs to be clearer and told to people!!

TrueBlue1965

Thanks, amy8191amy. Im still waiting for some info from my NEA providers who have admitted that they know nothing about the new changes to the loan and how its all going to be joined together. Just been to see my adviser at JCP and they know nothing about the changes except that there are changes. Questions now being asked in the back offices of JCP re how NEA and Startup are going to work together. Seems im driving these changes forward in my area. Just hope they all get there act together and fast or things could get messed up big time for me.

s450

Thanks everybody for your support.
Sorry for asking again, but you know, because I am about so sign off, I want to be sure that I won't have any financial crisis at the beginning of my trade.
Apart from JSA I am claiming HB.
As far I I have understood, the NEA does not affect HB. Pleae have a look here at the point finance:
https://www.gov.uk/new-enterprise-allowance

Or here at the point "Do I have to stop my JSA?":

http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/articles/2013/05/national-enterprise-allowance/

By the way, I met my Business Adviser last week. He was pretty satisfied with my business plan. :T He said, he would submit it for the approval on 18th October and then get back to me.
Hopefully it will be approved. But who should approve it if not my business adviser? Anyway, since he was content I assume there should be no problem :beer:
My business adviser told me that I could prepare a list of things I might need in order to start my trading and bring it to the JC before signing off. He said, it might be that the JC could give me some money 200-300 pounds.
Is worth trying? Has already anybody here done it?
Regards