JSA and gambling

Fluffs123

hi

i have a gambling problem which i acknowledge and am trying to sort out. that's a separate discussion, i want to ask about JSA.

i don't have a regular fulltime job but do temp jobs and so go on and off JSA regularly.

one strange effect of the gambling is that my "savings" fluctuate enormously, sometimes above the £6000 JSA limit. i've never really figured out what i should do about it when it goes over, as it's very likely to dip below in a few days time! :eek:

should i phone the JSA people and tell them when it goes above? only to have to phone them up a bit later and tell them it's dropped below? i suspect the pragmatic view is just ignore it unless the amounts get silly, but my conscience is killing me.

DanielClark

you could always try to keep it about £500 below the threshold.

in all fairness, you shouldn't really be gambling if you are on JSA. I should imagine they would look on it very unfavourably if they knew you were doing it, even if you win. I think it would be a better use of the money if you invest it something that you are going to get use out of, such as household appliances/items, clothes etc.

there's nothing wrong with having a couple of quid on the lottery every week, it's throwing money away on horses, playing poker, or at a casino and the like that will irk them if they find out.

same goes for giving £ to charity to stay below the threshold, even though the intentions are honourable, I can't imagine how they would look on it in a positive way.

it's better to deliberately stay comfortably below the threshold than to fluctuate above and below it.

pcombo

DanielClark wrote: »

you could always try to keep it about £500 below the threshold.

in all fairness, you shouldn't really be gambling if you are on JSA. I should imagine they would look on it very unfavourably if they knew you were doing it, even if you win. I think it would be a better use of the money if you invest it something that you are going to get use out of, such as household appliances/items, clothes etc.

there's nothing wrong with having a couple of quid on the lottery every week, it's throwing money away on horses, playing poker, or at a casino and the like that will irk them if they find out.

same goes for giving £ to charity to stay below the threshold, even though the intentions are honourable, I can't imagine how they would look on it in a positive way.

it's better to deliberately stay comfortably below the threshold than to fluctuate above and below it.

Just because your on beneifts doesn't mean you have to change your life, Dont do this and dont do that. No one has any right to tell you how to spend the JSA granted to you.

If someone wants to waste it gambling, drinking or taken drugs thats there life not for anyone else to say you shouldn't be doing that with JSA.

skintandscared_2

But if you have savings that sometimes go above £6,000, can't you just NOT claim JSA during your "temp work breaks", and just live off those savings instead, until the next temp job? If you're not claiming anything, nobody can tell you what you can or can't spend/save/earn. Surely that makes the most sense? I've known a few people who live that way and only ever want to earn enough to just pay their way.

rogerblack

You're eligible for JSA when your capital exceeds 6000, up to 16000, but the amount you get drops.

DanielClark

pcombo wrote: »

Just because your on beneifts doesn't mean you have to change your life, Dont do this and dont do that. No one has any right to tell you how to spend the JSA granted to you.

If someone wants to waste it gambling, drinking or taken drugs thats there life not for anyone else to say you shouldn't be doing that with JSA.

the people paying out jobseekers allowance have the right to say how you should be spending it.

jobseekers allowance is intended to help people pay for necessities while looking for work, hence the name. it's not designed to fuel/subsidise addictions.

HappyMJ

DanielClark wrote: »

the people paying out jobseekers allowance have the right to say how you should be spending it.

jobseekers allowance is intended to help people pay for necessities while looking for work, hence the name. it's not designed to fuel/subsidise addictions.

The people paying out jobseekers have no right to dictate how you should spend it.

Besides it could be said that the OP is using part of the £6,000 that he earnt from his last job to gamble with and the £67.50 every week they get in JSA is spent on the necessities while looking for work.

skintandscared_2

HappyMJ wrote: »

The people paying out jobseekers have no right to dictate how you should spend it.

Besides it could be said that the OP is using part of the £6,000 that he earnt from his last job to gamble with and the £67.50 every week they get in JSA is spent on the necessities while looking for work.

But surely JSA is a benefit for people who NEED it, who have no income and have no means of feeding themselves without it? How does someone who believes they can "afford" to lose £6k on Red or Black NEED £67.50?

HappyMJ

skintandscared wrote: »

But surely JSA is a benefit for people who NEED it, who have no income and have no means of feeding themselves without it? How does someone who believes they can "afford" to lose £6k on Red or Black NEED £67.50?

That might be the case but there is an asset limit for a reason. If the OP is looking for work and has under £6,000 then they are entitled to claim the full £67.50 per week. I doubt they are sticking £6,000 directly on red or black. That's a silly bet. I personally turnover quite a lot on gambling websites it looks like I am an addict but I make a profit from the free bets maybe the OP has some skill at picking horses and doesn't lose much over time and has a bit of fun doing it. They earnt the money and can do whatever they want with it.

Adereterial

HappyMJ wrote: »

The people paying out jobseekers have no right to dictate how you should spend it.

Besides it could be said that the OP is using part of the £6,000 that he earnt from his last job to gamble with and the £67.50 every week they get in JSA is spent on the necessities while looking for work.

Actually, yes they do.

There's a such a concept as deprivation of capital for the purposes of claiming benefits. If DWP believe this has happened they will treat the claimant as if they still had that money. Gambling is one of the circumstances in which they could do this.

Not telling DWP is fraud - you're likely to get caught eventually and if you are, the penalty will be a minimum of repaying what you claimed but were not entitled to.

DanielClark

HappyMJ wrote: »

The people paying out jobseekers have no right to dictate how you should spend it.

Besides it could be said that the OP is using part of the £6,000 that he earnt from his last job to gamble with and the £67.50 every week they get in JSA is spent on the necessities while looking for work.

yes they do

Adereterial wrote: »

Actually, yes they do.

There's a such a concept as deprivation of capital for the purposes of claiming benefits. If DWP believe this has happened they will treat the claimant as if they still had that money. Gambling is one of the circumstances in which they could do this.

Not telling DWP is fraud - you're likely to get caught eventually and if you are, the penalty will be a minimum of repaying what you claimed but were not entitled to.

this is the reason, and it is correct.

they issue JSA under the assumption that it is being used to pay for necessities, and amenities that may help getting back into employment, not to be gambled with, or to be boozed away.

I see people every other week as I am cycling to work, stood outside the local boozer with their money-for-nothing in their white knuckled fists, waiting for the doors to open. I know people who have and still do drink their JSA away, then live the rest of the period "on the borrow", harrassing friends and family for money for the necessities they should have used their JSA on in the first place.

it's irresponsible to give people like this the total JSA allowance in money, for this very reason. I think if people are found to have been misappropriating JSA, they should receive the majority of their benefits in the form of stamps to be traded in for food/clothing/gas/electric