Budgeting Loan Query

rayray2k12

New to this forum so Hi to everyone and hopefully someone with knowledge will be able to help

Ok so to cut a long story short me and my partner applied for a budgeting loan on the 18/09/12 and had a letter back a little over a week later saying we had been declined because we havent been in receipt of benefits for 26weeks!

having read the letter me and my partner where left a little confused as we have both actually been on benefits for a little over a year now.

Back in the beginning of 2010 we was both working but living with parents but due to job cuts in late 2010 early 2011 my partners works laid her off she then joined job seekers allowance. about a month or so later i had problems in work (due to working with chemicals and they was preventing me from do a job safely had reactions ect) and had to either go on the sick or take voluntary redundancy i went the sick route because i still kept some pay coming in i eventually went from full pay to Employment and support allowance a couple of months later my partner found out she was pregnant and got switched to income support we decided that we was going to provide as a couple for the baby and we needed to sort everything out as soon as possible ready to live as a family so i went ahead and closed my ESA claim and joined her income support as a joint claim living at her parents with her as the main claimant.
The baby was born and we was told at 15weeks her income support would close (because we where claiming as a couple) and that we would need to claim Job seekers allowance so we did as they said a few days before income support was due to close we did an application for jobseekers as my partner was the main claimant we figured she had to carry on being the main for JSA so when at the office interview they realised she wasent fit to work yet and said we would have to come back a week later with a new form and with myself as the main claimant and her dependant so we did as they asked again and the claim was setup (14/june/2012)

Now back to the budgeting loan having said we wasent in receive of benefits for 26weeks i decided to ask for a review with all the information above included in my letter to them.

its been about 2 weeks now and i have had a letter back and the letter is basically the same as the first is says:

on oct 15 we looked at your application again and although new information has been received, have decided that a budgeting loan cannot be offered.

this is for the following reasons

*You or your partner have not been receiving IS,ibJSA,irESA or Pension Credit for at least 26 weeks. We have not counted any break in benefit of 28days or less in working out this period of 26weeks.

the letter then tells me if i disagree this time to use leaflet IRS1 no later than 28days from date at top of letter.


*also ive loooked back through calendar and the longest gap between any of the switch overs was 16days with the rest being done withing the same week

so my question really:

does the budgeting loan decision take into account separate and joint claims as in if i started a single then joined a joint then went single could it all follow on?


also i think the JSA claim was established on the 14/june/12 so that would put 26weeks at 14/dec/2012 when woul dbe the earliest i could apply if it does go from the new jsa claim date?


also do i use IRS1 or ?

Thanks ever so much for the replys this has baffled me

dreamylittledream

It will be the switch in claimants that has done it - at the time of application the main applicant (i.e the person who is currently claiming benefit) has to have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit for the past 26 weeks as the main claimant.

You have only been claiming since June - before that you were named as a dependent. Your partner is currently a dependent so is not in receipt of a qualifying benefit (you are).

The 26 weeks is going to start from June when you claimed - and it will be you rather than your partner that needs to claim the budgeting loan.

So come Xmas time(ish) you will be good to go - assuming you have not found gainful employment before that point....

benefitbaby

Hi and welcome...
As you have also had a review by DWP you are correct that you need to seek a review from the IRS and if memory serves it is the IRS1 form at the back of the 'Did you get what you wanted?' leaflet.

When you make your application for a BL, you must be receiving either Income Support, income based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit. You must also have been in receipt of, or been a partner of someone in receipt of, one of these benefits for 26 weeks.

This may throw up problems because you have jumped from single to joint claims (rather than single ESA to single JSA etc) but the IRS are very good and if you have had 26 weeks of continuous claims they will establish this.

I have one other passing thought... were you advised by DWP to close ESA and jointly claim IS? If so this would warrant a complaint to DWP as this was incorrect advice and they can/should compensate for loss of statutory entitlement (eg the budgeting loan) if their advice was the cause.

Good Luck

rayray2k12

benefitbaby wrote: »

I have one other passing thought... were you advised by DWP to close ESA and jointly claim IS? If so this would warrant a complaint to DWP as this was incorrect advice and they can/should compensate for loss of statutory entitlement (eg the budgeting loan) if their advice was the cause.

Good Luck

Thanks to both for the replys so far great stuff.

Also benefitbaby you are absolutley correct in what you have said we was a little unsure how to go about the whole process from start to end and some times it seemed like i was constantly on the phone to the jobcenter figuring out the right steps to take.

they did indeed advise me that i would need to close my ESA claim to join my partners income support to start a joint claim this was also at the same time that i moved from my parents into hers. having gone over the calendar it was the 15/04/2012 that i phoned up to close my ESA and the same day i phoned to join her claim about a week previous to the 15th i was advised that to make a joint claim i could have to close esa and join her IS.

also im still feeling alittle confused as to what to do next!

i fully understand there reasons for refusing now as it would have been the switch in main claimants like what was said previous but if i was advised to do this route and i fill in IRS1 saying this would they not just say no sorry we cant help you?

would i need to adctually raise a complaint with the jobcenter?

would this also have any effect on current entitlements such as housing benefit/jsa ect

thanks ever so much wish the call center people was this helpful :beer:

rayray2k12

*just to add to the above post really and update this thread just incase someone ever has a similar problem*

Having phoned the social fund back and asked how they have worked the 26 weeks out and explaining the situation again she got a gentleman to ring me back, so he rings back the next day and goes through everything with me and does indeed notice that something weird has indeed happened and he was unsure why they had said no when it is true that i have been receiving and should never of been adviced to close ESA and join IS.

he then said he was printing some printouts and passing them along with all my information back to the review team and someone would call me back from there team before 5pm

so 5pm comes no phone call so today i rang them again, the lady on the phone didnt really have much to tell me apart from she can see on her system that they have passed some more information on and they are doing a LEVEL 6 Review now? whatever that means?

i also asked on the phone how long this would now take i was advised to ring back up by wednesday 24th if i have not heared nothing.

i also asked if i would receive any phone calls to inform me of any decisions ect and was told that they will only contact me if there is a problem?

now again im not sure how to take these answers phone by 24th and im loosing days for the IRS1 and only contact me if theres a problem? well surely there is a problem now as they say i aint claiming 26weeks? or could they mean they have figured out im over the 26weeks but dont want to admit it and will offer the accepted decision but if theres anymore information (problems they run into) they would have to contact me prior to the decision?

also i asked them about the IRS1 form and because how long this is all taking should i just send it off just incase you come back to me again saying 26weeks sorry and then its to late for me to get the IRS1 rolling.

the advisor was a bit reluctant to even advise me and her words where thats up to you but we are looking at this again at a level 6 stage and i should hear by 24th if not to ring back up and find out?


i have a really bad feeling that im kinda getting passed from pillar to post and by the 24th ill probly ring up and they will be like ye we can see u rung whats the problem? lol

should i just send the IRS1 off?

what happens if i do and they the social fund manage to sort it out would they just see that and scrap my request? or could this cause more problems?

KirstBPerry

Please keep us updated as I have just applied for a budgeting loan and have gone through the same as you and your partner. I was claiming income support and my partner was claiming ESA but was advised to go onto my income support claim then when my daughter was 14 weeks old we switched to JSA and my partner was then the main claimant. I hope they don't refuse as my pram has recently broke!