JSA Letter I don't understand?! Help!

starrystarry

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Most of these letters are formatted and they just insert dates etc. Sometimes they forget to delete a sentence - all very confusing

Agreed, the letters are terrible, its time they re-vamped them all.

Last year my OH got a letter telling him he wasn't entitled to CB JSA. A week or two later he got another letter saying they weren't paying his JSA as he'd missed his signing on date. When he rang them to ask what was going on it turned out that the original letter was wrong. It should have said he WAS entitled to CB JSA. By then it was too late, they ended his claim because he didn't sign. He'd got a new job by then but their error meant he missed out on a couple of weeks JSA.

Shambles.

sammyjammy

All the letters are computer generated. They will all change for Universal Credit as its a new computer system. To make even the tiniest change to the letters costs tens of thousands of pounds.

epitome

pmlindyloo wrote: »

The good news is that by registering you will still receive your NI credits (not that you're 'bovvered'!)

It says we cannot pay NI credits

rogerblack

123helpme123 wrote: »

We cannot pay Jobseekers Allowance for the first 3 days of your claim.'

This is quite seprate to the rest of the letter.
The first 3 days of a claim are known as 'waiting days', and are not paid.
This has been true for a very, very long time - since the introduction of the modern welfare state.

epitome

123helpme123 wrote: »

Oh that's ridiculous! Why have they insisted I go a flippin' registration appointment if they had no intention of paying me anything?!

You make your claim statement, (no decision has been made at this point)
You attend the Jobcentre to sign the statement is true and to be given your instructions on what is expected of you and for initial help to be given. and to provide required documents.
Your statement/claim is then forwarded onto a processing team who will decide if you qualify, no decision should be made before this team has seen your claim.

123helpme123 wrote: »

I've never claimed any benefits before

That explains the above

How they expect me to try and secure a job with no clean clothes, illness due to not having heating and no money to buy wash stuff I'll never know.

You have already been told in that letter, you continue to sign, you appeal and you claim hardship allowance.

NI Credits? I never realised I would be entitled to these?

People with valid benefit claims are entitled to these.

Torry_Quine wrote: »

It seems to me from the letter that they are just saying that the first three days are not days when JSA and NI credits are payable.

I don't think so..."we cannot pay you JSA from 22 April" indicates to me that the whole claim has been refused.

bigboybrother

123helpme123 wrote: »

Hi guys

I've recently (last Monday in fact) been dismissed from a role I was in for 3 1/2 years.

I applied for JSA online on the 22nd and attended a registration meeting on Wednesday 25th. The JSA advisor told me I would be entitled to the benefit as I didn't leave work due to my own accord. I even asked about being dismissed as it was my fault, she said it didn't matter as long as I hadn't resigned.

I've received a letter today dated 23rd, which states this:

'We cannot pay you Job Seekers Allowance from 22nd April 2013

We recently told you that a decision would be made about a doubt:

If you are looking for work, and you intended to dispute or appeal against this decision, or to apply for hardship payments, you should continue to provide signed declarations as instructed in your ES40.

We cannot award National Insurance contribution credits for this period.

We cannot pay Jobseekers Allowance for the first 3 days of your claim.'

It then goes on to talk about other benefits I could apply for (but given my circumstances I'm not entitled too)



I'm unsure, if they are stating they will pay JSA from 3 days after I have made the claim (I.e 25th onwards) or what.
There not open today, so any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

Personally if I was in that same situation and had been sacked and wanted to claim JSA, I wouldn't have made the claim.

I would have taken any job on a trial basis, doesn't matter what. Then when the trial period was over and not being able to really do the job, claim JSA.

Maybe work self employed for a few weeks. The one you were sacked from wouldn't have come into the picture as it wasn't your last job!

epitome

bigboybrother wrote: »

Personally if I was in that same situation and had been sacked and wanted to claim JSA, I wouldn't have made the claim.

I would have taken any job on a trial basis, doesn't matter what. Then when the trial period was over and not being able to really do the job, claim JSA.

Maybe work self employed for a few weeks. The one you were sacked from wouldn't have come into the picture as it wasn't your last job!

Would you then lie on your claim statement that you have had no other jobs finish in the last 6 months? And if you did lie, do you not think that DWP would notice from your tax records that you had worked recently in another job?

Horseunderwater

To the OP - JSA is never paid for the 1st 3 days of any claim - so all that should be missing from your first payment is 3 days of JSA - giving you £40.97 for week one and then £71.70 thereafter. You have not been sanctioned as the letter would specifically say so. I agree the letter could be better written, but sometimes benefit employees do not alter these letters to make them make sense, so it is not surprising that you would get confused. Your first payment should arrive in your bank 3 working days after you sign on. thereafter it will be paid every 2 weeks in arrears after each signing.

mikey_bach

The entitlement letters that go out are completely computer generated and the only way that the processor has any input is if they change anything on the system ie claim closure for eg starting work.
They do this by putting a specific code in on the claim, then the system churns the letter out.
These always go out second class
They are indeed a night mare and need revamping.

Reading on what the OP has said I would say the claim has been disallowed...

nannytone_2

regarding what the OP said about his ex employers being vindictive on a reference....
they are not allowed to say terrible things about you, but they can refuse to give you a reference and that is as bad as having a terrible reference