Can i appeal JSA and Housing benefit

Katie18

i moved house in April this year and i told all my benefits and other people who needed to know. I have a 2 year old son and live in a 2 bed flat with him and his dad. well i checked my bank statement on 4th July and was £114 overdrawn so i rang my bank to found out why and they said my income support hadn't gone through. I went down to income support and they said they had sent out a letter saying i needed proof of income and that's why they stopped my benefits. (which i didn't receive) After being there from 9 till 4!!! with my son they decided that i should move onto JSA, so i went to the job center to move on to it. They said i had fallen through a crack in the system and it was income supports fault and they should of made sure i was properly notified, he also said income support wont take responsibility. Anyway they moved me on to JSA. i had no money at all so i had to apply for hardship and have vouchers for gas and electric and a food hamper. i had to borrow £200 off my boyfriends mum just to pay for my overdrawn fees. 2 weeks later i got the letter they said they sent saying i needed proof of my income and my benefits will stop from the 4th of july. (the date on the letter said it was sent on the 17th of july)

ive been up and down town(which is 1 hour walk there everday with a 2 year old is not the nicest thing to do every day)
i then got a letter on the 30th of july saying i can get JSA but i have not shown good enough cause for the delay in the making my claim from 4th to 16th july. it may not sound like a lot of money to some people but over £400 to my family is alot of money!!! instead they gave me national insurance credits!!

Basically my question is can i appeal for a backdate because it wasn't my fault my income support stopped, i rang them up saying i moved house and they said my income wouldn't change and would carry on from normal and i clearly didn't receive my letter as it was sent 2 weeks later.

They also stopped my housing benefit now i owe they £969. can i get that backdated aswell?

Caz3121

on what basis were you claiming income support?
were you previously claiming as a single parent? does your partner work?
Any claims for benefits should be based on household income

paddedjohn

What's the Dad doing while all this is going on? If he's working you may not get JSA anyway. I thought you could claim income support untill the kid reaches 5

Katie18

i was claiming income support because i was a "estranged child" which means i moved out before i was 18. and the dad was working for the council then went college. now his course finished so he's looking for work.
and the law changed this year according to job center yo can only get income support if your a single parent or under 18.

jacques_chirac

Did you declare that you were living with your partner? Was he working at this time? Do you receive CTC and CB?

sammyjammy

Presumably you're a fit and healthy young woman? Surely a one hour walk each way into town won't do you any harm or dare I say it its probably good for you!

Yes you can appeal, take a copy of the letter you received with the relevant dates (and the envelope with the posting mark on it if you have it), when you asked for it to be backdated did you not provide evidence or explain what happened?

I'm unsure as to your exact age/circumstances but I believe you shouldn't have been claiming IS anyway if you were living with your partner. Presumably you now have a joint claim for JSA?

Katie18

yes i am can walk to town ever day but when your son gets heat stroke because of it then thats dont make me very happy.....

i showed every benefit i was on that i had moved out the hostel into a flat, including tenacy agreement and proof of I.D and income.
i should of been on IS we had a joint claim for JSA and was living in a hostel because i was 17-18 and he was 18. and was estranged. im now 19 and my boyfriend is 20.

Katie18

yes i declared living with my partner and he was working at the time and going college. and yes i get child tax and child benefit

jacques_chirac

Katie18 wrote: »

yes i am can walk to town ever day but when your son gets heat stroke because of it then thats dont make me very happy.....

i showed every benefit i was on that i had moved out the hostel into a flat, including tenacy agreement and proof of I.D and income.
i should of been on IS we had a joint claim for JSA and was living in a hostel because i was 17-18 and he was 18. and was estranged. im now 19 and my boyfriend is 20.

When you received your award letters, was your partner (and his income) detailed on them? If not, did you question this?

Your son should not be getting heatstroke if he is shaded. Is there a reason why your partner could not have looked after him?

Dunroamin

Katie18 wrote: »

i moved house in April this year and i told all my benefits and other people who needed to know. I have a 2 year old son and live in a 2 bed flat with him and his dad. well i checked my bank statement on 4th July and was £114 overdrawn so i rang my bank to found out why and they said my income support hadn't gone through. I went down to income support and they said they had sent out a letter saying i needed proof of income and that's why they stopped my benefits. (which i didn't receive) After being there from 9 till 4!!! with my son they decided that i should move onto JSA, so i went to the job center to move on to it. They said i had fallen through a crack in the system and it was income supports fault and they should of made sure i was properly notified, he also said income support wont take responsibility. Anyway they moved me on to JSA. i had no money at all so i had to apply for hardship and have vouchers for gas and electric and a food hamper. i had to borrow £200 off my boyfriends mum just to pay for my overdrawn fees. 2 weeks later i got the letter they said they sent saying i needed proof of my income and my benefits will stop from the 4th of july. (the date on the letter said it was sent on the 17th of july)

ive been up and down town(which is 1 hour walk there everday with a 2 year old is not the nicest thing to do every day)
i then got a letter on the 30th of july saying i can get JSA but i have not shown good enough cause for the delay in the making my claim from 4th to 16th july. it may not sound like a lot of money to some people but over £400 to my family is alot of money!!! instead they gave me national insurance credits!!

Basically my question is can i appeal for a backdate because it wasn't my fault my income support stopped, i rang them up saying i moved house and they said my income wouldn't change and would carry on from normal and i clearly didn't receive my letter as it was sent 2 weeks later.

They also stopped my housing benefit now i owe they £969. can i get that backdated aswell?

Your rent for a 2 bed flat is £ 484.50 per week?

Caz3121

As I understand it, your boyfriend should open a claim for JSA with you included on it. You won't be required to also look for work as you have a young child.
You will also need to make a joint claim for housing benefit. This would have been automatically stopped when your IS stopped. I am not sure about backdating but I guess you may have a case for the 2 week period given that you were not aware it had been stopped.
Does the £969 include the overpayment whilst you were not entitled to IS or is it the figure since your HB stopped?