Urgent Help! JSA Conflicting information re. Savings

jancollins

Hello

First time poster , long time reader

I am wondering if anyone could help me out here, I am confused about my JSA entitlement (if any).

I have been working the past 4+ years and have recently became unemployed. I applied online for JSA over the weekend & I stated I had saving of £11k however this is nearer £16k in truth (which unbeknown to me is bang on the amount that excludes you from JSA). At my first meeting this morning with the JC+, the first member of staff I dealt with informed that the savings amount is not taken into the account for the first X months, however the second member of staff who dealt with me said it would be, as I was applying for income based JSA - confusing.

I was told to hand in bank / savings statements as soon as possible this week, firstly - I guess I should have been more truthful about my savings, I have rounded down by £5k (I have no idea why I did this in hindsight) and I guess that will look pretty bad on my part? Secondly, does my claim take into account any debt I have (I have student debt of £11k)? It seems a little unjust that because I have saved hard I am not entitled, where as if I spent (or spend) it on a nice car, I would be entitled to it.

If I am not entitled, perhaps I should cancel my claim now to save any embarrassment re. the incorrect saving amount I provided. Also, I left my previous employer (with justification), and if I am not entitled to anything, it will also save the embarrassment of them being contacted to verify my reasoning's.

So what I am wondering is 1) what if anything I am entitled to and 2) if little to nothing, should I cancel my JSA application. 3) Lastly, can I pay my 'stamp' (whatever that is) myself and how much would that be (I was told that's another reason for signing on).

Its all very confusing, sorry if some the questions are pretty common.

Thank you
Jan

bloolagoon

If you have been working full time for 4 years then you should be on contributions based JSA so savings don't matter

Why have they put you on income based? Did you ask for rent and council tax to be paid.

HappyMJ

As above contributions based JSA for 6 months and in that time you should be able to spend £10,000 to get below £6,000. There is no need to change your spending habits.

Debts are not taken into account. You cannot pay off student loans to reduce your cash so don't think about that. Google deprivation of capital.

You will be entitled to £71.70 per week.

If you also rent your housing benefit claim will be assessed based on your £16,000 and be reduced.

Jobseeeker

the first advisor was right you can get "contribution based" for 6 months. Savings are irrelevant.

In 6 months if you then are still out of work and want to apply for income based it might be a problem because they will see that you lied about your savings which is fraud

missapril75

HappyMJ wrote: »

As above contributions based JSA for 6 months and in that time you should be able to spend £10,000 to get below £6,000. There is no need to change your spending habits.

Really? I'm sure you don't mean to advocate spending it to get full JSA, but £10k over 6 months is £384 a week.

I wouldn't be doing that even if I had zero coming in and had to pay rent in full. The OP has JSA and will likely have some HB as well.

Jobseeeker wrote: »

In 6 months if you then are still out of work and want to apply for income based it might be a problem because they will see that you lied about your savings which is fraud

That aside, they also might have regard to the "spending rate" if it looks excessive, especially as the balance is now on record.

FBaby

That's assuming you work enough hours in the last two years and have paid enough NI contribution.

HappyMJ

missapril75 wrote: »

Really? I'm sure you don't mean to advocate spending it to get full JSA, but £10k over 6 months is £384 a week.

I wouldn't be doing that even if I had zero coming in and had to pay rent in full. The OP has JSA and will likely have some HB as well.

That aside, they also might have regard to the "spending rate" if it looks excessive, especially as the balance is now on record.

If the OP normally has income of £384 plus £71 plus whatever housing benefit there is no requirement to reduce spending to just £71 plus rent per week. Normal spending can reduce the capital amount to £6,000. I wouldn't suggest spending any more than the OP has normally spent in the past...contracts committed to such as Sky and Mobiles can be left to run and cancelled when they come up for renewal. There is no need to live on £71 a week which for anyone used to living on £500 a week would be very hard.

sammyjammy

The advice given above assumes you are not claiming for a partner, if you are then the savings limits apply. At £16k you will only receive the contribution based element of £71 per week.

If you buy a £10k car now you would likely still be treated as having that money.

HappyMJ

sammyjammy wrote: »

The advice given above assumes you are not claiming for a partner, if you are then the savings limits apply. At £16k you will only receive the contribution based element of £71 per week.

If you buy a £10k car now you would likely still be treated as having that money.

Why? Buying a new family sized car to replace one that has broken down beyond economical repair is not always deprivation of capital. There are no fixed limits on the amount spent. You may not agree but it isn't always DofC. A new car for the family might save on running costs due to no MOT or more regular maintenance required, no roadside assistance (due to being included in the purchase price), better fuel consumption, lower insurance, zero VED (road tax), no congestion charges. Buying a new car especially with cash upfront (no finance) can be in many circumstances a lot cheaper than buying a £1,000 banger.

jancollins

Guys, thank you so much... I have some of my concerns and questions answered here.

Firstly, I am not claiming with a partner, I am claiming no housing benefit etc either (Living with family)

I have only worked 30-35hrs p/w (£12kpa) the past 4 years, would this have had any impact on why the second person said it would be income based? It has also been 6-7 weeks since I became unemployed, I foolishly have waited this long to sign on, assuming I would have found work by now. As some have you have said, the first person I dealt with did say it would be contribution based for X months, so lets hope she was the one whom was correct.

Regarding my savings, I guess I can have some time to figure it out the next few months before it is taken into account, and hopefully have found new employment before then.

Now... lets say for whatever reason the second person I dealt with a the JC was correct - it is income based, and my savings will be taken into account. How bad is it that I have said my savings are £11k when it is nearer £16k which my statements when handed in this week will show? The 'fraud' word mentioned above has really scared me - this was not my intention in the slightest. I do have small int. free credit card debt (£1k) and a large student loan, would it be understandable for me to say I merely got confused? I am really worried about this as I actually vaguely know all the local JC staff small village). I believe my application yesterday is sent to a nearby central JC who process it, is there anyone I can call there to change this, or is it a small issue than I believe it to be?

Big thanks again

ALIBOBSY

TBH if asked you would just need to say you miss calculated what you had saved and here are the statements to prove what you have got and there shouldn't be an issue. It would be fraud if say you deliberately avoided taking the statements in for say one saving account to make it look like you were under the limit to qualify.

As long as you let them know before its processed into payment you should be fine.

Ali x