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Eligible for nothing?

Frank93
Frank93 Posts: 3 Newbie
edited 4 October 2017 at 12:53PM in Benefits & tax credits
Hi everyone,

I'm extremely confused here and seem to have fallen down a gap in the system, can anyone advise? I'm a UK citizen, and have just finished 5 years at University and am looking to claim JSA/UC for a few weeks to support myself until I can find a job. I live in a full UC service area and applied last week. I got called today and was asked questions, one of which was whether I had been out of the country for more than 4 weeks in the past 2 years. Last summer, after saving for a year with my part time job, I went away for 5 weeks with my friends. I was told that I was not eligible for UC based on this, and that I should claim JSA.

I've tried to claim JSA but have been told that I can only claim contributions-based JSA, which I can't because I never broke the tax-threshold with my income from my part time job. I've been on the phone to various people for the past 2 hours, but have been told I can't claim UC and I can't claim JSA. I have appealed the UC claim, saying that I was on holiday, but they said the system wouldn't let them put it through.

Am I right in saying that because I went on a self-funded holiday last summer, I am eligible for zero support? I find odd, surely it can't be the case?

Advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
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