Trouble applying for Universal Credit/JSA

azael

When I attempt to apply for JSA, it tells me that I'm in a Universal Credit area so must apply for that instead.

But when I fill out the info for applying for UC, it tells me that I'm not eligible for it.

I also checked all of the requirements for UC on the UC eligibility page of the gov.uk website.

it gives the error "Universal Credit is being introduced in the UK over a number of years. Unfortunately based on the information you've given, you cannot claim right now."

I used the Citizens Advice eligibility Checker and it says I'm in a "live service" area.
I do meet the requirements: I'm 20, British, living with parents, have been in UK for past 2 years. unemployed, single, not in education, not expected to have earnings in the next month, don't have savings above £6000, I'm not on any other benefits, and the last time I was on JSA was 3 years ago.

I carefully filled the form out twice, it gave the same error both times.. what am I doing wrong?

pmlindyloo

Even though you are in a live service area the gateway conditions can be different in each area. Therefore it is impossible for us to say whether you are entitled or not.

I suggest you telephone
Universal Credit helpline
Telephone: 0345 600 0723
Welsh language (make a claim): 0800 012 1888
Welsh language (report changes): 0345 600 3018
Textphone: 0345 600 0743
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

and they can go through all your details and advise you. If you are not eligible for UC then you should be able to claim JSA instead.

Since you specify that you have been in the UK for the last two years, have you, during that time, been out of the country for any length of time? I believe that is another of the questions that can make you ineligible.

I can only guess!

epm-84

azael wrote: »

I used the Citizens Advice eligibility Checker and it says I'm in a "live service" area.
I do meet the requirements: I'm 20, British, living with parents, have been in UK for past 2 years. unemployed, single, not in education, not expected to have earnings in the next month, don't have savings above £6000, I'm not on any other benefits, and the last time I was on JSA was 3 years ago.

There's a few additional conditions:

Even if you meet these conditions, you can’t apply for Universal Credit in a live service area if you:
are expected to earn more than £338 in the next month
are self-employed
have savings of more than £6,000
are not able to work or look for work due to a health condition or disability
are in full-time education or training
are not a British Citizen
are a homeowner
are homeless
are a carer, including if you’re a foster carer
are pregnant or you’ve had a baby within the last 15 weeks
are liable to pay child maintenance

Note they may class you as self-employed if you have worked for yourself even if you currently not doing any work.

epm-84

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Since you specify that you have been in the UK for the last two years, have you, during that time, been out of the country for any length of time? I believe that is another of the questions that can make you ineligible.

Indeed. I think recently being out of the country for anything other than a holiday can affect a benefits claim. You're also not allowed to leave the country (even for a day) without first closing a JSA/UC claim, which you can apply to reopen when you return.

azael

I've not been out of the country.
I'm not self-employed, nor have I ever been.
I don't have savings over £6000
I am looking for work.
I'm not in full-time education/training.
I am a British Citizen.
I'm not a homeowner.
I'm not homeless.
I'm not a carer.
I'm not pregnant.
I'm not liable to pay child maintenance.

So I do meet those criteria, not sure why it won't let me.

I'll try giving a call.

konark

It's 55p a minute....unless you can speak Welsh.

Ames

konark wrote: »

It's 55p a minute....unless you can speak Welsh.

Not necessarily, it depends on what phone package the caller has.

azael

It's an 03 number which means it's inclusive in landline rates for various carriers.
I'm with Three so it only cost 3p/min on pay as you go. I was on hold for around 25mins then the actual call only took around 10min.

Everything went okay, they said UC should be applied for on website but I explained I was having trouble with it then they did it for me.

datec66

Did you tick yes you were living in temporary accommodation? . Basically this happens when you answer a gateway question uc isn.t set up for on live service so you were knocked out from being able to claim uc at this time.