stiffed by the DWP on JSA - advice request

on_a_money_mission

Hi everyone,

I'm a long-time lurker and first time poster (and I love this site, it's saved me and made me lots of money).

Anyway, I've just found out I have been stiffed by the DWP to the tune of well over £1100. I applied for contribution-based Job Seekers Allowance on 30th March this year and was rejected as I had not made enough NI contributions. I thought this was odd at the time as I've worked for many years but thought, oh well it's because I wasn't earning much for the last few months before I lost my job. Because I was rejected I didn't bother signing on again and started working at the beginning of September. So 5 months with no income of my own. Times were hard and this site helped a lot.

This morning I have had a letter (unprompted) from the DWP saying that 'we have looked at your claim again following a recent change' and based on my Class 1 NI contributions I was entitled to £57.45 a week but as I didn't bother signing on on my next due date (Friday)13th April I will only get £8.21 for the whole period. So rough working out if I had signed on regularly at the time I would have received £1100+!

I phoned them up today and was told as I hadn't continued signing on I was not entitled to anything. Only when I asked for the appeal form mentioned on the letter did they agree to send it out. Do any moneysavers have any insight into where I stand on this? Is it worth appealing? Do I stand any chance on this because I didn't keep signing on? Even though I didn't sign on because they told me I wasn't entitled to anything and as I have a little boy I knew my 'stamp' would be paid.

Any help would be more than welcome, because I would really like to fight this one on principal. Cheeky bunch of lying fraudsters at the DWP. :mad:

Voyager2002

Poor you!

Since they are at fault, you should eventually get the money, but be prepared for quite a struggle. A letter to your MP might help at some stage, but of course your first step is completing the appeal form. And once your appeal is heard, be absolutely sure that you attend in person: cases decided on the paperwork almost always go against the claimant.

Another point you should make: they should have told you to keep signing on so that you would receive your NI credits (contributions towards your pension and other contributory benefits). For that reason, at one time of my life I continued to sign over a seven-month period even though I was not getting any money. Had they told you about the credits you would have signed; and your contribution record would have been better than it now is.

on_a_money_mission

Thanks for the input Voyager!

I knew about the need to sign on for NI contributions but at the time I looked into it and found out that as I have a small child, any time spent not working would be covered under the 'mother' clause which allows contributions to be credited for pension purposes so long as you are in receipt of child benefit (let's not go into that debacle now! CDs anyone?).

I've sought advice on my JSA situation and have been advised to make an appeal AND a complaint on the basis of 'misdirection'. No doubt it will be a looooong drawn out process designed to make me give up in despair, but I think my bile will fuel me through. They were a very skint 5 months of no income. £57.45 a week is not a lot but it would have made a substantial difference and I had worked for 15 years previously so had definitely paid into the system.

Also when I initially signed on, I was advised to apply for incapacity benefit instead because of a chronic health problem. I refused and I think that the Job Centre staff are under so much pressure to keep the unemployed off the radar, they look for any reason not to approve JSA and so conveniently didn't bother checking my records. I'm annoyed with myself for trusting them to actually do their jobs properly.

dmg24

Could I ask what the 'recent change' was, that the DWP referred to in their letter?

healy

dmg24 wrote: »

Could I ask what the 'recent change' was, that the DWP referred to in their letter?

I have seen this phrase quoted quite a few times, sometimes when there has been no change, so I think it is just part of a standard letter, but that is just a guess.

dmg24

healy wrote: »

I have seen this phrase quoted quite a few times, sometimes when there has been no change, so I think it is just part of a standard letter, but that is just a guess.

It does sound like a standard letter, but I am wondering why the 'recent change' has only just been discovered. Was some evidence supplied late, or lost by the DWP?

on_a_money_mission

I did ask what the recent change was and was told 'the computer had updated the class 1 national insurance details' - whatever that means. I've made no further claims and been working since the beginning of September.

stazi

Sorry to hear about your problem, however, you should have challanged the JSA decision at the time by producing your P60's for the tax years used.
Unfortunetly, your appeal is too late now, and it would be unlikley to be heard.

HMRC maintain your National Insurance records- not JCP. JCP only use your NI record to decide benefit claims such as JSA & IB. At the time your JSA claim was decided, your NI record showed that you did not satisfy the contribution conditions. Your JSA was therefore correctly disallowed at the time.

The disallowance letter sent to you would have told about your appeal rights, and what to do if you thought that the decision was wrong.

Your NI records are 'fluid', in other words, they can change at any time. It now appears that HMRC have now put some more contributions onto your NI record, that weren't there at the time your JSA claim was decided. This is not unusual, and can be because of many reasons such as the employer submitting the pay reords late to HMRC, or HMRC having investigate/correct the pay records etc.

When your NI record changes in any way (+or-), and JCP have prevously requested NI details, HMRC automatically tell JCP of the change, which is what appears to have now happened.

Had you continued to 'sign on', you would have been paid all the arrears due to you. Unfortunetly, you decided not to. Because of this, your JSA claim ended.

You state that your ' 'stamp' would be paid'. This is not quite correct. Whilst you get Child Benefit, for each tax year where you have not paid enough NI to qualify for Retirement Pension (RP) only, you are given protection called Home Responsiblities Protection. HRP only reduces the years needed for RP and does not help with any other benefits.

missk249

Should they OP not have claimed "income based" jsa if they coudnt get the "contributions based" allowance? I have been turned down on a few occasions for contribution based JSA and was give Income based instead. If this is the correct thing to have done, why was it not claimed? and if it was misinformation, then is there not a right to appeal?

stazi

Time limit for an appeal is that it must be received at any DWP office within 1 calendar month of the decision being sent.
The OP may not have had any entitlement to JSA income based. I believe that a claim for both elements are taken at the same time.

on_a_money_mission

So I'm to blame for not making an appeal at the time? As the information was only just updated that appeal would have been turned down at the time too. So if you are refused contribution based JSA you should keep paying for transport to the job centre with the money you don't have to sign on in the off chance their computer system will eventually be accurate?

As for not continuing to sign on, what exactly was the point? Under HRP I would have still gained state pension rights which seems to be the only reason to continue to sign on as I get no other benefits.

I was not entitled to and did not bother applying for income-based JSA as my husband works. I had worked for years and thought I was entitled to contribution-based JSA in my own right for up to 6 months, but my pay fell below the £90 a week NI threshold for the last three months I was working and I thought this was why I was refused.

Do you happen to work for the DWP Stasi? because your attitude would fit right in.

Anyway I've been told by the Independent Case Examiner's Office I have grounds for a complaint on the grounds of misdirection. I don't think my appeal will be successful but a complaint might.