JSA mess up, annoyed and need advice

drbluebox

Long story short(ish)

Moved down to area end of September for part time uni, still signed on, but due to many errors their end they never transferred claim and I had to apply for backdating and was told my normal claim wouldnt be sorted until this had been.

End of October my backdating was granted but I never recieved a letter stating to go in, despite me phoning most days, I waited until start of November and went direct to local jobcentre to be told I have missed 2 sign on appointments and so my benefits have been stopped and to reapply and I have to claim backdating. Which I do, and have been waiting since then(This time signing on) and they have decided my reasons arent good enough.

So I phoned most days for 4 weeks, NEVER had a letter saying I had to sign on nor did I have a new claim interview, and that isnt good enough!

So they made errors and expect me to lose out on over £300, which also means I cant get HB for that period.

What can I do as the way they spoke to me on the phone was like it was my fault when I did all I could

Also back when my claim was closed it showed as active on the BDA systems but closed in the branch, so it must just be shoddy admin at my local, also every time I phoned I got through to different jobcentres most not even my own so its silly

dmg24

Do you have records of who you spoke to and when?

Not being able to claim JSA does not mean that you cannot claim HB.

Have you not had any success finding work in the meantime?

weymuffred

drbluebox wrote: »

Long story short(ish)

Moved down to area end of September for part time uni, still signed on, but due to many errors their end they never transferred claim and I had to apply for backdating and was told my normal claim wouldnt be sorted until this had been.

End of October my backdating was granted but I never recieved a letter stating to go in, despite me phoning most days, I waited until start of November and went direct to local jobcentre to be told I have missed 2 sign on appointments and so my benefits have been stopped and to reapply and I have to claim backdating. Which I do, and have been waiting since then(This time signing on) and they have decided my reasons arent good enough.

So I phoned most days for 4 weeks, NEVER had a letter saying I had to sign on nor did I have a new claim interview, and that isnt good enough!

So they made errors and expect me to lose out on over £300, which also means I cant get HB for that period.

What can I do as the way they spoke to me on the phone was like it was my fault when I did all I could

Also back when my claim was closed it showed as active on the BDA systems but closed in the branch, so it must just be shoddy admin at my local, also every time I phoned I got through to different jobcentres most not even my own so its silly

Know what your going through, but you must remember that the benefit people dont make mistakes :rolleyes:
As far as I know all calls are meant to be recorded.

drbluebox

Only records I will have will be the BT bill which isnt due till Janurary.

Have had minor sucess, was supposed to have an interview with Vodafone call centre well paid and they were really eager to hire me, but over the weekend felt ill and doctor says I have tonsilitis which will get worse if I dont relax and drink loads of fluids.

They are eager though as they rang back to ask me how I was and are desperate to get me in for the formal interview(already passed phone interview)

Got to go back to doctors on Friday as she wrote a sick note but dont want to miss the opportunity.

dmg24

Good luck with the interview, you clearly have the right attitude about getting back into work.

When they declined your backdating request, what was the exact reason given? Did they not believe that you made the calls, or did they say that there it was still not a good enough reason?

drbluebox

Just my reasons arent good enough

Larumbelle

weymuffred wrote: »

Know what your going through, but you must remember that the benefit people dont make mistakes :rolleyes:
As far as I know all calls are meant to be recorded.

Excuse me, but as I keep telling you, Fred, unfortunately the fact that DWP employees are human means that they do make mistakes sometimes. It's unfortunate but true. If I ever make a mistake I move heaven and earth to sort the mess out and so do most other benefits staff. Have you never made a mistake? I don't know how many times I have to say this, but if you want DWP staff to keep on coming on this board to try and help you need to stop grinding your own personal axe, especially in other peoples' threads.

All calls are recorded and kept for a minimum of three months.

Anyway, drbluebox. I will help you as much as I can:
1) So far as I know you cannot 'transfer a claim' for JSA. You should have been told to close the claim where you used to live and start a fresh claim from your new address. The fact that this did not happen would be why your initial appeal was successful.

2) If you haven't already done so, appeal the second decision against backdating. If you have records of when and where you called you should include this as evidence. You can contact BT and get a list of calls before January if you need it, and if you tell them it is for benefit reasons this should be free of charge. It sounds to me as if they should have decided to back-date, unfortunately I don't know what on earth goes through the decision makers' heads as they are entirely independent of DWP.

3) You should also make an official complaint, any office should take it seriously, but if you call the new claims line on 0800 0556688 I know they will deal properly with it.

Good luck with the job interview and with the flu, if you feel well enough to work then do you need to go back to the doctors? If you do, ask them not to sign you off if you don't want to be signed off, if that makes any sense whatsoever? And I also want to apologise. I for one am very sorry that you have been treated badly.

dmg24

Completely agree with silvercharming.

I am sure that common sense will prevail in the end x

weymuffred

Silver you must be one of a minority then and I am sure the people who go in my local JCP would back me up completely.

dmg24

The thread is about helping drbluebox. Please do not detract from the topic.

Hope you're feeling a bit better today dbb x

weymuffred

dmg24 wrote: »

The thread is about helping drbluebox. Please do not detract from the topic.

Hope you're feeling a bit better today dbb x

Excuse me? I know it is which is why I said about phone calls being recorded.