Jobseekers allowance reduced rate

[Mendoza]

Hi,

I was recently told by the social welfare office I wasn't entitled to Jobseekers allowance. I appealed and seven or so months later social welfare appeals found in my favour.

Now that I've been awarded JSA, my backdated money and payment is being docked money I was receiving (via standing order) from a family member to tie me over while I found work or my appeal came through and could pay them back.

I had the standing order cancelled as I finally have some financial support from the government. How though is someone meant to survive on no income at all? It doesn't seem right that the money I was relying on, short of work, to pay them back has been subtracted from my JSA.

I feel like social welfare offloaded their responsibility and I'm picking up the tab. I'm wondering is this standard practice that they leave you scrounging around for scraps for seven months and then renege on you in the last minute. It seems very catch twenty-two, they wouldnt give me money so i manage to get some and then they doc me it when they should have given it to me all along?

Is this worth appealing? I really don't want to wait another seven months but this seems ridiculous. To be honest I'm just glad the appeals found in my favour as I had about seven euro in my account last week before I got the letter of approval.

 

[TTI]

I think you should definitely appeal, that this standing order money is not an income but a loan from a family member that has to be paid back. Did you list it as income?

 

[Mendoza]

I don't know to be honest. They wanted my bank details and they wanted a copy of their bank statements - to verify it was from a family member. I suppose anything I gave them never explicitly said it was to be paid back more along the lines that it was to tie me over.

I gave them a letter from them with their relevant bank statements but couldn't recall what it said as I gave them their things back once SW had looked at it.

 

[Bronte]

I don't know to be honest. They wanted my bank details and they wanted a copy of their bank statements - to verify it was from a family member. I suppose anything I gave them never explicitly said it was to be paid back more along the lines that it was to tie me over.

So this is where the problem lies. SW were never informed it was a loan by you and they rightly then treated it as income. It is up to you now to appeal this and prove it is a loan. Starting to pay back the family member, now, might help in your case. Standing order to family member would be a good idea, but first I'd ask citizen's advice what to do. Also ask social welfare what proof they want so that you know in advance what is required.

 

[Mendoza]

Well I was down as SW today, as I needed a card for the post office. They weren't much help as the deciding officer wasn't there and the lady that was there said she couldn't make sense of what was on the computer (I put that down to the fact that I had to appeal and its been a total mess so can't blame her).

Anyway I'll have to run to the bank now to deposit what I got and set up a standing order. Couldn't before hand as I've been living on the 95 euro a week I was receiving, and whatever money I had from what little teaching I could get, I literally have just over 2 euro in my account. I'll have to top up the phone too to ring citizens information. Who'd have thought topping up your phone would be such a pleasure to be able to do.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I've never been in this situation before and I've found SW less than helpful - if anything they seem to go out of their way to exclude you.

 

[thedaddyman]

Well I was down as SW today, as I needed a card for the post office. They weren't much help as the deciding officer wasn't there and the lady that was there said she couldn't make sense of what was on the computer (I put that down to the fact that I had to appeal and its been a total mess so can't blame her).

Anyway I'll have to run to the bank now to deposit what I got and set up a standing order. Couldn't before hand as I've been living on the 95 euro a week I was receiving, and whatever money I had from what little teaching I could get, I literally have just over 2 euro in my account. I'll have to top up the phone too to ring citizens information. Who'd have thought topping up your phone would be such a pleasure to be able to do.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I've never been in this situation before and I've found SW less than helpful - if anything they seem to go out of their way to exclude you.

They are not excluding you. You applied for JSA, they checked your bank account and saw you had an income coming in and it sounds as if you never explained what it was and that it was repayable. All they can do is look at the facts you have provided and based on the paperwork you provided, they made their decision

I suggest you put everything in writing to the SW including a letter from the person who lent you the money confirming it was a loan. That way there is no confusion.

 

[Mendoza]

Yeah, your absolutely right. On the basis of what was provided I can't fault their decision as it makes perfect sense from what you pointed out. If I, or anyone else, was making money in addition to what they were entitled to it's only right that it be deducted.

Really I just meant my being dismissed in the first place. Initially they said, pretty much outright, I'm not entitled and seemed to have little time for examining my case. It was only when I appealed the decision to the SWAppeals, after I asked for an internal review, did they send a person back out to my residency to take my claim seriously (in my opinion). This could just be standard protocol; I don't know.

My apologies though, as I didn't mean to come across as if I was making a sweeping statement of the whole system rather just my experience of the process to date.