Help on esa / jsa please?

[damo960]

Ok so heres my story / facts please offer some advice on what i should next please.

 

I was made unemployed 1/8/2012 i went into depression and attempted suicide not just due to the redunancy but i had issues in regards contact with my children etc.

 

on the 12/09/2012 i was issued a med3 certificate for depression. i took this to the jobcenter and was advised to claim jsa.

 

as of 5/10/2012 my jsa went live. i asked for it to be backdated untill the 12/09/2012. was refused due to not being looking for work as was hospitalised also the reason why the claim was delayed.

 

december 2012 my depression took hold again and i was put into a crisis home /halfway house this did me the world of good. during this visit the cab told me i was on the wrong benefit as i had sick notes from the 12/09/2012 untill the 01/01/2013.

 

applied for esa on the 19/12/2012 explaining i wanted it backdating untill the 12/09/2012 as per cab advice.

 

8/01/2013 esa claim processed but only untill 20/12/2012 as jsa had been in payment.

 

i asked for it to be looked at again as my entitlement to esa was from my sick note and would have entitled me to £1045 in esa payments, however jsa had only paid me £645 in this period due to the non backdating and a dissallownace for not attending a job advisor interview when i was ill.

 

contact center looked at and agreed i was owed money.

 

barnsley benefit office call me following morning and advised they couldnt process it as jsa was on the system and the only way to do it manually was for complaints to advise them to do it that way.

 

i made a complaint to that effect.

 

a week later i am no further forward i have had 2 band d escaluations regarding thgis and no call backs. team leaders and contact center staff have been great issuing escaluations etc however are as frustrated as me as the staff at barnsley will not call me back only saying that it is jsa who needs to deal with the backdating. I know this not to be the case however followed there instructions to call jsa and either get theme to backdate or adjust the periods in which jsa is on the system. the issue lies in that although jsa never granted payments from the 12/09/2012 it is on the sytem as the start date of my claim and therefore esa cannot technically pay 2 benefits in at a time.

 

jsa claim they cannot do anything as i was incorrectly claiming jsa and my sick notes entitle me to esa from the 12/09/2012.

 

im at my wits end, not only have gone with no gas or electric during some periods of this nightmare i have also had rent arrears on my rent as housing benefit can only go on the dates supplied to them which is the 5/10/2012.

 

this seems to be a system issue in which neither party can provide the payments due to the other party and im the one the suffering. yet again i have been promised 3 call backs today from a tier 2 manager at barnsly and yet again i have not received any call back. short of going down there and picketing outside i dont know what to do as i say the contact center have been great but as one callback fails they can only escaluate it which still does nothing.

 

my depression is now worse than ever trying to deal with this mess and am left wondering where it goes from here.

 

thank you in advance. (apologies for ranting and spelling mistakes.)

[estellyn]

Have you claimed a crisis loan to help in the interim, if you are not receiving any money.

[damo960]

im receiving esa currently with no issues other than the backdating.