JSA IB - amount they take away - this can`t be right

[boloney]

Hi, Just got my decision from DWP and they will pay me 85.81 because they will be taking away 26.74 out of 112.55

Why are they doing this? the letter says it could be because of other:

- social security benefits (well I`m in receipt of WTC and CHTC, I will have to stop WTC, and I`m getting HB - now it will cover all my rent as I`m unemployed).

- earnings (I have no earnings coming in now)

- savings over 6000 (at the time of making a claim I had about 2300 in bank accounts and 1500 at home)

- other money coming in (there is nothing else coming in apart from benefits)

 

did they made an error or did I missed something?

is it worth appealing?

how much should I be getting?

are they taking into account money that used to come in to my account from the job I was doing? there was no money withdraws from my account in lump sums for several months so they can`t say I did hide the money somewhere.

Please give me advice as I`m thinking about appealing their decision.

thanks

[2ltr16valve]

Prob the wtc being deducted as it's treated as a income.

[boloney]

did they check it themselves as they did`t ask me for any letters from HMRC.

And another think is I was one week on JSA IB last year I had the same circumstances as now (I was getting the same befits) and there was no deductions.

[2ltr16valve]

Yes they usually have access to central database of what your getting.

I had similar issue when I claimed esa as had just left work and was getting wtc but it had been lowered a lot since claiming an they deducted higher amount

[antone]

If it is WTC then the deductions should stop when WTC payment stops, and you'll get full JSA. Check that the amount being deducted is the same as your weekly WTC, and call them to query if there's a discrepancy.

 

They have access to a database called CIS (Customer Information System) but it can be slow to update, leading to situations like the one mentioned by 2ltr16valve.

[boloney]

HMRC is paying me 26.77 every 4 weeks and DWP is taking away 26.74 every week.

do you think that could be the case but someone does`t know how to use the calculator ?

it`s like tesco employers I bought 6 bottles of coke on a deal 2 for £2.50 a the till deal was different it was 3 for £5 so I went to customer service as I was overcharged £2.50, women behind the counter was about to give me back over £8, where do they take this people from?

[antone]

Well, it's more likely in a case like this that the figure the processor used was entered automatically by the JSA payment computer. So even if the processor noticed it was a few pence out, well, they could spend the afternoon chasing around trying to find out what was going on, or they could say "heck, it's only 3p a week and I've got 25 more claims to do before 5pm. Onwards and upwards!"

[boloney]

Well, it's more likely in a case like this that the figure the processor used was entered automatically by the JSA payment computer. So even if the processor noticed it was a few pence out, well, they could spend the afternoon chasing around trying to find out what was going on, or they could say "heck, it's only 3p a week and I've got 25 more claims to do before 5pm. Onwards and upwards!"

its not 3p as HMRC pays me 26 every 4 weeks and DWP is docking 26 every week. so I`m 75 worst every 4 weeks

I would`t worry if it was 3 p

[antone]

Right, I see. It sounds like someone has taken entered it for the wrong period - perhaps miskeying it as weekly figure instead of four weekly. It happens. In which case it's definitely time to complain - they should fix the error and repay anything taken that shouldn't have been. Or if it's not related to WTC, they need to tell you specifically what it is.

[boloney]

Right, I see. It sounds like someone has taken entered it for the wrong period - perhaps miskeying it as weekly figure instead of four weekly. It happens. In which case it's definitely time to complain - they should fix the error and repay anything taken that shouldn't have been. Or if it's not related to WTC, they need to tell you specifically what it is.

thanks for your advice. I will complain asap. Is there a way to send it by fax? As I could do it for free without need of printer and postage. Otherwise it will cost me money again I know its not much but still something that I rather spend on kids than on postage

[Mr.P]

Hang on a sec - If you are claiming JSA, how are you getting Working Tax Credits ?

Surely WTC is paid when you are in (low paid) work ?

[antone]

Hang on a sec - If you are claiming JSA, how are you getting Working Tax Credits ?

Surely WTC is paid when you are in (low paid) work ?

 

Unless it has changed, there is a four week run-on for WTC after you finish work. This counts as income for JSA(IB).

[antone]

thanks for your advice. I will complain asap. Is there a way to send it by fax? As I could do it for free without need of printer and postage. Otherwise it will cost me money again I know its not much but still something that I rather spend on kids than on postage

 

I'm not really sure if processing offices will accept claimant enquiries by fax. If you're close to a Jobcentre you could drop in and ask them - you'd need to get the relevant fax number in any case. You could always use the phones in the Jobcentre. It's likely that the call centre agent who answers your call won't be able to handle a case like this there and then, so they'll probably refer it onwards for a callback from the processing team.

[RaeUK]

... so I went to customer service as I was overcharged £2.50, women behind the counter was about to give me back over £8, where do they take this people from?

The confusion might be to do with Tesco having had a policy where, if you were overcharged charged at the till, they refunded double the overpayment plus gave you the goods.

[boloney]

Unless it has changed, there is a four week run-on for WTC after you finish work. This counts as income for JSA(IB).

 

thats what I was adviced last year by HMRC last year when reported changes in circumstances.

[boloney]

The confusion might be to do with Tesco having had a policy where, if you were overcharged charged at the till, they refunded double the overpayment plus gave you the goods.

even if that was the case it would`t work out as Tesco employer did it.

never mind, at the end we all paying for them mistakes as Tesco just increase the prices to cover the money they loosing.