Sounds like she was completing the DART system and sending it directly to her Team Leader for consideration of the good cause. Perhaps our systems is out dated as we still issue the paper stencils and will telephone people if we think that more clarification is needed before sending anything to our Team Leader but at least that way we can also forward the additional information (such as the photocopied es40 cards), also our staffing levels do not allow the DMA person to come out on to a front facing desk to then take a statement to refer through the DART system and that is a various reasons (severly understaffed die to part time workers, sickness and annual leave etc). Fingers crossed for you

Yes the system is being updated to allow people who work static hours to no longer have to declare their part time work on form B7 every 2 weeks, when this has been decided at the BDC you will receive a letter to advise you that you no longer need to provide te B7's and will be advised of your buffer zone where you only need to notify the BDV if you earn more or less than the amount on that letter. Due to the staffing cuts from the fta's being let go the work is starting to pile up so the BDC that covers the JCP where I work is running behind with all work so very few cases have actually been decided for this but it something that is on going.

Any work that you comnplete during your clasim to JSA should be reported. Yes the first 3 days of a brand new claim are unpaid. If he then signed off and made a reclaim (either rapid or fresh claim) within 26 weeks of the previous claim ending then he will not need to serve the waiting days again.

I completed the living together course back in 1996 as part of my training in the DWP and not much has changed since then! If it was me looking at the case as you have described I would consider on the grounds of probability that you are to be classed as a couple for benefit purposes. Friends, family and neighbours would consider you to be a couple and also the fact that you spend practically every night together at either property is also a strong indication of being in a stable relationship. Nobody is denying you the right to have a sex life and actually whether you are a sexually active couple has no bearing on the decision as there are a great number of married couples who no longer have an active sex life but if you spend 3 nights at your home then 4 nights at your boyfriends home then vice versa you are spending a regular pattern of time together, the whole spending 3 nights with a partner is a myth it boils down to if you are observed doing this by a fraud officer for a regular pattern, it will not look good. Also one other bit of advice if you were classed as a couple for benefit purposes and then decided to only see your boyfriend at weekends in order to keep yuor benefits you could be classed as a ficticious desertion and also if oits still a regular stopping together (even just for 2 nights) then you would still be classed as a couple. I'm sorry if I missed anything and have gone off track.

You won't be arrested at the airport. It does depend on the reason for your claim to IS but most claims can remain open for a short while (usually a short term holiday for example a two week jaunt to the sun) but as part of the qualifying condition for claiming means tested benefits is that you are resident in the UK they may need to consider if you are habitually resident in the UK for benefit purposes and also if you have been in receipt of IS which is only meant to cover your living expenses, bills etc how were you able to afford to leave the country on numerous occasions iygwim? Also leaving the country is a change of circumstances so you are legally required to notify the dapratment. Consider when someone is claiming JSA they have to notify the JCP office when they leave the area even for an over night stay!

I work for JCP in a customer service role (signing, customer service, reception etc) I like to think that I am helpful and as good at my job as I can be! The expenses your son receives for his voluntary work will not affect his claim for JSA, unless he is living with a partner (in full time employment) he can still claim for the Income Based but if he entitled to the Contribution Based JSA he will receive that as his payment until the award exhausts after 182 days (if he hasn't been able to secure employment by that time) and then he will be required to complete a further form to assess his claim for Income Based JSA called JSA3. From previous experience as a processing officer many years ago anyone who hadn't been working for a period of approx 1 month prior to their claim would be asked how they had been supporting themselves financially for the period between either a previous claim or work until the date the claim was made. Some people had received redundancy payments so used those to fund their normal household expenses, others would borrow money from friends or family and unfortunately the questions had to be asked, if you could manage before without state benefits what has changed for you to require the help now and why can't your previous source of income continue to support you in favour of state benefits? As for the transactions you don't have to supply your bank statements but you could write a short letter to state what the transactions were intended for and that you do not wish to provide you bank statements as they have nothing to do with your son (assuming that neither of you are named on each others accounts). As for Housing Benefits I'm afraid I can't help with that. If you were to continue to pay him a sum of money on a regular basis after his claim had been assessed and paid then yes that money could be treated as income but more information would have to be obtained before that decision could be made. I hope you son finds work soon. Please don't tarnish us all with the same brush!

The way to close your claim is to put your request in writing I'm afraid, alternatively if your claim has been susoended and you haven't made contact with 1 calender the month the claim will automatically close.

I work at JCP so please don't shoot me, I work on the DMA referral team and Fortnight Job Review (FJR) sigining team as well as reception and generally picking up a broom to clean the office if I dare to have 5 spare minutes. The guidance is quite clear that a statement needs to be taken and that is usually in the form of a written statement from th customer on a form where you should have your name, national insurance number, the date of the missed signing/appointment and location of the appointment, the date notification of said siging/appointment was issued and the date and time that physically atetnded the office following the missed appointment/signing. You then give a written account statement of your reasons and sign and date the form. This is then passed to a team leader either of the FJR or Customer Service/DMA team to consider if there was good cause for you not attending (tbh if it was me that you saw I would have attached photocopies of the 2 ES40 booklets showing the dates and times you were required to attend) and if the dates are conflicting then that is usually treated as good cause, so in my opinion there should not be a referral made to the Sector DMA team to consider any sanction, however it wasn't me so I can't give any guarantees sorry. If a sanction is imposed you will need to request a reconsideration of the decision in writing and insist that copies of the two ES40 booklets are taken to show the conflicting information and then it's a waiting game sorry. I hope things work out for you.

I take it you would have been due to sign on 30th December then? If yes then your money should be paid automatically there a few exceptions for advance payments e.g you currently declare part time work etc. You may want to call your BDC processing office to confirm the date the money should be in your account.

You can claim for help with your housing benefit and council tax benefits. As you are claiming Contribution based JSA my understanding is that your claim for HB and CTB will be based on your income and capital so you may have to pay towards some of your rent or council tax (each local authority have different amounts in their assessments). When you call the 0800 number to make your claim to JSA they will automatically contact (as long as you give your consent) the Tax Credits number to notify them of your change in circumstances so that your tax credits can be adjusted accordingly, but you will not receive any JSA for your daughter only tax credits and child benefit.

Sorry you are having a bad time at the moment I work for JCP and this is a hard time of year for customers and staff alike. When you make your claim you are advised that claims can take approximately 10 to 14 working days to be processed as long as all information is provided at the inital interview. These times are only an indication of a straight forward claim under normal conditions however the last year has seen a vast increase in claims so realisitically these times have increased but through no fault of staff working in the BDC offices. There is nothing you can do realisitically do I'm afraid. All I can suggest is going into your JCP office on Monday in the morning again with your partners ID (and also you own just in case) and speaking to the telephony section (through the 0845 number) and politely and calmly asking what the position of your claim is. The person you speak to is not actually processing your claim and therefore is no more accountable that the person in the JCP office so why shout at them? It will not get you anywhere but could ultimately result in a ban from entering the office or from using the customer phones. (yes I have known it happen!) With any luck you may be able to get something sorted on Monday and could potentially get an internet same day payment (as long as it is agreed by the JSA manger at the BDC) but if you kick off this is likely to be refused or even a clerical giro (hence your ID). Do not mention that it is to get your kids Christmas presents as this not a reason to get it processed any faster either, unfortunately this time of year has no bearing on processing as your benefit is not supposed to fund luxuries. Simply explain that bills are mounting up and you may incurr bank charges if you go overdrawn. I apologise if you don't like my reply but I have typed and re-typed this numerous times tryng not to come across the wrong way.

He says there wasn't a CCJ against him it was all worked out through their Solicitors during the divorce. He was never summoned to court. He didn't have the means to pay back his half (as he cleared all the other debts she ran up during the marriage) this overdraft was run up during their separation by her and yes he feels so stupid now but he did love her and was hoping things would work out. It was decided that the easiest way would be an attachment of earnings so he knew it would be paid (his bank account was closed by the bank just after his wages were paid leaving him a month without anything. It was then agreed with his previous employers that his wages would be paid in cash until they helped him open a new basic account which he couldn't have any standing orders or direct debits). The divorce was very bitter they have no dealings with each other, he assumed she would have sorted out her half, but it appears not! What has angered me most is he has paid his half of the debt but because she hasn't they want to chase him again just because he paid before. Thank you for your advice so far but what should our next step be? Mant thanks Flump.

Hello. I am new to this site and I could do with some advice please? Whilst we were on holiday our neighbour (who we do not have much to do with) received a telephone call from a lady from a company asking about my other half, is he known to her does he still live at the house next door etc.... Our neighbour confirmed this and took a message to get him to call her back on our return. We phoned the company and it was Mackenzie Hall Ltd so we did not confirm any details and ended the call swiftly. They must have given out some details because a few days after returning she asked if we had sorted out the debt collection agents because she was not impressed with receiving phone calls on her home number. Today he received a letter from MH on behalf of Cabot Financial dated 8th August stating it was a final notice and payment deadline of noon 15th August. This debt is from his previous marriage and all debts were sorted by their retrospective solicitors. The debt relates to an overdraft of a joint bank account with Barclays and he has paperwork from Centralised Attachment of Earnings showing that the Attachment of earnings order has been discharged on 14th March 2003 and also a letter from Elizabeth Handworth Solicitor based in Manchester confirming that the said debt has been paid in full, no further legal proceedings will be taken in this case and full satisfaction will be filed with the Credit References Agencies. However, it appears that his ex-wife has not paid anything so now these debt collection agents are pursuing him for the remainder of the debt. Do we ignore this letter and hope they are clutching at straws? Any advice most welcome. Many thanks Flumps1976. ps I do not have a scanner or access to one so I cannot post the letters on here.