Self-employed? Surely we're employees of ltd company we happen to be directors of?

[northernladuk]

She's not trained to do that.

She has to be sent on a special course to use a computer that does the decision making plus they may have just dragged her of the street . (The former border agency use to do that with some of their staff.)

When I turned up for an interview when I tried to claim JSA many years ago I couldn't tell who was looking for work and who actually worked there. The interviewers looked as bad as the people in looking for work. Got interview by some goth with more holes in his face than a colander.

[VectraMan]

Now I've got a form to fill out asking for P&L accounts for the company, bank statements, share certificates (WTF is a share certificate exactly?), as well as stupid questions like do I (or my partner) own any assets of the company. Well if they're assets of the company, the company owns them.

I'm leaning towards giving up on JSA as not being worth the hassle. And I haven't even looked into how to get Housing Benefit yet.

[malvolio]

Now I've got a form to fill out asking for P&L accounts for the company, bank statements, share certificates (WTF is a share certificate exactly?), as well as stupid questions like do I (or my partner) own any assets of the company. Well if they're assets of the company, the company owns them.

I'm leaning towards giving up on JSA as not being worth the hassle. And I haven't even looked into how to get Housing Benefit yet.

Basic JSA isn't means tested. Other benefits are. Hence them asking for a few detalis on income and assets. If it's nmore than £16k (?) all bets are off anyway.

If you want to take our taxes to pay your mortgage interest, fill in the forms and stop whining.

HTH

[northernladuk]

The bit that pissed me off about the whole process (apart from the whole process) is the line where you have to give my consent to have an independent party come in and value my home. Fck that!

[psychocandy]

Basic JSA isn't means tested. Other benefits are. Hence them asking for a few detalis on income and assets. If it's nmore than £16k (?) all bets are off anyway.

If you want to take our taxes to pay your mortgage interest, fill in the forms and stop whining.

HTH

That bit confused me. So do u not get JSA contrib based if uve got > £16K? Or is it just for other stuff?

[malvolio]

That bit confused me. So do u not get JSA contrib based if uve got > £16K? Or is it just for other stuff?

Don't quote me on it, but there has to be a cutoff point for the means tested benefits - else why are they means tested...?

£16k rings a bell, but I guess the reality is a little more complicated.

[northernladuk]

Don't quote me on it, but there has to be a cutoff point for the means tested benefits - else why are they means tested...?

£16k rings a bell, but I guess the reality is a little more complicated.

http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...ngs-limit.html

[psychocandy]

Don't quote me on it, but there has to be a cutoff point for the means tested benefits - else why are they means tested...?

£16k rings a bell, but I guess the reality is a little more complicated.

Aye. Thats what I mean. For the contrib JSA theres no means tested? Makes sense I guess.

Although 16K is a little low.

Wonder what happens if you start off with £16K then eat into it at, say, a rate of £2K a month. At month 1, you'd be under to the tune of £14K, then £12K etc.

It would be worth asking them to review every month. (Im sure between £6K and £16K isnt there a drop off of benefits?)

[Podgy]

I think the idea is you have to have no income and be (really really) poor - the forms are designed for you to give up unless you really need the cash.

Must say I never had to provide all my business accounts.

Still they have put a new system in now.

[northernladuk]

Aye. Thats what I mean. For the contrib JSA theres no means tested? Makes sense I guess.

Although 16K is a little low.

Wonder what happens if you start off with £16K then eat into it at, say, a rate of £2K a month. At month 1, you'd be under to the tune of £14K, then £12K etc.

It would be worth asking them to review every month. (Im sure between £6K and £16K isnt there a drop off of benefits?)

Yep. Bearing in mind this also includes your home to which you had to put a deposit in which is likely to be bigger than this let alone paying it off and increase in value it is hard to avoid. As podgy says to get everything out of the system you really have to have (or make them think you have) absolutely no money.

The biggest blow was once you get through all the soul destroying forms you get a letter back listing all the benefits stating which you can get and which you won't. I found it quite insulting as it is obviously automatically generated with the correct paragraph but the wording reads like I am getting a bollocking. You cannot claim Housing Benefit, You cannot claim CT relief You cannot ... etc etc. Very insensitively worded.

Did make me wonder after what you have to do to actually be eligible for them all and all I could think of is be extremely poor, know the system/commiting fraud or be an immigrant... Your average joe that has been put out of work hasn't a chance at most of them. Quite annoying... hence I will never go through this process again.