• 🇬🇧󠁿 🇸🇪 🇿🇦 🇮🇪 🇬🇭 🇩🇪 🇪🇺
    European & African
    Drug Discussion

    Welcome Guest!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
  • EADD Moderators: Pissed_and_messed | Shinji Ikari

Jobseeker's Allowance Megathread ver. We're all overqualified!

Paxman is at least persistent and dogged in his questioning of MPs, like his infamous Michael Howard interview, where he asks Howard "Did you threaten to overrule him ?" about 40 times because the cunt would not answer the question - at least someone does try to stand up to them, even the mild mannered Andrew Marr doesnt let them off the hook easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwlsd8RAoqI
 
It is good when an interviewer actually does his job and pushes and pushes them for an answer rather than letting them say what they want to say as they usually just waffle on for 5 minutes without actually answering the question that they were asked.
 
maxalfie said:
I think that is the Mp we are talking about
Click to expand...

Yup. That was the nobber. Couldn't believe how she just let him bang on without giving the other MP a chance to get a word in. The interviewer more or less just let him get away with a party political rather than an interview :\

maxalfie said:
It is good when an interviewer actually does his job and pushes and pushes them for an answer rather than letting them say what they want to say as they usually just waffle on for 5 minutes without actually answering the question that they were asked.
Click to expand...

That's one thing I like about the Question Time audience - they seem to have gotten into the habit of shouting down any MP that tries that stuff of late. And rightly so. We're all surely sick of hearing politicunts bang on with the party line without once giving any personal opinions let alone going near an actual answer to the specific question.
 
Shambles said:
That's one thing I like about the Question Time audience - they seem to have gotten into the habit of shouting down any MP that tries that stuff of late. And rightly so. We're all surely sick of hearing politicunts bang on with the party line without once giving any personal opinions let alone going near an actual answer to the specific question.
Click to expand...

here, here!
 
That 13 week sanction is utterly crazy. If that sort of thing is commonplace, surely there will be (more) riots.

I've just finally got my mortgage paperwork sorted out, and thanks to that I've just completed my JSA application online. So hopefully will get an appointment before the weekend.

In the process, I've checked the terms of my mortgage payment protection insurance (the JSA app asks if you have insurance to pay for your mortgage, if you've got one). I've fucked that one up, been paying £28 a month for 8 years and it turns out I'm not covered, because I've been self-employed. At least I can stop kicking myself for not claiming on the insurance. Now I need to look into getting a PPI compensation.

So, will be interesting to see what JSA I get, I've not made the right contributions for contributions-based JSA so will be income-based. I have no income, but I've declared some savings. I suppose it'll be fuck all, and my savings will just dwindle till I get a job.

On the slightly bright side (there is one!) I stumbled across the correct web page for applying for an electrician's apprenticeship in Scotland. The Skills Development people showed me all sorts of web pages but NOT THAT ONE which is the EXACT one I wanted! So I'll be doing that tomorrow, they want some info I don't have right now.
 
Knock, when you claim JSA you should be asked to sign a JobSeekers Agreement (jsag). It is where they specify what steps you should take each week to search for work.
They may try & put daft things like apply for 30 jobs a week. Now there may not be 30 jobs every week for you to apply for but if you had signed your Jsag agreeing to apply for 30 jobs & then didn't you would leave yourself open for a sanction.
You should come to a sensible agreement with your adviser on what steps are realistic for you to take each week before signing the Jsag.
As long as you then follow the steps on your Jsag which you have both agreed on then you should avoid being sanctioned.
Also never turn up late for or miss any appointments you are asked to attend.
So important to get that Jsag right at the start of your claim as it can save you a lot of grief later.
 
does the housing benefit go too? I suppose there's some paperwork fuckery to deal with that. The thing is is that everyone who gets sanctioned needs to ask for a reconsideration and then appeal. see with the amount of sanctioning going on they would not be able to handle/afford all the extra admin. (they actively try to discourage people from appealing by repeating we're right you're wrong constantly. it's all such a fuck up I can understand why people give up but that is the only way to bring this shite system down..

I see it's called a "journey " now a job seeking journey. fuck wits.

foodbanks! a couple of years back after I'd left my job and started signing on, I also had social services pestering me (after my nervous breakdown) anyway, I had no money as my claim hadn't been sorted and little food. I did ask the shite social worker about food bank help and , well, she basically talked me out of it. baffled me with bullshit "well, do you really need help now, because the food bank can only help once (or something like that) andperhaps you should wait until there is literally no food in your cupboards at all" fuck knows, it was all rather mysterious the way she went on I didn't understand . I'd say it must have been paperwork she didn't fancy doing. Obviously, asking for help from a food bank is not something people tend to feel good about and I was easily put off by her bullshit because I didn't want to seem desperate but it certainly seems like one of those difficult things to get help from.
 
Afaik if you do receive a sanction then you have to let housing benefit know and you should still receive your housing benefit. Failure to notify them of a sanction could result in housing benefit not being paid or being delayed.
Totally agree with you PinkP about appealing any sanction against you.
 
I tend to appeal any and all decisions that go against me cos half the time it's either a mistake or - frankly - malicious. I think a lotta people would be surprised how often an appeal goes in their favour. Seems higher up the food chain the people are a wee bit more competent and perhaps just a wee bit less corrupt isn't quite the right word cos they're not really, they're being shat on just as much as anybody I suspect and just passing it on as people tend to. If decisions on the frontline were reliable there wouldn't be half as many successful appeals though really.

maxalfie said:
So important to get that Jsag right at the start of your claim as it can save you a lot of grief later.
Click to expand...

That's an excellent point and I bet most people wouldn't think of it either. I know I hadn't (admittedly it's been a long time since I signed on).
 
the bar was set quite low for my jsa, i had to apply for 10 or 12 jobs a fortnight. Depending on my levels of motivation it would always be easy to meet the minimum requirement, sometimes i would go far in excess, and apply for 30-50 jobs at a time. That really did the trick, and transfrormed the way i was treated. I was seen as "really trying". Fucks sake its simply impossible to make ends meet on the dole, i have no idea where they get the figure of £71 from, but as still have to pay full council tax and water bills, those alone use up the entire amount of my JSA. This is before even considering things like heating and food. At the moment because i worked for 20 years i have some savings i still have a phone line, internet connection, and tv subsription, and run a car, but savings run down quicker than i ever believed possible, once you have no income. If i dont get a job soon all those things i worked for will have to be given up or sold off, one by one.

I was incredibly demotivated by applying for about 50 jobs the other week, was busy for days with phone calls and emails, got 3 interviews out of the whole lot. Its difficult to re-motivate yourself after doing all that and coming out with nothing, but i will sooner or later find the motivation for another big push, and failure will not be an option next time. If im going to go through all that shit again, then it has to be worth all the effort, theres no point in even securing interviews unless you can turn up and blow them all away. Just being "OK" isnt good enough, ifyou want anything other than a minimum wage job.
 
It's hard enough to even get a minimum wage job these days when you have people with degrees having to shelf stack in supermarkets.
Keep trying Mdb and try not to get too demoralised.The more jobs you apply for the more chance you have of getting some work.
 
i may have to lower my sights, and despite having 20 years experience, just start applying for minimum wage jobs. The problem is then that i would be that person with a degree applying to be a shelf stacker, because i cannopt get anything else (so far) and am overqualified for jobs like that. Some company invited me for an interview, but the wage was only £12,000. I politely told them to fuck off, which i regret just sllightly now, though i would have deeply resented having to work at a level i rose above about 18 years ago.
 
mydrugbuddy said:
still have to pay full council tax
Click to expand...

Really? Have you asked about Council Tax Benefit? It usually comes automatically with Housing Benefit. Unless you're not claiming HB either (do I recall you mentioning owning your home?). Anyway, I can't imagine why you'd not qualify for CTB if you're on JSA. Ask at the KnobCentre or - ideally - CAB or local equivalent, or indeed one of the many online or phone advice services. You've paid into the system virtually your whole life so claim what is yours and I can't see why you wouldn't be eligible for CTB. It covers the full amount of CT you pay afaik - mine certainly does anyway.
 
i think it might be because i own my own home. The route ive gone down it really doesnt pay for me to be on jsa. Trust me to get addicted to drugs and become incapable of dealing with an occassionally demanding job at the height of a recession. If you're gonna fuck up, ypu may aswell fuck up in one of the most difficult periods (job wise) that there has been in my adult life. I was still just in school during the horrors of the Thatcher era, and was fortunate enough to be in boom time for most of my adult life, until last year, when it all came crashing down.
 
I know that even if you are in work that if you are the sole occupant of your property you can get a reduction in your council tax for being the only person living there.
Can't recall the percentage you get off your bill but every little helps.
 
I think it's 25% for single working folk. Always used to be, anyhow.

As for the overqualified / underqualified thing, I know people with postgrad qualifications and significant experience who are currently doing waitress work; however I also know people who've managed to find better jobs than the ones they had previously, and this is in recent months.

As ever, it's at least 50% pot luck as to whether you'll strike it lucky with any given job, only it's seemingly more soul-destroying just this second, from what I read here.
 
My key worker says I should talk to my bank about my debts. But im scared if I do they'll take away my £1000 overdraft which has been a godsend until codeine. I'm also paying £100 a month credit card fees as i owe £4,000 Please advise.
Please advise. Stressed as hell.
Evey xxxx

Oh if you ain't claiming benefit you can't get housing or council tax benefit. Well it's possibly. But MDB aint earning or on benefits to put something down on the forms. That's the council for ya - unless it's different in England maybe???
 
The bank can (and probably will) withdraw the overdraft facility any time they choose to. It sucks, but it's their money, you owe them and that's the way they see it. I refuse to have an overdraft facility at all because I just can't trust myself. It means some weeks are more comfortable than others, perhaps, but hey.

No doubt you can negotiate more affordable credit card payments, but you will need to negotiate that. Which is why you should be asking these questions at the Citizens' Advice Bureau.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top