In a slight state of panic, please help

Former Member

I am living in a shared house at the moment and have no job right now.

I and on housing benefit and job seekers so I can pay my bills and rent.

I have been applying for jobs pretty much everyday and havent heard back from anyone in months.

The job center gave me a job to apply for a few months ago and I did not apply for it. I honestly cant even remember it. Please dont post here to tell me its my fault, as I know this and am just about keeping my head on right now.

Basically I have had a letter through saying they are stopping my job seekers money until March 11 2011. I am so worried. I think this will cause my rent to stop being paid by housing benefits as well.

I have no where else to go if I cant live here. I have no one I can borrow money from, let alone for 5 months.

What can I do?

Former Member

Do you have a particlur case worker at the job centre that you see? Maybe if you went in to see them and told them everything, b totally honest with them, it can't hurt..
Hope you get sorted.

Former Member

Uuugh

Thankyou I hope so too.

Im so lonely. I have no one to talk to about these things.

I try so hard all the time and everything seems to just go wrong all the time.

Former Member

Well I ain't no expert but I am sure you will find some on here willing to help.. Keep posting..
And stay positive, things can and do get better.

Former Member

Hey there patience,

This seems like a tricky situation.

You have received a letter that says your Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) is going to be stopped until March 2011 and this will in turn effect your Housing Benefit.

As TJT6768 has suggested is there anyone at the Job Center you can speak to? Who deals with your JSA claim regularly?

I'm not an expert but it seems harsh for them to stop your JSA for so long if you did not apply for one job. Maybe the Job Center have sent you this letter by mistake? Whatever, the reason, you need to contact the Job Centre as soon as possible to get to the bottom of this. It would be good to ask how you can rectify your mistake to continue receiving JSA.

Next, you should call Housing Benefit to ask them if your claim is still in payment. If not, ask them when it stopped and calculate your rent arrears if there are any. At least you will know the true extent of the problem in this way.

If your JSA and Housing Benefit have been stopped you may be eligible for your claim to be backdated. However, the quicker you contact the relevant people and find out all the information - the quicker you can get this to happen.

I hope this helps.

Keep us posted on progress.