I will take time to pick up the story in other blog posts and explain in detail how I have got to this stage of making a new claim for Job Seekers Allowance later, as it is long winded and more than a little complicated. I am currently on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) with a 3 year re-assesment due with Atos on Friday (another story I will share soon). But as it stands, it seems I am in a catch 22, and I have not been paid anything other than my PIP (Including not being paid my rent) for nearly 2 months now, due to one thing or another.

Anyway I digress slightly. Having been told my mandatory reconsideration for Employment Support Allowance had been turned down (I had an Atos Appointment for an assessment but the DWP took it upon themselves to cancel it), I had to re-apply for JSA, the irony is that because I had a sick note from the GP when I was on JSA (I was on JSA only because I was turned down for ESA a first time 2 years ago), the lady who I was on the case load of, who for now will remain nameless, couldn’t get me signed off quickly enough, so much so, that I wasn’t even aware I was taken off JSA until I enquired about ESA as instructed by the Job Centre. Told you it is a bit complicated.

My Current Claim For Job Seekers Allowance

I called the DWP JSA claim line and an automated message instructed me that an application made online will get priority over those made over the phone, and considering I am in dire straits now, I took that advice and hung up the phone. It was on Friday.

Having found the form I filled it out only to be told online that I needed to call and did not qualify to apply for JSA online. So that meant an even longer wait until Monday before I could apply on the same number I had phoned on Friday in the first place! But by now I’m pretty familiar with how the DWP likes to make people jump through hoops and hopefully lose a bit of money that might have been due to them had they not done this. All this time, I am also having the problem with my Housing Benefit, because until I receive either JSA or ESA, I have no hope of getting anything from the council to make sure I still have somewhere to live.

The Call To Apply For Job Seekers Allowance

On the call I was asked pretty much the same questions I was asked online. Almost as if the people on the number I was given out on the DWP website Job Seekers Allowance failed online application number were simply reading out the questions online and filling the same form out for me online. And so it was not much of a surprise to me when they told me they would have to get someone to call me back to take me through my application, and I would receive a call in “no more than 48 hours”. Naturally I had little choice, as usual, but to take the person on the other end of the phone at their word, as always seems to be the case, and the results always seem to be the same. As irony would have it, I am awaiting a call from a mandatory reconsideration that I was promised from JSA within 5 working hours, I did get a call in the time frame from them, but only to tell me someone would call me back. Nobody has called me back and it has been nearly 3 weeks, my initial mandatory reconsideration letter was sent to them in November 2016, they don’t do things in a hurry. I did point out in that letter than due to my mental health there was a risk of self-harm, maybe they are hoping I will kill myself and make life easier for them (but all of that is yet another story that I will share soon).

I am due a call at 5pm today if it is to be within 48 hours as promised. It is knocking on for 4pm. So I will continue this soon. But you get the general idea so far.