Job Centre are only giving me £22.35 per week of Job Seekers Allowance. Why?

I claimed Job Seekers Allowance a couple of weeks ago. They are only giving me £22.35 per week instead of the full £57.35. I don't understand why they've knocked off £35.

It says on the letter 'We take away £35.00. This is because of how much money you already have coming in. This could be things like:

- Social Security Benefits
- earnings
- savings over £6000.00
- other money coming in.'

Why have they taken away so much? I do have savings above £6,000 but below the threshold of £16,000. I created a thread earlier that talked about me depositing money to betting sites to play a bit of poker now and then: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2742734 I'm not sure if they saw some money coming in from there and thought I was making money from that.

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Reply 1

Pectorac

If you have 6k in savings and are gaining INCOME by betting, they are right. Deciding to gamble is your decision and it counts as income because it's money coming into your account. Income doesn't have to be from a job.

Reply 2

snowman77

Original post by Pectorac

On my bank statement in the last month, I'm actually down a bit overall from poker. But I made deposits and withdrawals and they must have only taken into account the withdrawals. If you take the net amount, I am slightly down in the last month.

I can't argue about the savings above 6k.

Reply 3

Mike_123

Original post by snowman77

Reply 4

snowman77

Original post by Pectorac

Ok I looked at my statement again and in the last month, it looks like I have profited about £350 from poker. But if you take the previous month before that, it will show I am slightly down. Can I argue this with them?

Original post by Mike_123

What?

Reply 5

Old_Simon

They have decided you are a professional and successful gambler. It is worth challenging.

Reply 6

Drewski

Original post by snowman77

You can try. But it'll be the shortest argument you've ever had. And will get you precisely nowhere.

You have that £6k. That's why you're not getting the full amount. What you're doing with it is neither here nor there.

Reply 7

Pectorac

Original post by snowman77

You can't argue and say some months you make money and some months you don't. You are gaining income whether you like it or not, regardless of sometimes losing. They will view it as you could potentially gain from it each month and will adjust your JSA because of it.

Reply 8

Mike_123

Original post by snowman77

What?

You don't deserve JSA. It's meant to cover your living expense as you look for a job, and you don't seem to be able to make poker as a viable career path.

Reply 9

snowman77

Original post by Old_Simon

They have decided you are a professional and successful gambler. It is worth challenging.

Original post by Drewski

Is the greater than 6k savings the only reason?

Original post by Pectorac

So someone who has a gambling problem (not that I do have one) could potentially gain, so they lower their JSA because of that? That's silly. If you take the previous month of my statement, it looks like poker is an expense and not a form of income.

Reply 10

snowman77

Original post by Mike_123

You don't deserve JSA. It's meant to cover your living expense as you look for a job, and you don't seem to be able to make poker as a viable career path.

So if I can't make poker a viable career path or form of income (which I can't), then why am I being given only £22.35? £22.35 isn't enough to cover living expenses.

Reply 11

Old_Simon

Original post by snowman77

If I can show them the previous month's statement and show I am down, would that be enough? It's like me going to the casino and having a lucky streak. You will still lose overall at a casino so it means nothing.

Is the greater than 6k savings the only reason?

So someone who has a gambling problem (not that I do have one) could potentially gain, so they lower their JSA because of that? That's silly. If you take the previous month of my statement, it looks like poker is an expense and not a form of income.

Last month you profited. That is income. (I do not argue that makes sense. I simply say how they treat your case. )

Reply 12

Drewski

Original post by snowman77

Is the greater than 6k savings the only reason?

Very likely, imo.

The letter you got was a basic template, it wasn't saying you ticked every one of those boxes (or, indeed, that you ticked any), but having that £6000 is going to affect you. Yes, it's below the £16000 where you'd get nothing, but it's incremental underneath that.

Because you've got that £6k in savings they deem you able to support yourself to some extent. Which is perfectly fair.

Reply 13

Tiger Rag

Original post by snowman77

No you can't. They can and will treat you as having the money if they feel you've deprived yourself of money just to get more benefits.

Reply 14

snowman77

Original post by Drewski

Is the "income" that it looks like I gained from poker (even though I actually lost a little bit) anything to do with the reason?

Original post by OU Student

No you can't. They can and will treat you as having the money if they feel you've deprived yourself of money just to get more benefits.

Why? It's not a form of income. That's like someone having a lucky night at a casino, or winning a bet at the bookies, or winning a small prize on the lottery. It's not income, it's entertainment expense.

Reply 15

Drewski

Original post by snowman77

Is the "income" that it looks like I gained from poker (even though I actually lost a little bit) anything to do with the reason?

Possibly, but not as big a factor as the £6k.

Reply 16

snowman77

Original post by Drewski

Possibly, but not as big a factor as the £6k.

Ok. If you were to give an estimate of how much benefit has been taken off from this "income" that it looks like I gained, how much would it be?

I'm annoyed because I paid off 3k of my student debt (when I didn't have to) to get this Job Seekers Allowance and now I find that I get a fraction of the full amount each week.

Reply 17

Drewski

Original post by snowman77

I don't know what you're asking. You're getting whatever amount less than the full JSA because it is deemed that you are able to support yourself, at least for a little, while looking for jobs.
You can't argue that.

And tough, if you had that much money spare then you don't need to be claiming JSA. Why should you get the full amount when you have savings?

Trying to make out like you're hard done by when you've got six grand in the bank is not going to win you any fans. And the job centre is not going to change their mind, either.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 18

OHNOGEM

Surely if you withdraw enough so that your balance is <6k then they will have to pay you that 35+ on top

Reply 19

snowman77

Original post by Drewski

I don't dispute the savings I have. But I do dispute if they think I have an income, so I'd like to know if they do think that and how much was taken off as a result of that. If they took away £35 purely because of my savings, I'm absolutely fine with that.