I have just come off the phone from speaking to Jobseeker's information and feel sick...
I am trying to get back to some sort of normality and desperatley need to get back into work. I can't go back to what I was doing before diagnosis because of the lymphoedema in my right foot/lower leg. I WAS standing for 7 hours a day but not able to now. My SSP ran out the middle of February and I have been living on my credit card/overdraft while applying for Jobseeker's Allowance. I applied 27th Feb, have been to two interviews and signed on three times but not received a penny yet. As money is now dire I rang today to find out why I haven't received anything and was told that a decision has been made and as I have an 'interest' in a house in another county I have been turned down!!! I can't bekieve it.... The house is the marital home that I left nearly three years ago. My estranged husband still lives there and is reluctant to sell. He's not being selfish but has suffered with depression over the years and the house is his security blanket and I'm not going to force him out. We have a friendly relationship for the sake of our daughters and he has helped out financially when he can but not on a regular basis as he is not in a well-paid job and when I left he took over all the mortgage etc.
I could understand if the house was sold and I had money in my account BUT I haven't. I can't understand how in this day and age in a 'civilised' country that people can be left in such an awful situation. Even if the house was up for sale there's no guarantee that it would sell quickly, if at all in this economic climate so what am I expected to live on until then??? I know a lady who was made reduntant, had her own home AND had £60,000 redundancy payout and STILL was able to claim JA. Where's the logic in that?
I'm sorry to go on but this has come as a terrible shock and I feel sick. I just don't know where to turn next.
Some good news in all this though, I have an interview on the 28th for Cancer Information and Support Assistant at the new Cancer Centre opening next month so fingers crossed.
Take care
pheonix xxx
FormerMember
You have still been shouldering this all this long time. I presumed from your brave comments about other people's troubles, that things were moving on gently for you. Now we find that nothing has been done.
Yes, complain, appeal, explain about the house, and your Lymphodema, and being unable to work at your previous job. You'll get there in the end, so just make a fuss. Tell them you have had cancer, and you need something to live on.
Good luck. Sooner or later it will all come at once.
So sorry you are having all this hassle. I have claimed before for JSA and what hassle it is. Sometimes they have lost my forms and I have had to apply all over again and then other times they take weeks and weeks to process anything.
I'm not in the situation you are in health wise and feel bad that you are having such a stressful time.
Welcome to the mad world of our benefits procedures which do seem to favour those who have contributed the least. I'd agree that those making such decisions have little or no idea what impact cancer can have on one's life - physically and emotionally.
There's lots of good advice here but I'd also have a quick look at the Martins Money site. This has a forum where you can post queries and is frequented by those who actually work for the benefits service. It is genuinely useful.
Secondly, if you're looking at DLA I paid for some PDF booklets which are great at pointing you in the right direction regarding how best to approach the procedure. It can be something of an art. I'd be happy to email these to you. DLA does open the door to other benefits - particularly the disabled element of WTC
Finally, I'd have thought that you'd be entitled to IB - it's called something else now. This is contribution-based, as perhaps you know. It pays more than JSA.
I worked for 25 years without a claim and do feel that the System seems to favour those who are best able to exploit its anomalies. However, those who are quite clearly in need seem to be sidelined. I do sympathise as I too have my own 'battle' to wage with IB in the next month.
