Let down by Back to Enterprise Allowance

rebel fighter

I qualified for the back to enterprise allowance from social welfare 3 years ago. It all sounded very good, actually it sounded to good I was wondering where the catch was! You can keep 100% of your weekly entitlement on the first year, medical card and fuel allowance and on the second year keep up to 75% of your entitlement plus any income you earn from self employment.

What they DON'T tell you is the trouble you have to go through if your business does not work out and you need to apply for Job Seekers Allowance again. This happened to me. The whole situation has been nothing short of a complete nightmare since my business did not work out. I will never ever become self employed again in this country after the circus I've been through and am still going through. I'd warn anyone who is thinking about going on the Back to Enterprise Allowance to think again.

I closed my business down fully last July and have been on a rollercoaster on supplementary welfare, threatening letters saying the supplementary welfare will be cut off along with rent allowance plus I am still awaiting approval for Job Seekers Allowance with my claim bouncing to and fro from sommunity welfare, social welfare and the appeals office. I was told today that I'll probably get approved UA by 2013.

Its pure and utter hell. I've applied for a college course with the hope of getting vtos but I'm being told I won't qualify since I have to be on UA for a period of time and they said Supplementary Welfare does not qualify me for VTOS. What the hell!!? I've applied up and down for work, I haven't been invited for any job interviews and get job rejection letters with some employers not responding while social welfare are biting my heals looking for evidence of job searching evidence. Yep I provided them with all the No Job letters.

The whole social welfare system appears to favour you if you are an unemployed employee, you just hand in your P45 and it doesn't take over 2 years to process the claim to qualify for UA. Why are self employed people treated so differently?

Anyway my trust is broken in the system, its flawed and penalises the self employed who's business did not work out. I've provided them with a mountain of information, financial closure accounts, my living circumstances, past relationships, job efforts, previous addresses and having to explain my every movement, the Why, the Who, the What, the Where... Its very intrusive the whole thing, but like so many out there I need JA to feed myself and live day to day in ever changing country.

loconnor1001

Thank you for posting. My husband and I have been toying with the idea for a while. Your post has confirmed what I thought would be the case. Sorry for your troubles though

wmpdd3

I heard this and a few of my friends were sub contractors in 2008 and found it impossible to prove they were no longer in business. Have you tried the citizen's information, just in case they have found a new way of putting your argument to the deciding officer.

celticcrash

Thats how they treat people who try to get off their ass.
I was treated the same way a few years back.
Its very anti productive.
After my experience I would be very very cautious about trying to
make a go of it.
If I thought a bussiness had a slight chance of failure I wouldnt chance it
as our goverment pulls any saftey net from under the person whos trying to succeed.