How long a wait after the means test?

Ryanzo

Hi, signed on there about 3 weeks ago and im sheduled for a means test this thursday. Just wonder how long people had to wait after the means test to hear confirmation or amount to be paid etc. Got the means test letter 1 1/2 weeks after sign-on which is mysteriously quick!!

useful_contacts

Ryanzo wrote: »

Hi, signed on there about 3 weeks ago and im sheduled for a means test this thursday. Just wonder how long people had to wait after the means test to hear confirmation or amount to be paid etc. Got the means test letter 1 1/2 weeks after sign-on which is mysteriously quick!!

my friend knew within a week

crl84

1 1/2 weeks :eek::eek:

i've been waiting 10 weeks and still no sign of it

about 6 weeks for me round last august.. get urself down to welfare officer and they can give you it straight away

mymo

I signed on in first week of August and got paid December 4th, started a full time education course in September and got back to education allowance 2 weeks ago. I never found out why it took so long other than "we're very busy"
After means test took about 5 weeks, and several calls.

jjf212

Deleted User wrote: »

about 6 weeks for me round last august.. get urself down to welfare officer and they can give you it straight away

Does this mean you can actually call to the welfare officer and they can give you the means test immiediatly??

I dont think I can afford to wait 10-12 weeks, I need to pay rent / eat!

Thanks

underflowers

Whole process took 16 days for me. Went in on a Monday morning and filled out all the forms, told to come back in the following morning for a means test. Did that and the week after got a call telling me my claim was approved and to collect at PO the following Tuesday. Really depends on the office I think. Some people say they come to your house for the means test but I just had to meet the inspector in his office for a 10 minute chat.

jjf212

that is fast. Also, I live in a rural area that is close to 3 towns with Social Welfare Offices. Does it matter which one I go to?

Would you think that an office in a small town would process the claim faster than a city one?

Also, can you choose which Post office to collect it from. I know this sounds a bit stupid but I live in a small village where everyone knows what everybody else had for breakfast, thus collecting it from the PO there wouldn't be my preference.

There are a lot of people there who just sign on as they are too lazy to look for work but this is not my situation. I am spending so much time job seeking its maddening.

Thanks for you advice.

Jim

crl84

Deleted User wrote: »

about 6 weeks for me round last august.. get urself down to welfare officer and they can give you it straight away

how?

when I put in my application I had all the necessary paperwork/documentation.

if I go down there tomorrow morning and say "I would like my means test interview now please", what will happen, are they going to come out to my house like the means test interview would normally be?

as far as I can tell (but don't know as it's semmingly impossible to get clear information from the department), the means test interview consists of:
"yes that is correct, just as I wrote on my application"
"that too"
"yes, that as well is correct"
.....and then they leave your house.

i guess I'm rambling here.
if I go down to the local SW Office tomorrow, can I just ask for my interview right there and then? and how does it work? through the hatch?

when you go down, they check that your on the system as having applied.. i think i showed them some bank statements aswell. they then instruct the post office to pay you each week.

trust me, i postponed my means test for an interview so was gettin my money of the welfare officer for maybe 10 weeks.. once you do your means test weeks later and you pass, all the back pay goes to the welfare officer.

everyone i know on the dole has done this, you can sign on and collect the same week.. it was a lifesaver for me.



and means test isn't in your house, it's a seperate office..

crl84

the means test interview is in your house, at least for a lot of people, as has been mentioned on here before. there are various threads on here about officers from the Dept. calling out to people's houses at a pre-arranged time for their means test interview to verify the details supplied with their application.

a friend of mine was on JSA about 2 years ago, and confirmed to me that he had a S.W. Officer come to his home to verify the details he supplied for the means test in the local SW Office, and also had a look at his bedroom to verify that he lived in the house.

about 10 days later he received his first JSA payment....

meh, just posting personal experience..

waiting

Hi there

i singed on for jsa in mid august and had my means test on the 6th of november which is nearly 3 weeks ago, i rang the office today and the guy asked me for my pps number and then told me to hold he then came back to me and told me to call in tommrow to hatch 1 and they will explain everything. im a bit confused as weather i hav qualified for jsa or not. any ideas?

AnnyHallsal

I had my means test on January 8th. I was asked for copies of payslips which I sent on the 11th. I haven't heard a word since. It's a casual claim so when I went in to collect more slips I asked why the delay and was told there was a backlog. I went in today and asked the person to check if there had been an update. He looked at the screen and said he couldn't give me any information. I'm earning a pittance, not even enough to pay my rent, and I don't have any other means. Just wondering if this sounds normal, part of the process?