Unemployment Allowance Nightmare

LegacyUser

Hi I am looking for advice from anyone whose local welfare office is Bishops Square. I applied for Allowance 1 month ago and was told to wait till the next step. Can anyone tell me from their experience how long I can expect to wait to get my payment. Can anyone tell me what process they go through? Will their be an inspector calling out to my house?? Do they give notice of what is happening to your claim? I have sent a letter in and have tried calling them but im only told to "wait".

This is affecting my life right now and im really down about this, how can they leave people in limbo like this?? I don't know what to do financially at the moment....

Thanks in advance for replies

crotalus667

Last time i signed on (it was before the big R) it took 5 weeks to get a payment (backdated to the day I applied) they called me for an interview nothing fancy , just a 5 or ten minute chat about my situation to means test me , and get proof I was looking for work , I think the current wait is 10 week's

cork1

i applied the second week of febuary in cork and im still waiting for the first payment.

Orla K

I heard on the radio today(news) that there is a backlog of about 3 months. I think they said that they would have a few people to look solely at the jobseekers allowance/benefit to speed things up but I wouldn't put too much faith in them speeding it up.

As for what interviews, I've heard of people being called in for an interview, being called for one over the phone or just being notified of the sign in date. I've never heard of people going to the houses that happens with rent allowance.

All you can do is wait. If it's getting really bad financially then go to them and they can redirect you to another place that'll help you out. They give you cheques that are deducted from your dole (there's a name for it, but for the life of me I can't remember it).


Other than that it's just waiting. Unless you're married and your other half is making a fair bit, you've nothing to worry about as far as means testing goes I reckon. It's a quick interview to get some information out of you. All you have to do is go down and they ask about where you're living, who with, how much they're earning, etc.


Also, if you were self-employed prior to signing on you may be in troubled waters. A friend of mine was only getting €35 per week because he had ran his own company for a year or so before signing on. He got put up to the €204 after five weeks, but wasn't given anything extra for the weeks he only got €35. I'm not quite sure what the circumstances were that he ended up with €35, but it's worth reading into if it affects you.

chasm

Try your community welfare officer, they will probably be able to give you supplementary welfare allowance to tide you over till your payment comes through. The amount of SWA you receive will be knocked off your back dated payment.