Arrears after 23 week wait

lucy2010

Following a 23 week wait i finally got my letter this week to say my One parent family payment was processed & 1st payment could be collected this week. I applied 23rd of September but due to delays in my local office it took this long. I had an assessor out 2 weeks ago & thankful it is now approved

.Does anyone know how long it will take for the arrears to be paid & what is the method of payment ?
The letter stated payment x from September 23rd to December 31st & payment y from Jan 1st to present ( Due to rate changes)
the bottom of the letter just said any arrears will follow.
Thanks a mil - eagerly waiting

Fighting Irish

I'm in the same boat, but still waiting for 1st payment and arrears.

Thoushaltnot

Fighting Irish wrote: »

I'm in the same boat, but still waiting for 1st payment and arrears.

Don't forget to keep reminding them that you exist and have claimed - I left them to it at one stage after providing everything i could (I had hassle getting my P45), but after a couple of months of leaving them to process my claim, they then said that it had lapsed and I had to apply again from scratch! :mad:

lucy2010

Its very frustrating. The assessor retired & cannot be replaced due to whatever rules on hiring staff there are now in the public service.

So then they wouldnt answer the phones duie to industrial action. So I sent an email to the main office in Dublin last week. I got a call from my local office basicly asking me what my problem was. How dare I email ! Cheek of me ETC ETC. So I kinda lost it ! I argued & argued ( I normally wouldnt say boo) . I refused to get off the phone until she said it would be processed this week.
Many people had told me to do this from the start but I felt sorry for them for the pressure they were under. ( Big fool me) The way she spoke to me was appalling so I have no sympathy now I just want my arrears & good luck to them.

Another bit of advise is find a local TD if you can - my local guy didnt believe me at first & then he lost the plot at them too. Thats how I managed to get the assessor even out to the house was due to him.

Best of luck

uoluol

Lucy, I know it's horrible to have to wait for arrears, but honestly and truly it is hell working in a local office at the moment. There are simply not enough staff to deal with the queries and outstanding claims. It's not fair on the staff and more importantly it's not fair on the claimants. I'm saying that not in defense of your experience but just trying to make you understand , even just a little bit, of the reasoning behind your delay. You actually had your OPF claim processed very quickly, many of them take 8-10 months. There simply isn't the staff available to deal with the claims in an acceptable time frame.

That said, if your claim has been awarded the arrears should issue to you very shortly. One parent family claims can be notoriously complicated to work out, there is usually adjustments and inter scheme payments to be worked out between Maternity Benefit, Jobseeker's Benefit, and Supplementary welfare. So hold tight, it is more than likely on it's way. In fact if you were in receipt of some of the above payments, there are cases where you are not entitled to any arrears at all.

Staff in welfare office more than likely shrug their shoulders whenever a TD makes an enquiry about a waiting claim, they feel the TD would be better off trying to ensure that the office is fully resourced to ensure that all claimants get the service that they deserve.

I really am not having a pop at you, trust me I understand your frustration, (have been there!) but it is frustrating on the other side when you are working your damndest, trying to clear the backlog and then to have to take time out to respond to a query in writing about a claim, when the applicant is in most cases in receipt of some form of payment or is in employment.

Anyway, as I said the good news is that given what you have said, I would expect your arrears to be with you by the end of the month.:)

lucy2010

Ah thanks for that.

I do understand it must be a mare. The girl I was dealing with all along was so nice. She really was... so courteous, so friendly & so helpful. We spoke of the delays & the shortages & she was wonderful. I did feel very sorry for her & told her this many an occasion.This particular lady who rang back was the rudest person I have spoken to in a long time. She spoke to me with complete indigity & even threw in wasnt I lucky I was getting paid maintenance. Unfortunately she has turned me against offering any more sympathy. But I cannot tar everyone with the same brush & its unfair of me to do so.

Thanks for the advice. Delighted to see a cheque coming through the door soon & keep the wolf from the door.

Irlandese

Listen people, no-one needs to go without, while awaiting allowances.
Just go to your local CWO at the HSE health centre nearest you and apply for Supplementary benefit, pending payment of allowance awaited from Social welfare.

cee_jay

lucy2010 wrote: »

Another bit of advise is find a local TD if you can - my local guy didnt believe me at first & then he lost the plot at them too. Thats how I managed to get the assessor even out to the house was due to him.

As part of the industrial action I think TD Representations will be going to the very bottom of the pile for quite some time so it probably won't work right now.

Depending on the amount of arrears it may have to go to higher management to be approved.

If there are overlapping payments, it will take a bit longer.

But otherwise arrears will normally issue fairly quickly (in around 2 weeks or so depending on staffing levels in the office).

lucy2010

Thanks for that - just a suggestion but your right - it will fall on deaf ears. Im a very big stress ball today & hope someone can point me in the right direction.

I spoke to 2 people yesterday. I waited 6 weeks for arrears to be processed recently. Another only applied 15th Jan & has assessment next week ( I waited 21 weeks for the assesment).

So I got my payment - no sign of arrears but my rent supplement was cut ( well it hasnt gone into my account). I didnt know SW & HSE systems were linked? so how would HSE know I have gotten my payment? If they know that they got any back payment of rent out of my 1 parent & ive been cut off - well then why havent I got my 1 parent? Would I receive a letter off them if I was having my payment cut off? Or is it possible its a computer issue??

Basicly after my 23 week wait, my rent supplement has disappeared so I am now far worse off than when I applied for 1 parent- rent is due Monday so im now officially tearing my hair out.

I called but they arent answering the phone due to industrial action. I called down to them & my CWO is ONLY AVAILABLE WED 10-11. So im now stuck with no one answering anything & seeing what a mess this whole SW system really is.

Stressed, totally bankrupt & begging, borrowing or stealing for rent for Monday.

Irlandese

lucy2010 wrote: »

Thanks for that - just a suggestion but your right - it will fall on deaf ears. Im a very big stress ball today & hope someone can point me in the right direction.

I spoke to 2 people yesterday. I waited 6 weeks for arrears to be processed recently. Another only applied 15th Jan & has assessment next week ( I waited 21 weeks for the assesment).

So I got my payment - no sign of arrears but my rent supplement was cut ( well it hasnt gone into my account). I didnt know SW & HSE systems were linked? so how would HSE know I have gotten my payment? If they know that they got any back payment of rent out of my 1 parent & ive been cut off - well then why havent I got my 1 parent? Would I receive a letter off them if I was having my payment cut off? Or is it possible its a computer issue??

Basicly after my 23 week wait, my rent supplement has disappeared so I am now far worse off than when I applied for 1 parent- rent is due Monday so im now officially tearing my hair out.

I called but they arent answering the phone due to industrial action. I called down to them & my CWO is ONLY AVAILABLE WED 10-11. So im now stuck with no one answering anything & seeing what a mess this whole SW system really is.

Stressed, totally bankrupt & begging, borrowing or stealing for rent for Monday.

Look,sorry, but it is not really their fault if YOU wait 23 weeks on arrears before you even bother to check the clinic times for your local CWO and go down to ask about supports available. Do you really expect her or him to spend all day in the office? They do home visits for gms applications and a hundred and one other duties outside the office. The system is not perfect but it is a lot better than any other support system in the EU and thus in the world. That is why so many people emmigrate here, for the high benefits and supports. And yes, of course the systems are linked. They are also linked to many other public services and local authority systems as well, to prevent fraud.
Less stress if you act in time and if you meet these wonderful people half-way, instead of playing the blame game.

Balagan

lucy2010 wrote: »

Thanks for that - just a suggestion but your right - it will fall on deaf ears. Im a very big stress ball today & hope someone can point me in the right direction.

I spoke to 2 people yesterday. I waited 6 weeks for arrears to be processed recently. Another only applied 15th Jan & has assessment next week ( I waited 21 weeks for the assesment).

So I got my payment - no sign of arrears but my rent supplement was cut ( well it hasnt gone into my account). I didnt know SW & HSE systems were linked? so how would HSE know I have gotten my payment? If they know that they got any back payment of rent out of my 1 parent & ive been cut off - well then why havent I got my 1 parent? Would I receive a letter off them if I was having my payment cut off? Or is it possible its a computer issue??

Basicly after my 23 week wait, my rent supplement has disappeared so I am now far worse off than when I applied for 1 parent- rent is due Monday so im now officially tearing my hair out.

I called but they arent answering the phone due to industrial action. I called down to them & my CWO is ONLY AVAILABLE WED 10-11. So im now stuck with no one answering anything & seeing what a mess this whole SW system really is.

Stressed, totally bankrupt & begging, borrowing or stealing for rent for Monday.

I don't understand complexities of the the payments you are due but you sound very upset. If you are in danger of eviction if your rent payment isn't made on Monday then only suggestion I can think of is that you contact the St. Vincent de Paul and see if they can help you.

lucy2010

Balagan wrote: »

I don't understand complexities of the the payments you are due but you sound very upset. If you are in danger of eviction if your rent payment isn't made on Monday then only suggestion I can think of is that you contact the St. Vincent de Paul and see if they can help you.

Thank you for you advise its supportive.




As to the previous poster Irlandese . I did not wait 23 weeks to find out their times. I know when my CWO is there but I only found out this morning the payment has not gone into the bank. I called down to my HSE as the phones are not being answered. I was not aware my rent supplement would be cut off without notification. I am not expecting her to sit around all day as Im aware she is a busy lady. There is no one in the centre who can give me any advice hence coming on here looking for it.

I am not blaming anyone & I have played ball, met them more than half way & ran around the place yet their sytsem is connected.. The system is complex & as stated on Pat Kenny the other evening trying to find out anything regarding the social welfare system is like trying to find out the 3rd secret of Fatima !!

I do not find your comments in any way help ful. This forum is for people looking for advise not to be shot down & accused of waiting 23 weeks doing nothing.

"Less stress if you act in time and if you meet these wonderful people half-way, instead of playing the blame game" - When would you like me to have acted???????????????? 23 weeks ago before I made the application as to what I was going to encounter along the way .......

Irlandese

I wrote you here about calling in to the CWO 5 days ago. That included at least one of the wednesdays the CWO was available. Quoting that prat Pat Kenny probably speaks volumes about your attitude to SW and SW staff. Though a pensioner, I will avoid the usual, " in my day...." refrains. But, it gets my goat to listen to Pat Kenny and co. and to then read their pap repeated here by people who do not even get off their seats to go and see the helpful people who are there to do just that.

Balagan

Irlandese wrote: »

I wrote you here about calling in to the CWO 5 days ago. That included at least one of the wednesdays the CWO was available. Quoting that prat Pat Kenny probably speaks volumes about your attitude to SW and SW staff. Though a pensioner, I will avoid the usual, " in my day...." refrains. But, it gets my goat to listen to Pat Kenny and co. and to then read their pap repeated here by people who do not even get off their seats to go and see the helpful people who are there to do just that.

There are occasional contributions from trouble makers and those out for a bit of a laugh but most people requesting information and advice on this site are in difficult situations having lost jobs and having to turn to the welfare system, a thing the vast majority never, in their wildest dreams thought they would have to do. It is a stressful time for them and a lot of information has to be processed in order to keep a roof over the heads and food on the table for themselves and their children.

The information is not easily sourced. That is a fact. There is no one resource. I have first hand experience of having to print out information from the Department of Social Welfare and Family Affairs website and bring it to the Social Welfare office where they proceed to keep it or at ask to photocopy it for their own files. I have heard close second hand info of a family being told that they were in a property which was beyond the limit for rent supplement and that they would have to move when, within a week, it turned out that they were in a place that was significantly under the rent threshold.

We are all on a learning curve here whether we are Social Welfare workers, HSE workers, unemployed or helping those who are unemployed. Each individual has to source information relevant to them for themselves and work out the various complexities. It can be easier for people whose stress levels remain low and so they don't get overwhelmed and and can quickly process info. But we are not all the same and many find that the experience is a bit like becoming really ill with something and realising that to deal with the health system you ideally need to be in the fullness of health and at the top of your game.

If you are not in the situation of struggling to survive yourself, or even if you are, then it costs little to be kind in your comments, or, if that is not possible, just leave without commenting. You don't know how close to the edge some people are and I am sure you would not want to be part of pushing anyone closer to it.

lucy2010

Balagan wrote: »

There are occasional contributions from trouble makers and those out for a bit of a laugh but most people requesting information and advice on this site are in difficult situations having lost jobs and having to turn to the welfare system, a thing the vast majority never, in their wildest dreams thought they would have to do. It is a stressful time for them and a lot of information has to be processed in order to keep a roof over the heads and food on the table for themselves and their children.

The information is not easily sourced. That is a fact. There is no one resource. I have first hand experience of having to print out information from the Department of Social Welfare and Family Affairs website and bring it to the Social Welfare office where they proceed to keep it or at ask to photocopy it for their own files. I have heard close second hand info of a family being told that they were in a property which was beyond the limit for rent supplement and that they would have to move when, within a week, it turned out that they were in a place that was significantly under the rent threshold.

We are all on a learning curve here whether we are Social Welfare workers, HSE workers, unemployed or helping those who are unemployed. Each individual has to source information relevant to them for themselves and work out the various complexities. It can be easier for people whose stress levels remain low and so they don't get overwhelmed and and can quickly process info. But we are not all the same and many find that the experience is a bit like becoming really ill with something and realising that to deal with the health system you ideally need to be in the fullness of health and at the top of your game.

If you are not in the situation of struggling to survive yourself, or even if you are, then it costs little to be kind in your comments, or, if that is not possible, just leave without commenting. You don't know how close to the edge some people are and I am sure you would not want to be part of pushing anyone closer to it.

Thank you Balagan.. Sometimes a simple kind word helps you see the sky through the clouds.

Irlandese

Balagan wrote: »

There are occasional contributions from trouble makers and those out for a bit of a laugh but most people requesting information and advice on this site are in difficult situations having lost jobs and having to turn to the welfare system, a thing the vast majority never, in their wildest dreams thought they would have to do. It is a stressful time for them and a lot of information has to be processed in order to keep a roof over the heads and food on the table for themselves and their children.

The information is not easily sourced. That is a fact. There is no one resource. I have first hand experience of having to print out information from the Department of Social Welfare and Family Affairs website and bring it to the Social Welfare office where they proceed to keep it or at ask to photocopy it for their own files. I have heard close second hand info of a family being told that they were in a property which was beyond the limit for rent supplement and that they would have to move when, within a week, it turned out that they were in a place that was significantly under the rent threshold.

We are all on a learning curve here whether we are Social Welfare workers, HSE workers, unemployed or helping those who are unemployed. Each individual has to source information relevant to them for themselves and work out the various complexities. It can be easier for people whose stress levels remain low and so they don't get overwhelmed and and can quickly process info. But we are not all the same and many find that the experience is a bit like becoming really ill with something and realising that to deal with the health system you ideally need to be in the fullness of health and at the top of your game.

If you are not in the situation of struggling to survive yourself, or even if you are, then it costs little to be kind in your comments, or, if that is not possible, just leave without commenting. You don't know how close to the edge some people are and I am sure you would not want to be part of pushing anyone closer to it.

Hi. I agree with the general tenor of your comments, friend. I was trying to help Lucy, but have little time for those who repeat unjustified "Kenny Babble". No-one would disagree about the stress and extreme discomfort of those asking for badly needed benefits and all those who are employed in the helping services are regularly trained to be sympathetic to this. Yes, before being a pensioner, I was one of those helpers. We have stress too, especially from caring a lot about an awful lot of people we try to help. Unfortunately, too, in these times, we deal too with different types of people. This includes people who are generations away from actively seeking work or to do something for themselves.
Yes, time to be a little honest here too. It is not helpful to feed people's false paranoia about the helping services. The vast majority of their staff are hard-working, under-paid struggling citizens themselves, who care and do their best to help. They deserve credit too, friend, not glib assent to the scurrilous comments of a prat like Pat Kenny.
Yes, We all know people who sit in council houses on multiple benefits, with a good car or cars squashed into the drive-way or on the street, complaining for years about the discomfort of a minor repair, which they are waiting for the council or health board to fix, which would cost a fraction of what they spend on any week-end night on pints. These same people are often adept at using the system and often quite happy at the idea of welfare fraud. Too often they are aggressive and sometimes violent to these poor civil servants who are doing their best to help. The phone stuff is typical.
Then, putting out that social welfare is a too- complicated and impossible to understand mess really just raises the stress levels of people in need who are already frightened at the daunting task of going along, especially for the first time, for help. PLEASE; PEOPLE; DO NOT BELIEVE THAT CRAP.
There are web sites, leaflets, information aids and KIND; CARING PEOPLE; who are trained and ready to try to make it all as pain-free as possible.
It will never be like collecting a lottery win, but it is a hell of a lot more certain and a hell of a lot more human and dignified than reading some of these comments above might lead you to believe.
Sometimes, Lucy, the truth is more helpful than uninformed soothing noises. You are a perent now, not a child. Work with these people and life will be easier for you and for your child. Good luck with everything.

lucy2010

I last posted in february. Im now a month further on. I have seen welfare officer 6 times since ( Fair play to her - shes so helpful). I have been in my social welfare office 8 times for a total of 27 hours. Im exhausted & I dont know what to do next.

I went to CWO at time of last post.My rent got cut off as I hadnt notified them my 1 parent was approved. Fair enough, I understand now - I didnt realise I had to notify her. She explained it all to me but spotted something in the process. This headed me to the dole office . When they approved my 1 parent they never notified illness to halve me. Because of this I for whatever reason got cut off everything. I spoke to a really lovely lady in the SW office. She couldnt advise at the time but kindly offered to contact my CWO & try & work it out. My CWO called me back the next day & it appeared all was fixed. Until there was no payment in PO the following thursday. I went back & forth to SW & they advised eachtime it wouldbe in on the Thursday. I also had to go back for different letters to solve the CW arrears I technically owed them from overpayemtn of rent supplement whilst awaiting 1 parent. No payment in PO still. No illness payment either. 2 weeks after which was last Thursday my payment was in PO but only 1 week instead of 3. Still no illness 3 weeks later. I sent in 4th cert yesterday. I was back in SW again this am & with CWO. 4 & 1/2 hour queue in SW to be told they had no one available to answer queries today .. I was in tears at this stage. They told me to come back tomorrow to make my query.

Its a total mess. I have the original arrears of 23 weeks to resolve on 1 parent, I have 2 weeks missing from 1 parent in Post office, rent supplement for 2 months & now 4 weeks missing from illness. I have it all written out as it is so complicated now but its just a totsl mess no one can understand.

What, if anything else can I try? I feel ive exhausted most options by sitting it out in the SW & CWO offices. I have gone to them repeatedly & just feel my SW have me in knots now. I would appreciate if anyone can explain a logical process for me. TBH im at breaking point with this.

Balagan

It is the Community Welfare Officer's job to ensure that you have enough funds while your Social Welfare payments are being sorted out. Ask to see someone senior to the CWO you have been dealing with so far. Put the request in writing. If you have an approachable GP, talk to him or her and see if they will give you a letter specifically to the CWO/HSE office pointing out the ongoing stress you are under.

The HSE and SW have access to each other's data entry, so they can sort this out between them.

Irlandese

Balagan wrote: »

It is the Community Welfare Officer's job to ensure that you have enough funds while your Social Welfare payments are being sorted out. Ask to see someone senior to the CWO you have been dealing with so far. Put the request in writing. If you have an approachable GP, talk to him or her and see if they will give you a letter specifically to the CWO/HSE office pointing out the ongoing stress you are under.

The HSE and SW have access to each other's data entry, so they can sort this out between them.

This sensible and accurate reply covers it all. The original name of CWO's was actually "relieving officers", as their primary role was to relieve distress.
I imagine that if we saw all the payments already made, on a schedule, we might see a different picture. Good luck with sorting it all out.

lucy2010

Thanks Balagan - Ill do that in the morning.

Irlandese - Im not sure I understand what you mean about seeing a different picture regarding payments ?