Means appeal, for guy out of sorts! :(

mkie

hi folks, after more than 20 weeks, i got my first dole payment this morning.
after waiting for 7-8 weeks for dole, i finally built up the courage to go to the community welfare officer CWO with my hat in my hand.
Anyway, to cut a long story short i recieved a cheque for 144 for that week and the subsequent weeks.
in the mean time, i had to borrow €740 from a friend for insurance.
Last week i was means tested, and the guy reckons that because im living at home I deserve 45 euro less than above bringing me down to €99.
my first payment today, along with backpayment totalled 318. what evidence do i need to successfully appeal this ruling, as i cannot afford to live on 99 euro a week.
other points
i own a 1.6l car, this has taken me to several interviews, which i could afford to go to @144 pw
i owe 191 euro on my credit card
i have €80 in savings
I need new tyres
I need motor tax
I need petrol, I have an interview, 3rd round, in galway next week.
I promised to pay the 740 for insurance back when i got my back-pay from the dole office.

in addition to the above, i also owe €2700 to my brother for student loans.

i have heard of people getting an allowance for suits for interviews, nct etc. so im just wondering who to go to.

and i am being pro-active just in case, i have sold 200 euro worth of personal belongings to make ends meet!

I am confident i will be employed before christmas, but not if i cant afford my car!

gustafo

Get rid of your car and get the bus....

Balagan

You can check these links to see if there is any error in your means testing.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/irish_social_welfare_system/means_test_for_social_welfare_payments/means_test_for_jobseekers_allowance.html

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/irish_social_welfare_system/means_test_for_social_welfare_payments/how_parents_income_can_affect_jobseekers_allowance.html

Your outgoings/debts are not taken into account.

You could try the Community Welfare Officer for an emergency needs payment but I doubt that it will be given for an interview suit. Keep an eye on your local secondhand and charity shops as it is possible to pick up good clothing. Good luck with your interview.

Lugh Ildanach

What age are you? Make sure you are receiving the right rate. While under 25s do get a reduced rate in general, there are exceptions and if these apply you get the full rate. http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/supplementary_welfare_allow.html#l62fd2

If you are 25 or older, your parent's income won't be taken into account.

The payment for suits etc. that you've heard about is likely the Exceptional Needs Payment which you can apply to your Community Welfare Officer for. It is a discretionary payment. You have to persuade the CWO that you need the payment, and you are more likely to do so if you can contribute something to the proposed cost and provide some quotes to show that you have considered the thing seriously and on how to reduce costs. It is however discretionary and some CWOs will not pay for this reason.

mkie

gustafo wrote: »

Get rid of your car and get the bus....

I want to reserve this thread for constructive comments. please dont post in it again. your comments are not welcome.

FAO other readers, i purchased my car 2 years ago for €500, todays market value is zero. And in the long run it would cost more to use public transport to interviews as it would require overnight stays etc!

mkie

Lugh Ildanach wrote: »

What age are you? Make sure you are receiving the right rate. While under 25s do get a reduced rate in general, there are exceptions and if these apply you get the full rate. http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/supplementary_welfare_allow.html#l62fd2

If you are 25 or older, your parent's income won't be taken into account.

The payment for suits etc. that you've heard about is likely the Exceptional Needs Payment which you can apply to your Community Welfare Officer for. It is a discretionary payment. You have to persuade the CWO that you need the payment, and you are more likely to do so if you can contribute something to the proposed cost and provide some quotes to show that you have considered the thing seriously and on how to reduce costs. It is however discretionary and some CWOs will not pay for this reason.

im 23, do i need to fill out forms for the exceptional needs payment? or is it done one on one with my cwo?

Balagan

You need to approach the Community Welfare Officer directly.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/exceptional_needs_payments.html

The eligibility criteria is very specific and I doubt that you'd get it for an interview suit. If you don't want to go down the secondhand/charity route alternative, ask your friends if they have a suit you could borrow. Most people have wedding/interview/funeral suits which just hang in their wardrobes. You wouldn't be the first or the last to go to an interview in borrowed clothes!

Don't be offended too easily when you come on this site and give specific details of your financial position. The Mods keep a close eye on offensive responses but you should expect that some people will just weigh up your situation and give you pithy responses. Good luck.

baaaa

mkie wrote: »

hi folks, after more than 20 weeks, i got my first dole payment this morning.
after waiting for 7-8 weeks for dole, i finally built up the courage to go to the community welfare officer CWO with my hat in my hand.
Anyway, to cut a long story short i recieved a cheque for 144 for that week and the subsequent weeks.
in the mean time, i had to borrow €740 from a friend for insurance.
Last week i was means tested, and the guy reckons that because im living at home I deserve 45 euro less than above bringing me down to €99.
my first payment today, along with backpayment totalled 318. what evidence do i need to successfully appeal this ruling, as i cannot afford to live on 99 euro a week.
other points
i own a 1.6l car, this has taken me to several interviews, which i could afford to go to @144 pw
i owe 191 euro on my credit card
i have €80 in savings
I need new tyres
I need motor tax
I need petrol, I have an interview, 3rd round, in galway next week.
I promised to pay the 740 for insurance back when i got my back-pay from the dole office.

in addition to the above, i also owe €2700 to my brother for student loans.

i have heard of people getting an allowance for suits for interviews, nct etc. so im just wondering who to go to.

and i am being pro-active just in case, i have sold 200 euro worth of personal belongings to make ends meet!

I am confident i will be employed before christmas, but not if i cant afford my car!

You need to get onto the car allowance officer asap,they will pay for your insurance,tax and tyres.Then you need to get onto the "owe my brother money" officer and they will sort out the money that you owe your brother.
Then if you're really smart you'll go into the fashion officer and they should sort you out with a nice suit.

cee_jay

mkie wrote: »

I want to reserve this thread for constructive comments. please dont post in it again. your comments are not welcome.

FAO other readers, i purchased my car 2 years ago for €500, todays market value is zero. And in the long run it would cost more to use public transport to interviews as it would require overnight stays etc!

mkie if you have an issue with a post, please use the report post function.

baaa infracted for unhelpful reply - users are reminded to please read forum charter before posting and to be tactful when replying to posts, remember that people are here to seek advice and may be in a very difficult personal situation. Any advice given should be mature, constructive and non-abusive. Excessive sarkiness & bullying will not be tolerated

mkie

baaaa wrote: »

You need to get onto the car allowance officer asap,they will pay for your insurance,tax and tyres.Then you need to get onto the "owe my brother money" officer and they will sort out the money that you owe your brother.
Then if you're really smart you'll go into the fashion officer and they should sort you out with a nice suit.

baaaa, i hope that if you ever have the misfortune to find yourself a similar situation to this, that you get the help and advice that you deserve

tenchi-fan

Get rid of the car.

I had one and I am rather lost without it. Bought it at €480, sold it for €380 last year.

Insurance was €1000, tax €.. well i didn't actually tax it in the 6 months I had it and that just gave me more stress, petrol, parking, a new tyre...

Seriously, until you get a job you'll just have to do without the car and then your money worries will vanish.

As for the money you owe your brother, unfortunately he'll just have to chalk it down to experience and wait until you can afford to pay him back.

mkie

getting rid of the car isnt really an option, because where i live is generally 50-100 miles of most places iv gone for interviews, and, had i not had the car, i would have had to stay overnight, which would have cost me more than the cost of insurance, tax and petrol, for the day! brother knows he has to wait until I get a job, theres no pressure there. but if my dole wasnt brought down to 99, id have enough to spend on petrol for interviews, in two weeks id have enough to pay for tyres, when i got back payed id have enough to pay for insurance. This thread is aimed at how to appeal the means assesment for an increase, sufficient to allow me to live. the examples of my debt hilight that the means test carried out on me, is not a good reflection of my current financial situation.

cee_jay

Your debt and outgoings are not considered in evaluating your means for Jobseeker's Allowance.
Appeal, but this information is not going to change the outcome of your means.
You need to look at how they have calculated your means, and see if that is incorrect if you wish to appeal.

yabadabado

as cee_jay said it doesnt matter about outgoings,take a look at your means assessment to see have they made a mistake,if they have appeal the decision but that can take months.its doubtful they made a mistake in the assessment but double check just in case