Social welfare/Social anxiety

LegacyUser

I recently got accepted to claim job seekers allowance, and in the letters there wasn't a lot of information on how to get my allowance from the post office other then the card I should bring.

Now my social anxiety has kicked off. How do I get my payment? What do I say to the person at the post office? I have never done this before and it feels genuinely scary. Stupid, I know. Help?

Big Bag of Chips

It's normal to feel anxious when you do anything for the first time.

There's nothing to it, though. Was there a date on your letter? Go to the Post Office on that date and hand in your card. The person in the post office will know exactly what to do with it.

All they do is swipe it, and the amount you are owed pops up on the screen. They will hand you 2 receipts. One you sign and give back to them. The other you keep for your own records.

And then they will hand you your money.

Don't worry if occassionally you can't get to the post office on the date that you are given. The payment is held for a few days. Officially it says 3 days, but I occassionally claimed payments, maybe 4 or 5 days late, and they were still there. Don't rely on it being there that late though. Because it could be sent back after 3 days. If it is sent back, then you need to contact your social welfare office directly and explain why it wasn't claimed on the given date. They will then send the payment out to you as a cheque - but it can take a few weeks.

Turtwig

It's nothing to feel stupid about. Try not to worry, nobody's going to eat you if you do get it wrong.
Normally you only need your PPS Card. If you haven't got this, drop into your local Social Welfare office. They'll provide you with a temporary card while your official one is mailed to you. Another form of ID might be required at the Post Office. e.g Driver's Licence, Passport, Age Card. It may never be needed but it's best to have another form of ID on you just in case.

amtc

Listen I recently had to do this. Seriously I sat in the car and cried my eyes out for an hour. I have a good degree/Masters and 15 years of work experience. I roared like a baby, rang my mam, dad, my best friend....

Eventually did the walk of shame....second week was easier - ended up helping others in the queue.

Now back to work, only did it for four weeks, but God it's tough!

Big Bag of Chips

Also, your PPS card is only needed for your PPS number. So if you don't have it, or forget it, once you know your number the person in the post office can manually enter it.

LegacyUser

Thank you everyone. This has helped me a lot. I have improved majorly with my anxiety issues but this brought back old feelings that I thought I had gotten over. Again, thank you so much for replying/giving this post your time.

kylith

Bring your PPS card and some photo ID. Simply tell them that you are there to collect your jobseeker's allowance. If you are an AIB customer you can request that they lodge the money directly into your account if you want, otherwise you will simply be handed the cash. You sign the receipt to say that you received the payment, and you are given a receipt for your own records (if you lodge the money there'll be another receipt to sign).

It's as simple as that.

DazMarz

Working in a post office, this is by far the most common transaction we deal with.

Nothing to be nervous about. Either hand in your white Social Services card, or if you don't have one the letter you got from the Department of Social Protection. The person behind the counter will process the payment. You will sign one receipt and give it back to them. They'll hand you out the money and your copy of the receipt (that has some good information on it; like your next signing on day at the bottom).

One thing I would say, if it is your first time claiming the payment, even if it is your local office, bring photo ID. Preferably a passport or driving licence. Especially if it is your first time and if you don't know the people who work in the post office. It might come up the first time, and possibly subsequent times too. So just be aware of that.

It is also no harm to store your PPS number in your phone. If you lose/misplace your card, the payment can still be made if you provide your PPS number. So it's no harm to know the number or at least to have it on your phone or something.

For your own convenience too, try to suss out what times are busy in the local office and call in at off-peak times. Nothing worse than having to queue up for ages! Post dispatch times, early morning and coming up to lunch are usually the busier times, so avoid them (little inside info there!).

Good luck, and don't worry. The office workers see this every day and it's nothing new to them and they will know what to do. It'll be fine.