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Child Item

Illness benefit problems since new form

One More Toy

Hello

I'm wondering has anyone had any issue receiving the above after the introduction of the new form?

I'm missing 3 weeks illness benefit but know the forms have been received due to sending by registered post

On hold now for half an hour to the illness benefit line

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idnkph

I put my 3 forms in in August and have heard nothing at all. Not even that they have received them. I'm back working now but still entitled to the 3 weeks I was off.

BohsCeltic

hattoncracker wrote: »

No i got to 1:02 and it dropped.... this is very stressful!!!! I'm waiting to get ramps in my house (which they declined the grant for) and I need this money... I've anxiety and this is pushing me over the edge because I always am so diligent with paperwork.

Sorry to hear this. I have anxiety and depression too and this is not helping one bit.
I as you say it's just more stress and things to worry about.

Domie

Only got 33 last week. Got my normal payment for this week on Tuesday and the extra 165 missing from last week yesterday.

Seems so hit and miss.

hattoncracker

ciara37 wrote: »

Don't get excited...I've done the Twitter thing too since last Friday and they haven't rang me....I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news

Yikes!!!! What the hell is happening in there?!

ciara37

hattoncracker wrote: »

Yikes!!!! What the hell is happening in there?!

NOTHING!

SJF84

Finally got through to the 071 number helpdesk after waiting and waiting on phone to illness benefit and giving up. He has told me that there is any issue with certs! The problem is Im MEANT to get paid on a Tuesday!!!
Havent got paid in 2 weeks and its to do with certs, i told him im on a weekly cert and I get it on a Tuesday and it will be with them in Dublin on a wednesday and he said to get a longer duration one... well my docs arent giving me a longer one. And tbh i want to stick to the format i have had all along. So all that he really told me was that he'd log my call and took my number and hopefully someone will contact me back. This country is a joke. Always been backwards and never will progress!
Sorry for the rant! Oh and left them a message on twitter and sent a dm.

splinter65

Fagashlil wrote: »

I'm just back from my local INTREO office, the CWOs have been told tha emergency payments are now to be means tested, so no money for me till this complete **** up is resolved.

Emergency payments have always been means tested.

splinter65

idnkph wrote: »

I put my 3 forms in in August and have heard nothing at all. Not even that they have received them. I'm back working now but still entitled to the 3 weeks I was off.

You don’t get anything at all for the first 6 days

hattoncracker

SJF84 wrote: »

Finally got through to the 071 number helpdesk after waiting and waiting on phone to illness benefit and giving up. He has told me that there is any issue with certs! The problem is Im MEANT to get paid on a Tuesday!!!
Havent got paid in 2 weeks and its to do with certs, i told him im on a weekly cert and I get it on a Tuesday and it will be with them in Dublin on a wednesday and he said to get a longer duration one... well my docs arent giving me a longer one. And tbh i want to stick to the format i have had all along. So all that he really told me was that he'd log my call and took my number and hopefully someone will contact me back. This country is a joke. Always been backwards and never will progress!
Sorry for the rant! Oh and left them a message on twitter and sent a dm.

It's like purgatory. I'm lucky we can live on hubbies pension. But I really need this moolah to come in soon because we won't last for long on it!

Fagashlil

splinter65 wrote: »

Emergency payments have always been means tested.

No for missed payments they haven't, I got one from the CWO a few weeks after the issues started, and because of the delay they were being granted to everyone.

Hesthea

swpb wrote: »

What do we need to bring with when going to cwo

They will give you a form to fill in. Then they will request you 3 months of bank statements, a letter from your employer saying that you are working there but you are not receiving anything while on sick leave and duplicates of your medical certificates.

This is what they asked from me but i haven't delivered anything since IB told me i would receive my payments in 3 working days.

If you ring IB from the welfare direct phone line, you will get through in less than 5 minutes. If they pass your call to someone else, do not turn it off. Some call transfers have no sound and might feel like they turned the call off on you. I almost did that because i couldn't hear anything at all and the person didn't even warned me that he would pass the phone call to someone else.

Sunshine lollipop

Hi,

I was without payment today, & under paid last week. I phoned a bunch of times to general enquiries who all told me they would send an email over on my behalf. One gentleman today said he would escalate it as I have a small child. I was told I would receive a phone call from the manager in the department to release payment which never transpired. I called again & spoke to someone new who was quite bunt in saying I have gone to credits & no money will be paid. I have 15 paid contributions according to the system & don’t understand why when my circumstances haven’t changed.

Sunshine lollipop

Has anyone wrongly been put into credits as an error?

Hesthea

Sunshine lollipop wrote: »

Has anyone wrongly been put into credits as an error?

I don't even know what that is.

Sunshine lollipop

Hesthea wrote: »

I don't even know what that is.

Basically, I get no more money. Apparently, illness was paid to me in error when I sent everything they asked of me since January.

According to one guy I spoke to, he said, oh, you’re gone into credit, I had to ask him too what it meant & he was blunt about it. I don’t understand that if it’s true, why was it ever awarded.

SJF84

hattoncracker wrote: »

It's like purgatory. I'm lucky we can live on hubbies pension. But I really need this moolah to come in soon because we won't last for long on it!

I'm sorry to hear that, I really hope it comes through for you soon and for everyone. I don't know what has to happen for them to get their act in order.
Just fed up after the last few weeks trying and trying to get through to someone who has some idea and whatever they released on social media to help people understand... it's an absolute joke of a q&a, has made no sense whatsoever to me.
If the welfare poltician didnt get her money on a weekly basis, I say heaven and earth would be moved for her but for the people of Ireland who need this benefit, we dont get anything. This is an absolute farce.

Hesthea

Sunshine lollipop wrote: »

Basically, I get no more money. Apparently, illness was paid to me in error when I sent everything they asked of me since January.

According to one guy I spoke to, he said, oh, you’re gone into credit, I had to ask him too what it meant & he was blunt about it. I don’t understand that if it’s true, why was it ever awarded.

Can't you return the excess so that you don't have any credits?

Hesthea

splinter65 wrote: »

You don’t get anything at all for the first 6 days

"You must apply for Illness Benefit within 6 weeks of becoming ill. No payment is made for the first 6 days of illness, which are known as waiting days. (Note that Sunday is not counted as a waiting day.) The only time that the 6 waiting days are not applied is if you were getting certain other social welfare payments within 3 days of the start of your illness."

taken from the citizensinformation.ie

Have you read this? It was released on the 17th of October

Illness Benefit - Customer Update

splinter65

Hesthea wrote: »

"You must apply for Illness Benefit within 6 weeks of becoming ill. No payment is made for the first 6 days of illness, which are known as waiting days. (Note that Sunday is not counted as a waiting day.) The only time that the 6 waiting days are not applied is if you were getting certain other social welfare payments within 3 days of the start of your illness."

taken from the citizensinformation.ie

Have you read this? It was released on the 17th of October

Illness Benefit - Customer Update

Yes I’ve read it. There’s no change to the rule that no payment is made for the first 6 days of illness.

Hesthea

"The only time that the 6 waiting days are not applied is if you were getting certain other social welfare payments within 3 days of the start of your illness."

Then what is this referring to?

Sunshine lollipop

Hesthea wrote: »

Can't you return the excess so that you don't have any credits?

I can’t get through to illness department & only have general enquiries to answer to. They can’t tell me any more. No letter in advance sent to say my PRSI was running out, just continued to over pay me & who’s at fault, me.

splinter65

Hesthea wrote: »

"The only time that the 6 waiting days are not applied is if you were getting certain other social welfare payments within 3 days of the start of your illness."

Then what is this referring to?

For example If you were getting JSB or JSA and you got the flu and a chest infection or you broke your leg then you would not be “fit for work” so you would have to apply for Illness Benefit instead.Then you would not have to wait any days to be paid IB.
Whereas, if you were working and had to go out sick with the chest infection or broken leg then you do not get any payment in respect of the first 6 days out sick. So, if you are out sick for a fortnight then you are really only getting IB for 4 days.
If the IB is your only source of income in that period then the CWO will give you an SWA to tide you over.

Hesthea

Sunshine lollipop wrote: »

I can’t get through to illness department & only have general enquiries to answer to. They can’t tell me any more. No letter in advance sent to say my PRSI was running out, just continued to over pay me & who’s at fault, me.

Can't you make a complaint?

They were the ones who created this mess so they should be the ones to find a way to fix it that won't create problems to you.

Hesthea

splinter65 wrote: »

For example If you were getting JSB or JSA and you got the flu and a chest infection or you broke your leg then you would not be “fit for work” so you would have to apply for Illness Benefit instead.Then you would not have to wait any days to be paid IB.
Whereas, if you were working and had to go out sick with the chest infection or broken leg then you do not get any payment in respect of the first 6 days out sick. So, if you are out sick for a fortnight then you are really only getting IB for 4 days.
If the IB is your only source of income in that period then the CWO will give you an SWA to tide you over.

Didn't know that. Thank you.

Sunshine lollipop

Hesthea wrote: »

Can't you make a complaint?

They were the ones who created this mess so they should be the ones to find a way to fix it that won't create problems to you.

The manager was supposed to call me Friday to sort it out. I didn’t receive a call. I’m sick of calling & getting cut off an hour in, racking up a bill I can’t afford to pay to fix someone’s mistake so I don’t suffer. I just want it sorted out so I can begin to look for something else. A lady I’m citizens advice said I should apply for invalidity pension but if I’m not entitled to illness, then surely I’m not entitled to this as it works off PRSI too.

FloatingVoter

Hesthea wrote: »

Can't you make a complaint?

They were the ones who created this mess so they should be the ones to find a way to fix it that won't create problems to you.

Yeah, this and / or wait until this blows over and ask for a review. It sounds like a Departmental error - in which case they have to take liability and not pursue any monies paid out in error. In an ongoing cluster**** like this, mistakes are going to happen as new untrained staff start rushing things through under pressure.

splinter65

Hesthea wrote: »

Can't you make a complaint?

They were the ones who created this mess so they should be the ones to find a way to fix it that won't create problems to you.

If the money was overpaid then it has to be paid back because the money is belonging to the State which is you and I.
It doesn’t matter who’s fault it was really.
What I would do is still make a complaint though.
What you’d have to do in this case is see the CWO and if there is no other household income then you can ask for an SWA and ask for €10 per week to be deducted to pay of the overpayment.

Sunshine lollipop

FloatingVoter wrote: »

Yeah, this and / or wait until this blows over and ask for a review. It sounds like a Departmental error - in which case they have to take liability and not pursue any monies paid out in error. In an ongoing cluster**** like this, mistakes are going to happen as new untrained staff start rushing things through under pressure.

The last guy I spoke to that day said that he has seen many people put into credit that shouldn’t be there, that everything is messed up with the new IT system. He said he could see 15 paid contributions on my file & couldn’t see why I was stopped payment. He’s not illness department & said to take everything he said with a pinch of salt. God only knows how long I’ve gone under the radar as a clerical error if what this one person said is true.

Sunshine lollipop

splinter65 wrote: »

If the money was overpaid then it has to be paid back because the money is belonging to the State which is you and I.
It doesn’t matter who’s fault it was really.
What I would do is still make a complaint though.
What you’d have to do in this case is see the CWO and if there is no other household income then you can ask for an SWA and ask for €10 per week to be deducted to pay of the overpayment.

If only I could get through. I’ve made requests via Twitter, (had to join just to get some sort of communication) general enquiries. All promised me a call back. Nothing!

splinter65

FloatingVoter wrote: »

Yeah, this and / or wait until this blows over and ask for a review. It sounds like a Departmental error - in which case they have to take liability and not pursue any monies paid out in error. In an ongoing cluster**** like this, mistakes are going to happen as new untrained staff start rushing things through under pressure.

No that’s not how that works at all. It doesn’t matter how the debt occurred. You can make a case for it to reduced or even wiped out and the Dept will consider it but “it’s not my fault so I’m not paying it” is not a case.
Heres the nitty gritty instructions from the Dept to SW staff dealing with overpayments :
http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Overpayment-Recovery---Guidelines-on-the-Recovery-of-Debt-by.aspx#2