JSA / JSB Waiting times Survey

lucy2010

Hey Dempo, Hows things? CWO do appear to be refusing. I was refused myself & heard same from others. Brutal TBH.
As for the debt collectors - You need to persevere. With 1 I was getting up to 11 calls a day into the night. I was starting to go off my trolley with the blocked calls. Eventually after months of harassment I got a really nice guy & he explained he was at home with a list of numbers - He didnt have a screen in front of him so everything notes wise on why I was in arrears was unknown to him So I posed the question " what can you do if I can only pay you €2 a week ?" & he says I dont know !!. So he rang back told me to pay €2 a week,he deleted my phone number off the system. & all fine now. Persevere guys !

Dempo1

lucy2010 wrote: »

Hey Dempo, Hows things? CWO do appear to be refusing. I was refused myself & heard same from others. Brutal TBH.
As for the debt collectors - You need to persevere. With 1 I was getting up to 11 calls a day into the night. I was starting to go off my trolley with the blocked calls. Eventually after months of harassment I got a really nice guy & he explained he was at home with a list of numbers - He didnt have a screen in front of him so everything notes wise on why I was in arrears was unknown to him So I posed the question " what can you do if I can only pay you €2 a week ?" & he says I dont know !!. So he rang back told me to pay €2 a week,he deleted my phone number off the system. & all fine now. Persevere guys !

Hey Lucy2010, i am amazed at your experience with debt collectors, my god you must have been an anglo irish bank shareholder!

I've had a small experience with these agencies, kinda liked to play with them, let them run up enourmous correspondance and phone costs, then dribble some payment until it's cleared, which is exactly what i did a while back with a small amount remaining on a car lease deal. The company "GE money where livid as they could do absolutely nothing! It dragged it on, just on principal alone.

Yrag2E

Hi,

thanks very much for the kind words!
yeah actually refused by CWO and it is almost a 2-3 hour wait to see an officer. I'd rather keep my sanity than have money. I just hope it is sorted soon and at least I can offer these collectors 2 euro a week.

A job would be better but ye know how it is.

blueberri

Applied on a Tuesday, met the CWO on Thursday. Signing on once a month and 12 weeks later, still no word. I am based in North Cork.

lucy2010

Dempo1 wrote: »

Hey Lucy2010, i am amazed at your experience with debt collectors, my god you must have been an anglo irish bank shareholder!

I've had a small experience with these agencies, kinda liked to play with them, let them run up enourmous correspondance and phone costs, then dribble some payment until it's cleared, which is exactly what i did a while back with a small amount remaining on a car lease deal. The company "GE money where livid as they could do absolutely nothing! It dragged it on, just on principal alone.

Ahh Dempo - I wish .... No when I actually did work lol I gained a bit of experience in this area. GE were the company too & it was exactly 1 mnt & 1 week arrears ; less than €400 & I was getting 11 calls a day :eek::eek: So I played them at their own game until I got the nice guy - The fact they dont have a screen he was saying was a nightmare - He rang a couple with a joint loan & the HE had died the day before . So think he felt sorry for me ! Its true though they can do jack all about it as if they ever attempt to take you to court - all the judge will see is you have made an effort to pay even if it is €2 a week!

Fionn MacCool

9 weeks and 1 day after making my repeat claim (had already been on JSA before, all my details were the same except this time I had even less money to my name) and they still haven't processed it. When I went in on Feb 8th I was told they would be able to do it "in about a week".

lucy2010

Ouch! - It appears thy tell everyone " in about a week ".... Long weeks there y looks of things. Im dreading whats about to happen - Im due to get my final sick cert on Monday so I have to go up & sign on.. arrgghhhh. Have a feeling ill be starting the drama all over again.

eyesofvenus

Dempo1 wrote: »

This is an important Means test and there is no way around the SW requests, regardless of any bank activity in your bank account you will be required to submit statements for the past three months.

As regards your parents unwillingness to provide pay slips, i am afraid this will not be acceptable, you may be able to supply details for their PPS numbers which the SW can check out in relation to earnings or have them supply a letter stating you are paying rent whilst living at home. The SW are very strict about means and you will have to supply something about your parents income or a letter from them, i really think your parents need to understand this is not a luxury, if they require you to pay rent, you need approval.

As for the car Payment, your already on the credit bureau for missing a single payment so too late to be concerned. Some banks are re negotiating lease terms on car loans but only if you have reached a certain level of reducing the original loan, in reality you probably need to consider handing back the car. Your options are detailed on the financial regulators website.

Reading between the lines, you seriously need a reality check!

Well I went for interview last Wednesday. I brought letter from parents stating I was living at home, my mam gave me her payslip but my dad didn't have his with him so i got that next day and posted it in. I didn't have a bank statement as I already said because my account is in fact frozen and only correspondence I had was a letter from my bank stating i was in arrears and account would be frozen, the inspector was fine with this.

In regards the car I have paid about 40% off loan so far, so if they want to take back car they have to go through courts now. However as soon as my payment comes through I think ill be able to work something out with them.

The social welfare inspector was the nicest person I have ever spoken to in the SW. She was highly considerate, and seemed to understand I wasn't just looking for a handy life sitting on scratcher forever. She even suggested I go back to college and finish my electronic engineering degree(I had completed year one of 4 a few years back) and even went as far as to arrange for me to receive BTEA with the job facillatator even though I would be entering year 2 and not year 1 as it stipulates

Grumpypants

Yrag2E wrote: »

Hi,

thanks very much for the kind words!
yeah actually refused by CWO and it is almost a 2-3 hour wait to see an officer. I'd rather keep my sanity than have money. I just hope it is sorted soon and at least I can offer these collectors 2 euro a week.

A job would be better but ye know how it is.

Its this wait that kills me, I was looking for mortgage interest suplement. took me 1 days to find out where the centre was. Took me another day to find out it was the wrong centre they sent me to. Had to wait 2 weeks as the next day he was ment to be in was paddy's day. Finally got there waited for 4 hours. Was told i needed to ask the bank to renegotiate my mortgage. Went off to do that. While waiting for the letter from the bank that he insisted he needed to process any claim i got a regection letter from the CWO.

Now im swapping to JSA i was told this morning it will take upto 2 months but to go to the CWO and ask for sup. income allowance but it was such a waste of time and they made me feel so worthless last time id nearly do without for the 2 months.

Dempo1

Grumpypants wrote: »

Its this wait that kills me, I was looking for mortgage interest supplement. took me 1 days to find out where the centre was. Took me another day to find out it was the wrong centre they sent me to. Had to wait 2 weeks as the next day he was ment to be in was paddy's day. Finally got there waited for 4 hours. Was told i needed to ask the bank to renegotiate my mortgage. Went off to do that. While waiting for the letter from the bank that he insisted he needed to process any claim i got a regection letter from the CWO.

Now im swapping to JSA i was told this morning it will take upto 2 months but to go to the CWO and ask for sup. income allowance but it was such a waste of time and they made me feel so worthless last time id nearly do without for the 2 months.

Hi There, i don't understand what you refer to as centres re mortgage interest supplement? this is handled by the CWO at your local health centre, these applications are automatically refused but awarded on appeal, did you supply all the mountains of documents they request from the bank? namely original application/proof you could afford the original mortgage? its a silly process but my bank was helpful in supplying the documentation. Your CWO should have supplied you with the required list. My supplement was refused on the grounds i could not afford the original mortgage, i was earning £35k at the time for a mortgage of £42k, Work that out, bunch of gob****es, i immediately appealed and was awarded the bizarre amount of €22 per month, hardly worth the effort. Then again i am fortunate in only having a small mortgage.

Grumpypants

Dempo1 wrote: »

Hi There, i don't understand what you refer to as centres re mortgage interest supplement? this is handled by the CWO at your local health centre, these applications are automatically refused but awarded on appeal, did you supply all the mountains of documents they request from the bank? namely original application/proof you could afford the original mortgage? its a silly process but my bank was helpful in supplying the documentation. Your CWO should have supplied you with the required list. My supplement was refused on the grounds i could not afford the original mortgage, i was earning £35k at the time for a mortgage of £42k, Work that out, bunch of gob****es, i immediately appealed and was awarded the bizarre amount of €22 per month, hardly worth the effort. Then again i am fortunate in only having a small mortgage.

hello, The centre i refered to was the local health centre. I got sent to 4 different locations to meet the CWO before they got me to the correct one, no had a clue about what was going on. I was actually told it was held in the priests house and i was waiting with 3 others that morning when a member of the public stopped and told us a brand new health centre had been built and the CWO was moved.

When i enquired about it i was told to rent out a room in my house so i did that. I now applied with all the mountains of documents and was told that the 40euro i get in rent + the initial 24 euro is more than the weekly interest on my mortgage so they wont pay me anything. Think i will appeal.

lukesmom

My husband has been waiting to been waiting for Job seekers allowance claim to be processed since June 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: We are in Navan and the waiting time is desperate. He gets paid from the CWO since October 09 and he still hasnt gotten the claim accepted properly so no back money paid yet.

Dempo1

lukesmom wrote: »

My husband has been waiting to been waiting for Job seekers allowance claim to be processed since June 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: We are in Navan and the waiting time is desperate. He gets paid from the CWO since October 09 and he still hasnt gotten the claim accepted properly so no back money paid yet.

Outrageous! I would have thought Navan would have been considered a big enough centre and equally staffed accordingly. I would expect more rural locations with temp offices being short staffed but this is outrageous as too is the number of peope coming off JSB being left waiting weeks if not months with no income, can't understand why this issue has not created a stink in the media with all the BS over people waiting for passports, God Bless them!

lukesmom

Dempo1 wrote: »

Outrageous! I would have thought Navan would have been considered a big enough centre and equally staffed accordingly. I would expect more rural locations with temp offices being short staffed but this is outrageous as too is the number of peope coming off JSB being left waiting weeks if not months with no income, can't understand why this issue has not created a stink in the media with all the BS over people waiting for passports, God Bless them!

And the strange thing is they sent him a letter last week asking him for a P45 even though he was self employed and when he went into the social welfare office the same day they told him to disregard the letter that it had been sent out to him 'in error'!!! And that his claim is still being processed. Would wreck your head completely! You would almost be paranoid that the powers that be are telling the SW to stall as many applications as possible. It has been 10 months waiting for us. We have an 8 year old son and due a baby in 2 months. Waiting to get rent allowance. Its the first time my husband was ever out of work and there is nothing for him, he is a bricklayer by trade.

Dempo1

lukesmom wrote: »

And the strange thing is they sent him a letter last week asking him for a P45 even though he was self employed and when he went into the social welfare office the same day they told him to disregard the letter that it had been sent out to him 'in error'!!! And that his claim is still being processed. Would wreck your head completely! You would almost be paranoid that the powers that be are telling the SW to stall as many applications as possible. It has been 10 months waiting for us. We have an 8 year old son and due a baby in 2 months. Waiting to get rent allowance. Its the first time my husband was ever out of work and there is nothing for him, he is a bricklayer by trade.

It would seem your husband is caught in the self employed trap, the SW seem to treat self employed differently and it would appear self employed people are heavily penalised. I see where your coming from also re bricklaying and the general construction down turn, i was in the Hotel business, owned by a developer, needless to say the Hotel was taken off him by the previously friendly banks, 15 people made redundant!

rexton270

Hi guys, just my story here:
my JSB run out on 21 Dec 2009. Received letter from SW on 15 Dec 2009 that my payment would stop soon and should apply for JSA. Was told the same, that moving from JSB to JSA is a matter of 3-4 weeks. However, didn't went that way, so I filled all the sent forms incl. "Means Test" and handed in to office on 4th January 2010. Had my interview on 22nd February 2010 and since then "pending"...

CWO officer told me that I am not entitled to anything as my partner is a full-time employee (30 hrs pw - €315).

Meath

lisil78

Applied for JSB on 9th Feb. Was told that I had enough contributions but that final descision would be made by deciding officer and would take 6 weeks. Still waiting after 10wks:mad:. Anyone have a rough idea how long it takes this office to process JB claims. Had to laugh when I looked at questions that were asked in the Dail about the waiting times....Navan said in Feb it was taking them on average 2 wks ha ha. Been down to office and all they can say is, it'll will be another couple of weeks, but to be honest I think they are telling everyone that to try and keep the peace.

lukesmom

lisil78 wrote: »

Applied for JSB on 9th Feb. Was told that I had enough contributions but that final descision would be made by deciding officer and would take 6 weeks. Still waiting after 10wks:mad:. Anyone have a rough idea how long it takes this office to process JB claims. Had to laugh when I looked at questions that were asked in the Dail about the waiting times....Navan said in Feb it was taking them on average 2 wks ha ha. Been down to office and all they can say is, it'll will be another couple of weeks, but to be honest I think they are telling everyone that to try and keep the peace.

Navan 2 weeks waiting time??? They're having a laugh! My husband and I are waiting since last June so 10 months in total!!! Whenever he rings or drops in to the SW office in Navan they tell him the same old story 'it is being processed still and should be ready soon' ha ha what a joke!!!

Fighting Irish

Around how long are people waiting for back pay?

rexton270

lukesmom wrote: »

Navan 2 weeks waiting time??? They're having a laugh! My husband and I are waiting since last June so 10 months in total!!! Whenever he rings or drops in to the SW office in Navan they tell him the same old story 'it is being processed still and should be ready soon' ha ha what a joke!!!

holly moses!!! So the woman behind the till was correct, when she told me, that there are more people with longer waiting time... Just wondering how long it will last...I mean the patience!??? Mine is running out slowly but surely :mad:

lisil78

rexton270 wrote: »

holly moses!!! So the woman behind the till was correct, when she told me, that there are more people with longer waiting time... Just wondering how long it will last...I mean the patience!??? Mine is running out slowly but surely :mad:

Just burst out laughing when i read the written answer that Eamon OCuiv gave on 20/04/10 with regards to social welfare waiting times. Navan office average wait for JB he says is 3.48 and for JA is 15.56. Where is he getting these figures from??????? Anyone know if these social welfare offices have managers or supervisors in them? I'm still of getting the same old nonense from the front desk. They may as well just put a tape recorder which repeatedly says "Your claim is being processed and will take another couple of weeks" because thats all you ever hear.

jujuB

Hey,

I lost my job just before Christmas and I had never signed on before. The 19th of Dec I went in and STILL I haven't received a penny. I am now waiting just over 4 months. I'm in Co Wexford. I have been in NUMOROUS times asking them if there is any word etc, because at this stage I am seriously thinking that there is some sort of problem. I haven't been means tested and have been told that I wont be. They have reassured me that there is no problem and have called the Wexford office in front of me and apparently it is waiting to be processed STILL. I was in about 2 weeks ago and she informed me they were only going through the October claims and some of the girls that work in the office were taking holidays so there would only be ONE lady processing the claims that week, probably thousands. A friend of mine lost his job in March and got his money 2 weeks after he went into the office, he is in Co Wicklow. Is this because he has signed on before and they have had his details from the past when he was signing on? It is totally ridiculous, has anyone else been in the same situation?? Has anyone got any advice on what I should do at this stage, it would be much appreciated.

jujuB

Hey,

I lost my job just before Christmas and I had never signed on before. The 19th of Dec I went in and STILL I haven't received a penny. I am now waiting just over 4 months. I'm in Co Wexford. I have been in NUMOROUS times asking them if there is any word etc, because at this stage I am seriously thinking that there is some sort of problem. I haven't been means tested and have been told that I wont be. They have reassured me that there is no problem and have called the Wexford office in front of me and apparently it is waiting to be processed STILL. I was in about 2 weeks ago and she informed me they were only going through the October claims and some of the girls that work in the office were taking holidays so there would only be ONE lady processing the claims that week, probably thousands. A friend of mine lost his job in March and got his money 2 weeks after he went into the office, he is in Co Wicklow. Is this because he has signed on before and they have had his details from the past when he was signing on? It is totally ridiculous, has anyone else been in the same situation?? Has anyone got any advice on what I should do at this stage, it would be much appreciated.

CoalBucket

A sixteen week wait in my local swo for jsa.

jujuB

CoalBucket wrote: »

A sixteen week wait in my local swo for jsa.

where are you in the country?! its about the same time as im waiting

CoalBucket

jujuB wrote: »

where are you in the country?! its about the same time as im waiting

North Cork, the 16 week wait is about average. It was longer last year I was told. I wrote to the minister at the time and they took about 8 weeks to respond to say they were dealing with it.

felinefrenzy

My partner was on sickness benefit . her stamps ran out and she can applied for disability benefit as she has been certified out of work by both her own GP and social welfares GP. She been told it will be at least 20 weeks before her claim will even be looked at . We are left now with 2 children under three years attempting to survive on one wage . The System is a absolute disgrace as is the whole Government of corrupt villians.

me8989

felinefrenzy wrote: »

My partner was on sickness benefit . her stamps ran out and she can applied for disability benefit as she has been certified out of work by both her own GP and social welfares GP. She been told it will be at least 20 weeks before her claim will even be looked at . We are left now with 2 children under three years attempting to survive on one wage . The System is a absolute disgrace as is the whole Government of corrupt villians.

I was told 16 weeks, it took 8-9. Still a long wait though ..

felinefrenzy

Any idea what the income limit for the means test for the disability benefit is? We have 2 kids under three years old.

captainstacy

2 weeks from when I applied for JSA to when I received the letter confirming I qualified.
I am in the midlands and can't praise the staff in my local social welfare office highly enough.
They have such a high and stressful workload but I found them nothing but helpful.