Navigating The Dole. (1 Viewer)

[Antrophe]

Right, so I'm looking for some advice here. I reckon it's the sort of advice that'll be useful for quite the few people as well. I've been out of work about a month, so I popped down to the local social welfare office with my head between my legs and the Tots TV Theme tune ringing in my ear. I go through the first interview, fill out a few forms and am sent off to get more documents.

I come back today and am told that my benefits are dependent on having worked 28 weeks in 2003, I've only worked 20 in 2003, but for fucks sake I've worked a full year since. I also probably made the mistake of telling them I was co-habiting, the infleunce of which on benefits I have no fucking clue. I've been ringing the citizin information centre, they've been quite upfront and helpful. But your one today was a right wench, I have to bring in evidence of my girlfriends earnings, which I already did, but I was stupid enough to say she is finishing work in her job today and starting elsewhere..so the bullshit starts again, meanwhile I'm quickly running out of cash...

So some questions, how in hell does co-habiting affect my benefit rights when it gives me no bloody advantages? Am I entitled to nowt because the social welfare system is half fucking senile and thinks this is 2003?

And a final more formidable question - can someone please, please write a zine from the point of view of a claimant and how to navigate the benefit system to ensure you do not get screwed over, what to tell them and what not etc...

 

[SONYMEGADRIVE]

off chance - were you a student at all in 2003? you get some bonus credits for that

i just got a wicked high amount of cash from the dole cos my credits were all fucked up and they had me on assistance. fuck that. now i live in a palace and smoke a thousand joints a day

 

[Antrophe]

Yeah, I bloody was, but do you think your one would tell me that I get bonus credits for that? She basically told me to go out and scrounge around, and see can I drum up any credits any other jobs I had from memory...

 

[Latex lizzie]

Right, so I'm looking for some advice here. I reckon it's the sort of advice that'll be useful for quite the few people as well. I've been out of work about a month, so I popped down to the local social welfare office with my head between my legs and the Tots TV Theme tune ringing in my ear. I go through the first interview, fill out a few forms and am sent off to get more documents.

I come back today and am told that my benefits are dependent on having worked 28 weeks in 2003, I've only worked 20 in 2003, but for fucks sake I've worked a full year since. I also probably made the mistake of telling them I was co-habiting, the infleunce of which on benefits I have no fucking clue. I've been ringing the citizin information centre, they've been quite upfront and helpful. But your one today was a right wench, I have to bring in evidence of my girlfriends earnings, which I already did, but I was stupid enough to say she is finishing work in her job today and starting elsewhere..so the bullshit starts again, meanwhile I'm quickly running out of cash...

So some questions, how in hell does co-habiting affect my benefit rights when it gives me no bloody advantages? Am I entitled to nowt because the social welfare system is half fucking senile and thinks this is 2003?

And a final more formidable question - can someone please, please write a zine from the point of view of a claimant and how to navigate the benefit system to ensure you do not get screwed over, what to tell them and what not etc...

on the co habitation thing..they will means test your partner. Happened to my missus. THey said I made enough to keep us both (what a joke) and she got fuck all. Always lie to the dole people.

 

[SONYMEGADRIVE]

Yeah, I bloody was, but do you think your one would tell me that I get bonus credits for that? She basically told me to go out and scrounge around, and see can I drum up any credits any other jobs I had from memory...

well if you were, go back and tell them and this'll add to yer contribution credits (you get an extra 17 or something...that could be totally made up) and you'll get put on benefit and get the money backdated to whenever you first made your claim.

my mate is currently gettin bullshitted around by the dole. fuck those guys.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Always lie to the dole people.

tell them nuthin (well too late for you... ). youre single and house/ flat sharing. also for rent allowance if you go for it, which you really should, theres an upper limit so if youre paying more than a certain amount (forget how much) they wont give it to you so be sure to find out and put that amount down. rent allowance involves lots of forms and lots of tramping around town getting them stamped.

 

[MDR]

In addition to unemployment benefit, which is dependent on you PRSI payments, you can get unemployment assistance based (I think) on your means.

Full details here:

http://www.oasis.gov.ie/utilities/search.php?PHPSESSID=e7b8e250e6b59ac93b7111f449b8c243&query=unemployment&start=1

 

[broken arm]

on the co habitation thing..they will means test your partner. Happened to my missus. THey said I made enough to keep us both (what a joke) and she got fuck all. Always lie to the dole people.

i was honest with the dole people first time round many years ago and said i was going out with someone. i had NO money and NO job and they kept me waiting for over 2 months to tell me that i was entitiled to £1.75 or something and my girlfriend had to hand over half of her part-time wages.

fucking hated the dole.

sympathies with all

 

[carcass]

tell them nuthin (well too late for you... ). youre single and house/ flat sharing. also for rent allowance if you go for it, which you really should, theres an upper limit so if youre paying more than a certain amount (forget how much) they wont give it to you so be sure to find out and put that amount down. rent allowance involves lots of forms and lots of tramping around town getting them stamped.

was €400 last year

 

[Antrophe]

Cheers this is all very useful, I'm sure it will help more people than me. They are a shower of fucking wankers.

 

[Catwoman]

Cheers this is all very useful, I'm sure it will help more people than me. They are a shower of fucking wankers.

When we lived in England and I was a full time student, my boyfriend was told that he was allowed £13 per week as "technically" I was earning - I had a student grant which covered rent and books. We lived on 25p noodles for a couple of weeks til he got a job...

 

[Anthony]

gone be with the days, huh?

 

[MDR]

gone be with the days, huh?

That's 'God be with the days' there Anto.

 

[plug]

I found that when dealing with dole people, looking like shit, acting depressed and feigning profound idiocy bordering on retardation helped a lot, especially when in trouble for not signing on in time etc.

seriously. it helps if you look like a lost cause!

and yeah, always tell them as little as possible. need to know basis shit. the more they know about you the more ways they can fuck your shit up.

 

[frona]

I found that when dealing with dole people, looking like shit, acting depressed and feigning profound idiocy bordering on retardation helped a lot, especially when in trouble for not signing on in time etc.

seriously. it helps if you look like a lost cause!

I've heard that too. I know a girl who says the only way to get around them is to cry in front of them! Luckily I haven't had to resort to that! They didn't give that hard of a time this time. I think they go out of their way to make things difficult for you the first time you go to them, probably to disssuade you from going again. Of course, I didn't tell them I was cohabiting. Who's boyfriend/girlfriend pays their rent for them like? I haven't tried to get rent allowance because they send someone down who barges into your flat to try and find evidence of a boyfriend/girlfriend! Assholes!

But yeah, the only advice I have is keep any letters you get back from jobs you are applying for because once you get on the dole, after a few months they'll start giving you hassle and if you have "thanks but no thanks" letters from employers it might get the dolers off your back. I have a pile of those letters

 

[Antrophe]

..and now thanks to the magic of the internet and automatically generated email replies if you send CV's to hundreds of random employers via nixers.com or som e such site, you'll have an inbox full of rejection letters, and the like...

 

[frona]

..and now thanks to the magic of the internet and automatically generated email replies if you send CV's to hundreds of random employers via nixers.com or som e such site, you'll have an inbox full of rejection letters, and the like...

Online is no place to get a job. I hate wasting my life reading through all those genuine opportunity! Make €5000 in 2 minutes! crap ads...

Half the jobs I have applied to didn't even bother to send me a rejection letter. Very rude!

 

[roxy]

Online is no place to get a job. I hate wasting my life reading through all those genuine opportunity! Make €5000 in 2 minutes! crap ads...

Half the jobs I have applied to didn't even bother to send me a rejection letter. Very rude!

Do y'only have to do that 6 examples of jobs you applied for but didn't get lark once?

I did it and handed it in there about 10 days ago. Will I have to do it again I wonder.

When I was sortin out the dole at first I remember hearing the girl in front of me being quizzed by the nark behind the glass. I think basically the girl was living at home and looked about 19/20. The nark was obviously asking her what she had been surviving on up til now coz all I could hear from this side was "dey didn't gimme ahhntin I swwear! Honestly. Like maybe me unkil would gimme the odd fiver but dat's all! Yeah. I bleedin swear!"

The poor girl looked so harrassed. And havin her finances exposed like that. And now here's me telling the internet.

God.

 

[pete]

two things -

1. I worked for the department of social welfare, in the navan road employment exchange (hatch 9 of a wednesday) for 4 years between December 91 & December 95.

2. You're all banned.

 

[gril]

what if you've been applying for jobs through the fas website and no ones replied to your applications? the site doesn't seem to offer any way to keep records of the jobs you've applied for? i'm fucked cuz i have to hand this form in this week and i can't get any responces.