Clothing Allowance

McKneff

~Dmg gets slated sometimes for being a bit abrupt and blunt, but how kind was that eh. Cheers DMG, have a drink on me.:beer:

Nice lady.

screamer

Yes Vikki, that was through the national express website. I put your details in as leaving from Newcastle to Luton and apparently you would have to change at Milton keynes (I think that was the station anyway!)

I'm glad you didn't think I was being mean and that you saw it how it was meant. I'm not good at putting things into words sometimes. (I'm fat pure and simple. 10st 3 and I'm only 5ft tall :-)

I really do wish you all the best with your job hunt. Some people can't be bothered to work, at least you';re making the effort!

Oh, and when I got my grant for clothing, it took about 3 hours. My biggest problem was finding the £3 for bus fare (I really was that skint) and I got some lovely clothes. Dorothy Perkins have some great stuff in. If all else fails, have you tried Littlewoods catalogue? Look around the web and you can find some discount codes for people who place their first order (hot UK deals have loads right now) and providing clothes are in stock (the site will tell you before you even add stuff to your basket) it only takes 48 hours to be delivered!! Take into account the bank holiday, if you ordered tonight your brand spanking and very lovely new clothes will be deliever by Wednesday/Thursday!

Good luck hunni! xx

dogstarheaven

i do know some yrs ago, that it was the group that dorothy perkins is part of the arcadia that also has topshop, burton and some others that allows DWP vouchers to buy certain clothes for interviews. you would have to obtain the voucher from the DWP in order to redeem your items and there is a limit to what the DWP can give you at the discretion of you personal advisor there ie., 1 or 2 pairs of trousers, 1/2 blouses, 1 pair of shoes, 1 suit jacket and 1 cardigan - and it needs to be deemed fit for an interview, so something like jeans, or a going out top wouldn't be accepted by the staff of these shops... re. travelling expenses, i know that you're able to get these reimbursed but i don't really know how it works tho' on whether you need some kind of special voucher that the train operator can accept...
i do think it was unfair for the prospective employer to ask you to come in at such short notice. do you think you can postpone this if you can explain that it would be best if you can go in at least a week's notice? you can say that you'll be spending an uneccessary amount of money to stay in hotel and travelling so far away, that it you would have the chance to avoid all that and you can pretend to say you'd be able to get someone to drive you down there, thus giving you extra time to get your voucher from your personal advisor, and this would save you an awful lot of money (and potential stress for later on) in the long run...

Owain_Moneysaver

stickyvikki wrote: »

was with train line for £187 if anyone knows anyhthing better?

Newcastle-London will be East Coast and they offer 10% online discount on their own fares. Trainline charge extra fees.

squashy

You need to "Gok" your wardrobe and fast. Forgetting about any jeans, trackies and trainers, have you got something you could whizz up to look smart? For example, a plain white top worn with a chiffony scarf (local market, £1 or charity shop), or a going out dress that could be worn with opaque tights, ballet pumps (£4, Primark) and a cardigan. Slick your hair up into a ponytail, put on some beads and bangles, some carefully applied makeup- no fuschia lipstick or orange tide marks!

Good luck!

anamenottaken

Easter Monday - no chance of retrospective payment for interview clothes

Easter Friday - with a confirmed interview (print out email/take letter) ask on Tuesday at the Jobcentre about Travel to Interview Scheme.

clamkend

Hi
I have just gone through this process with jobcentre plus.
They will ask you to get some prices of the items you need, ie top and trousers etc, Then they will get you to fill in a form. Once it has been accepted they give you a voucher with the amount they will pay up to.
For me: i had an interview and received a job offer very quickly. I approached them to help me buy some additional workwear. They gave me a voucher for arcadia group.
I am not too sure whether they will pay you retrospectively - but always worth asking.
Sorry cant help but good luck for your interview x

wontfallforit

I wouldn't normally recommend getting into debt, but I always wonder if unemployed persons who encounter unforseen expenditures such as travel costs have ever thought of keeping an emergency credit card?

I've done it myself in the past, namely when I was still a student but my final loan installment had long since dried up. I always kept all expenditure under a total of £200, as the minimum payments were tiny (all you can afford when 'desperate'), and the whole balance could be easily repaid when you get a job.

The trick is to be extremely disciplined when spending, resorting to the card only when absolutely necessary - i.e. to buy cheap interview clothes, or to cover train tickets. It allows you that bit of extra freedom when jobseeking - God knows being well dressed and having good mobility are both key when looking for a job - and if you're very sensible, you can also do yourself a favour by building up/keeping a good credit score even when unemployed, and look around for zero/low interest deals.

In your situation, OP, you seem to be looking to borrow money from a friend? Do you have any family who could 'advance' you some money, that you wouldn't necessarily need to pay back in a hurry?

Another popular option of mine was to ask my family for an early payment of funds that they would have spent on me at Christmas, birthdays, etc.