Jobcentre punishing me because THEY lost my claim

Justicia

punkgirlyuk wrote: »

Just a note for the people that are saying about looking for work in other areas. there is a scheme called Travel To Interview that you can retrospectively claim travel expenses from the JCP if you are claiming. They will confirm that you attended the interview and will pay you the cheapest method of transport to get to the interview, it has to be classed as beyond normal daily travelling distance.

Just have to be careful and ensure that eligibility is maintained - for example, when I administered the scheme locally, although you claimed the payment retrospectively (if not a travel warrant), you had to notify JCP of the interview prior to it taking place to start the form-filling.

Other Support Available to Customers
Travel to Interview Scheme
11. Where customers secure interviews outside normal daily travelling distance they may be entitled to help with their fares from the Travel to Interview Scheme (TIS).
12. The interview must be with an employer for a job for which there is current recruitment. The job must be for 16 hours per week or more and expected to last at least three months.
13. If you think a customer may benefit from TIS you must refer them to Jobcentre Plus prior to the interview. Jobcentre Plus will be able to establish whether the customer

Arg

Mr_Falling_Star wrote: »

If you are this rude in real life its no wonder you are having problems with the Jobcentre staff

Obviously he should be delighted at their negligence and your unhelpful comments.

ellie101

dmg24 wrote: »

I've done the long distance jobseeking thing - if you want the job, travel should not be a problem. Plus if the employer really wants you, they'll pay for travel!

But it is a problem if you can't afford it.. the OP probably can't afford to go back and forth. Getting travel paid for by employer depends upon your line of work, in my field an employer won't pay.

However I have had travel paid for by the jobcentre ( when looking last year); as others mentioned above there is a travel to interview scheme. But last time I was unemployed didn't happen as I didn't sign-on as was moving around the country. Trying to get a claim in when moving around for interviews is problematic.

So that's why I stayed put with a relative.

I doubt the OP would qualify for the travel to interview scheme as coming in from the EU.. maybe they would. Usually you have to book a bit in advance though, I couldn't always get it in time for contracts.

j0annepsi

Update: I went in yesterday, mentioned about my claim being lost. Initially they were trying to get me to make an appointment for next week to come in and speak to someone "upstairs".

Then I told them (politely) I was not leaving this office until someone fowards my claim to the correct department TODAY. I also mentioned being called a "benefits tourist" by one of their staff, that my claim had not been forwarded to the processing department for almost three weeks - suddenly they were apologising profusely, a manager took me over to his desk and sorted it out so my claim was in the hands of someone who could actually deal with it, and he got me a crisis loan too.

Not out of the woods yet but not banging my head against a brick wall any longer. Thank goodness for MSE or i'd never have known about that IPC place and would still be in the dark!