Job Centre Location Change - Is It Possible To Reclaim Bus Fares?

Marv02

Hi,

My son is currently on JSA. He lives in the Deptford area and the local JC is closing down. The next closest JC would be Forest Hill which is 2 buses away, and 2 buses back. = £8 single or £4.80 oyster.

Is there anyway to claim back the bus fares that will occur from the local JC closing down? He barly gets along with £50 a week, let along having £5 taken off. He tends to watch the money he spends to a point where he writes everything down in a little book but this extra £5 thing is going to be a blow for him.

Any advice?

cassieB57

It's worth asking-though I doubt it as Jobcentres do not routinely pay fares to sign on normal attendance days and they would not want to set a precedent. However depending on his travel time door to door it may be worth asking to sign by post if this is more than 1.5 hours

Marv02

cassieB57 wrote: »

sign by post if this is more than 1.5 hours

Thanks for the reply. Just to things, what is:

1) Sign-by-Post?
2) Also, can you explain the detail the 90 minute distance?

bebewoo

There's a Jobcentre on Rushey Green in Catford which is probably nearer to you than the Forest Hill one, the address is 9-19 Rushey Green, Catford, London, SE6 4AZ. Not sure where you are in Deptford, but it probably would only take one bus ride, or if he can walk then maybe less than half an hour's walk.

Marv02

bebewoo wrote: »

There's a Jobcentre on Rushey Green in Catford which is probably nearer to you than the Forest Hill one, the address is 9-19 Rushey Green, Catford, London, SE6 4AZ. Not sure where you are in Deptford, but it probably would only take one bus ride, or if he can walk then maybe less than half an hour's walk.

Hi, he lives between Noodle King and Matalan nearer to the lewisham side of things. He has an option to take a bus from Lewisham or from Deptford. Either way, I think its a long way to travel just to "sign on" and If I'm not mistaken, needs two buses either way.

At least thats how it used to be, and thats what he says it would be. I could be wrong though. Overal, its still extra spending which is going to go down the drain. £5 is a good 2 days of food for him (trust me )

bebewoo

If he lives near Matalan then he could easily walk to the Catford Job Centre in less than 20 mins. Or get the 208 bus from outside Lewisham station, (there are others but I forget their numbers - any with Catford bus station as the destination) it stops right outside.

Oldernotwiser

It would have to be a very long journey that a young man of under 25 couldn't walk once a fortnight!

kingfisherblue

I have a friend who is on JSA. Standard bus fare to town is £1.90 each way, plus a ten minute walk from the bus station. So she has to save almost £4 every fortnight from her JSA for fares. I would imagine that many people pay around £4-5 for fares to sign on, as bus fares are not cheap.

Wyndham

Sorry to butt in with this, but while I appreciate that you are a worried mother, the best thing you can do for your son is to get him to talk to the job centre. You posting on here will not solve his problem, and he needs to sort out his own problems as if he is claiming JSA then he must be an adult?

bendix

There's a lot of mums pampering their kids on this forum Wyndham. For the life of me, I can't work out why a young lad can't figure these things himself. Surely, it's just a phone call to the Job Centre to work it out himself.

Owain_Moneysaver

But MSErs are quite often better informed and more willing to help than (some) Jobcentre advisors.