Maternity Allowance

Louise1521

I sent my claim in for Maternity Allowance about 2.5 weeks ago. Obviously with the post strikes I'd expect it to take a bit longer to get there. How long does it normally take to get a reply from them? I did try calling last week to see if they'd received it, but was put on hold for over half an hour, so gave up, and because they work 9-5 the same hours as me, I can't call them.

I'm paranoid that my payslips and MatB1 have been lost.

rich_in_norwich

Louise1521 wrote: »

I sent my claim in for Maternity Allowance about 2.5 weeks ago. Obviously with the post strikes I'd expect it to take a bit longer to get there. How long does it normally take to get a reply from them? I did try calling last week to see if they'd received it, but was put on hold for over half an hour, so gave up, and because they work 9-5 the same hours as me, I can't call them.

I'm paranoid that my payslips and MatB1 have been lost.

Our experience with MA has been very poor. We have been waiting 15 weeks for our claim to be processed. It is impossible to get through to their helpline - tried about 40 times before finally getting through. We have received an initial letter from them saying that they have received our paperwork, but on getting through, they simply stonewalled us and told us to call in three weeks - which will be 18 weeks after the baby was born!!! It is lucky that we are not desparate for the money, but this is completely ridiculous.

Louise1521

Thanks for your reply. Sounds like I'm being optimistic then, by expecting something in writing after a couple of weeks. Just can't believe how poor the system is.

How long did you wait before receiving the inital letter?

stazi

The target for JCP to decide MA claims is 18 working days (assuming everything is correct and all the info has been provided).
If you have been waiting longer than this, ring/write to JCP and ask them to decide the claim ASAP.