Community Welfare Officer- Payment Refusal

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Christinexxx

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Hi Everyone,

I have just finished a job in Dublin and moved back to my home town. I tried to sign on in Carlow but there has been a delay for two reasons.
No. 1: The last time I signed on it was in a different county so they must contact them and..
No. 2: The person I share a house with is male and they are wondering if we are a couple and so this may be delaying them.

They told me it could be between 2 and 3 weeks before I get a decision. In the mean time they told me I should contact my community welfare officer.

I called to him and explained my situation. He was so rude and intimidating, I was close to tears leaving his office. He told me that as I shared an address with my current housemate in 2010 (before I moved to Dublin), that he believed that I was telling lies and that we were actually a couple. I told him that any inspection would be welcome and he could call my housemate if he needed to but he declined. I left with nothing. An hour later, he rang me and told me he was giving me an official refusal because he didn't believe my case. He told me I could appeal the decision when I get it in the post. Another hour later, he arrived at my house and inspected it. He still appeared very suspicious of me and left without giving me any definite answer.

I now don't know what to do. I have been told that there is nothing else I can do. However, this is one of the few genuine cases where no- one is telling lies. I cannot even move out of the house I am sharing with my house mate now as I have signed a lease for 12 months. Does anyone have any advice as to what I should do next? I am genuinely broke with no sign of having any payments coming in. Any help please?
 
Did you sign a separate lease to your housemate? Has the landlord taken you on as a separate tenant? Evidence of that should go a long way towards verifying your situation.

You may find that, following the visit, the officer may make a different decision and continue to process your application.

If you do receive a refusal notice, then you should follow the instructions on the letter and make an appeal. You should also advise the Local Office where you signed on that you were refused Supplementary Welfare Allowance and ask if they can speed up your Jobseeker's application.
 
Clubman....As the op stated she contacted her cwo to get financial assistance while her claim at social is being processed
 
Firstly make sure you get the refusal in writting. You need to know exactly on what grounds they are refusing. Is it just on rent allowance or is it also on the temporary SWA payment? It essential you appeal and prepare the appeal really well. Google co-habitation - you may find more information on what is considered co-habitation and it may help with your appeal. Try and stick to the points on which you were refused however angry or emotional you feel. I would however be sure to mention how you provided all information requested etc... If i were you i would go back to the CWO with a copy of your appeal and advise this is the appeal but you would like them to consider reviewing the decision. Its really difficult to say without knowing your exact circumstances but if getting near the appeal date put in the appeal anyway.
 
I signed the lease with my housemate. So both of our names are on it. I contacted CWO again this morning to see if he changed his mind after visiting where I live and he told me he was still going to send me out an official refusal. He said that could take a week or two before I receive it and that I would receive no payments from anyone in the mean time. There will be an appeals process when I receive the official refusal. I then rang my social welfare office and they told me that the CWO has every right to refuse to give me a payment if he thinks I am not truly entitled to it. Even though he has based his decision on an assumption that is incorrect.
I then asked them when I could expect my jobseekers allowance application to be processed and they said that due to the fact I am living with someone I could possibly be in a relationship with, my application has been sent to some inspector. They told me that it could take a number of months to be looked at.

So now the CWO is not giving me anything. AND The social welfare said it will take a number of months before I receive (or not receive) anything from them. I wonder how a person is expected to live on nothing. I always thought that worse case scenario would be being stuck on the dole until I found work but even that is impossible now.
 
Christine - you can definitely appeal the decision of a community welfare officer, I did it myself last year though the CWO in my case was helpful and sorted it all out before I had to actually send the appeal. You send a written letter of appeal as far as I can remember to the chief CWO in your region but not positive on that - tell your own CWO that you want to appeal and ask about the process, so you'll find out how to go about it and at the same time maybe get him/her to give your case a bit more attention. CWO decisions and appeals are generally faster than ordinary social welfare decisions because their nature means that they are designed for emergencies and short-term situations.
 
You should put in a request for a review, setting out the full circumstances, do this in writing and ask for it to be considered by a Superintendent Community Welfare Officer.

Here is a copy of the Department of Social Protection Customer Charter http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Policy/CorporatePublications/HowWeWork/Documents/cust_char_04_07.pdf which should now apply to Community Welfare Officers as they are under the Department. If you feel that the CWO has breached any aspect of the Charter, then you could make reference to this in the review request, it shows that know your rights.

Also, here is the Department's guidelines on cohabitation. Cite this too to show that you know what you're talking about http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/cohabit.aspx You should remind the CWO that the onus to prove cohabitation is on him, and unless he can prove cohabitation, he is not entitled to refuse Supplementary Welfare Allowance on this basis!!

Here is the Code of Conduct for Social Welfare Inspectors, which while not technically applicable to CWOs, the principles of which are just as relevant. http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/swi_codeofpracswi.

An appeal can take a year to process, so a review is definitely the way forward.
 
If the review is unsuccessful, you should lodge a formal appeal. While this appeal is pending, you should submit a fresh application for Supplementary Welfare Allowance pending the appeal. Again, you should cite all of the above in any fresh application.

You should also contact a local resource centre or unemployed group for assistance (both physical help in preparing the review request and for morale). If you don't know where your local group is contact the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed 01 856 0088 who offer an information service and can refer you to a local affiliate if needs be.
 
If the review is unsuccessful, you should lodge a formal appeal. While this appeal is pending, you should submit a fresh application for Supplementary Welfare Allowance pending the appeal. Again, you should cite all of the above in any fresh application.
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Surely this should be made to a different CWO or you will simply end up in a vicious circle of refusals.
 
Time said:
Surely this should be made to a different CWO or you will simply end up in a vicious circle of refusals.
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You could ask it to be considered by a different CWO, but they would not be obliged to do that.

You could end up with a vicious circle of refusals, or a superintendent CWO could realise that its not worth his while refusing it again given the amount of paperwork involved, and may end up authorising payment, even if it was only on the basis that it was pending an appeal.

I have used this approach before and it has had some surprising results, although that was under the old system where you could lodge an internal HSE appeal first before going to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. They removed the HSE rung of the appeals ladder earlier this month, and I'm not sure how this will affect fresh applications pending appeals directly to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

I do find however that persistence and reliance on procedure can often overcome even the most reluctant CWO, and that CWOs are usually prepared to (ultimately) give you the benefit of the doubt, especially when you haven't had a negative decision on your main claim, or from the social welfare appeals office. Things are however tightening up as the money runs out!
 
Thanks for all your advice. I got in contact with his superintendant and talked to him about it. I was considering moving back to my parents (even though I was not invited). He over ruled the decision and saw no reason why I should be left with nothing to live on. He granted me payments each week but in the mean time I have found work (until after Xmas) and so I have turned down the financial help and closed my social welfare claim. Some people are extremely quick to judge situations that they know nothing about.
 
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