It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Larumbelle

Charlies-aunt will correct me if things have changed or if it was only at my stinking office where this was the case, but:

When you phone and make a claim, it is a computer that decided what you might be entitled to, and one duff answer can be enough to shut those benefits off from you. Often the operator has only received the most basic training imaginable - ie only given the bare minimum training on 'their' benefits and none on ones they don't deal with - so don't know enough to query what the computer says. Or aren't allowed to share any knowledge they do have with the caller. For example, if you are not claiming the child benefit for a child, you will not be allowed to claim any tax credits or income support for that child. But you weren't allowed to advise the caller that they might be entitled to benefits once they made a claim for the child benefit. This happened a lot with fathers who had taken over the care of their children :mad: And on the incapacity benefit line (shows it was a few years since I was there, eh!), the questions asked what care you ALREADY receive, not what care you need, which we all know can be very different. If the computer did flash up carer's allowance, the operator is supposed to send clerical forms for this as it's not dealt with over the phone (you can see at this point why it all gets so confusing...) but many operators were either too lazy or too pressured regarding their call handling and wrap-up time to send those forms, and just assumed that someone, somewhere would sort it out. And again, you weren't allowed to mention DLA or suggest people look into their entitlement :mad: As for attendance allowance and pension credits etc, well, we only dealt with working-age benefits, but I can imagine they had a similarly chaotic approach.

In fact I can sum up my entire time there as 'computer says no'. The computer decides what questions to ask, what benefits to put in a claim for, whether an operator is taking too long on calls, or too long 'wrapping up' or sorting their paperwork, what hours they work (you don't get set working hours, a computer would decide you are working 8am-6pm Monday, 11.25am-4.22pm Tuesday, 12.05pm-12.12pm Wednesday etc. and if you don't like it, tough.) With the result that most of the operators are either stressed or have switched off and stopped caring entirely, just better this side of the claim form, right? There was absolutely no point in having team leaders like myself because all we were allowed to do was echo what the computer said!!!! I suspect they'd do away with humans and just use the blimming computers if they could manage it (or without the jobless figures rising too much). :mad: And I suspect that all the poor frontline staff were too busy sorting out the computer's mess to actually do their own jobs and advise people about benefits or help them through such a difficult time in their lives.

Charlies-Aunt, please PLEASE tell me they've sorted it all out now and that sane, rational human beings are back in control?!

EDITED TO ADD: I have just realised that this is ranty and slightly off-topic. I apologise, and if you think it should be removed, I'll delete it. I was just trying to offer a possible explanation as to how people end up not knowing that they've an entitlement even after they've negotiated the benefits system.

ceridwen

silvercharming wrote: »

Charlies-aunt will correct me if things have changed or if it was only at my stinking office where this was the case, but:

When you phone and make a claim, it is a computer that decided what you might be entitled to, and one duff answer can be enough to shut those benefits off from you. Often the operator has only received the most basic training imaginable - ie only given the bare minimum training on 'their' benefits and none on ones they don't deal with - so don't know enough to query what the computer says. Or aren't allowed to share any knowledge they do have with the caller. For example, if you are not claiming the child benefit for a child, you will not be allowed to claim any tax credits or income support for that child. But you weren't allowed to advise the caller that they might be entitled to benefits once they made a claim for the child benefit. This happened a lot with fathers who had taken over the care of their children :mad: And on the incapacity benefit line (shows it was a few years since I was there, eh!), the questions asked what care you ALREADY receive, not what care you need, which we all know can be very different. If the computer did flash up carer's allowance, the operator is supposed to send clerical forms for this as it's not dealt with over the phone (you can see at this point why it all gets so confusing...) but many operators were either too lazy or too pressured regarding their call handling and wrap-up time to send those forms, and just assumed that someone, somewhere would sort it out. And again, you weren't allowed to mention DLA or suggest people look into their entitlement :mad: As for attendance allowance and pension credits etc, well, we only dealt with working-age benefits, but I can imagine they had a similarly chaotic approach.

In fact I can sum up my entire time there as 'computer says no'. The computer decides what questions to ask, what benefits to put in a claim for, whether an operator is taking too long on calls, or too long 'wrapping up' or sorting their paperwork, what hours they work (you don't get set working hours, a computer would decide you are working 8am-6pm Monday, 11.25am-4.22pm Tuesday, 12.05pm-12.12pm Wednesday etc. and if you don't like it, tough.) With the result that most of the operators are either stressed or have switched off and stopped caring entirely, just better this side of the claim form, right? There was absolutely no point in having team leaders like myself because all we were allowed to do was echo what the computer said!!!! I suspect they'd do away with humans and just use the blimming computers if they could manage it (or without the jobless figures rising too much). :mad: And I suspect that all the poor frontline staff were too busy sorting out the computer's mess to actually do their own jobs and advise people about benefits or help them through such a difficult time in their lives.

Charlies-Aunt, please PLEASE tell me they've sorted it all out now and that sane, rational human beings are back in control?!

EDITED TO ADD: I have just realised that this is ranty and slightly off-topic. I apologise, and if you think it should be removed, I'll delete it. I was just trying to offer a possible explanation as to how people end up not knowing that they've an entitlement even after they've negotiated the benefits system.

Well - actually - I've just been a trifle "naughty" there....as I think actually that its useful for people to read this description of how the system works in the DWP these days....

floss2

ceridwen wrote: »

Well - actually - I've just been a trifle "naughty" there....as I think actually that its useful for people to read this description of how the system works in the DWP these days....

I think this is how is used to be, before all the IT upgrades etc.... but I agree, it gives a valuable insight.

AnnieG

The income support people made me cry yesterday, and I'm not usually a cryer. They hadn't looked at my bank statements properly when calculating my claim and counted the same sum of money 3 times, assumed I'm loaded and awarded me with a third of the amount I should be getting. When I phoned to try and sort it out, the chap couldn't care less .... he said oh, the papers have gone for filing now, we can probably phone them on Monday and ask them to send them back, so we might be able to look at it for you in a week or thereabouts....
Fortunately I've got a small sum to fall back on, but if I didn't I'd be absolutely sunk by now, I was last paid from my job on 15 May and am a single parent... but hey ,if the forms are in the filing, not much can be done.
Sorry, I'm a bit ranty too, but I just couldn't believe it!
At least I've got DS to cuddle, that makes it all better (until he asks for something I can't afford :rotfl:)

lilac_lady

It's tougher now - but we WILL cope, especially if we keep coming here for advice and tips.

Primrose

I think the clever trick going forward is going to be coming up with innovative ways of avoiding the VAT increase or avoiding it altogether, and that's going to take some doing, but we all have six months to familiarise ourselves with the VATable and non VATable items. Finding substitutes for things would be a good start although we may, of course find the substitutes are VATable too, but the overall cost might be much less, so a saving overall. For examples, the washing liquid Gloop recipe somewhere on this thread or the Sneaky Ways to Save Money thread will still have VAT on the original ingredients (I imagine) but because the overall cost is so much lower, the VAT element will be much lower. Also, I'm not sure whether VAT is payable on second hand goods such as fridges, TV's etc. Can anybody confirm this? I'm pretty certain that secondhand clothes and items bought in charity shops don't bear VAT.

mardatha

I know you pay VAT on second hand car and bike parts..

lilac_lady

One way of trying to compensate for the VAT increase is to take advantage of BOGOF items that incur VAT. I sometimes bypass items because I think they'll come around again but will try and grab "bargains" in the supermarket when I find them.

Mum_on_a_mission_2

AnnieG wrote: »

The income support people made me cry yesterday, and I'm not usually a cryer. They hadn't looked at my bank statements properly when calculating my claim and counted the same sum of money 3 times, assumed I'm loaded and awarded me with a third of the amount I should be getting. When I phoned to try and sort it out, the chap couldn't care less .... he said oh, the papers have gone for filing now, we can probably phone them on Monday and ask them to send them back, so we might be able to look at it for you in a week or thereabouts....
Fortunately I've got a small sum to fall back on, but if I didn't I'd be absolutely sunk by now, I was last paid from my job on 15 May and am a single parent... but hey ,if the forms are in the filing, not much can be done.
Sorry, I'm a bit ranty too, but I just couldn't believe it!
At least I've got DS to cuddle, that makes it all better (until he asks for something I can't afford :rotfl:)

In a nutshell - you need to complain about his attitude & unhelpfulness.

Taken from CAB advice guide it says

When should you complain
You should consider complaining if there is any aspect of the service that caused you problems and where the standard of your care was unacceptable. You do not need to have made a claim for benefit to claim about the standard of service. Problems experienced may include:-
rudeness. This could include not being treated with respect or failing to get an answer to reasonable requests
being given incorrect or misleading advice or not being informed of your rights or entitlements. If you have lost out financially you may be able to get compensation

As a public service worker myself - its not on to have such an off hand attitude, it would not be, and isn't tolerated where I work.

Big big hugs - I hope you get it all sorted soon,

Moam

elizabunny

As I said in an earlier post, I think we really are all going to feel the pain of these cuts. There is not alot we can do about it either. For everyone it will be different, many will have to face the cuts in benefits and the worries that this will bring. All of us will have to suffer the rise in VAT but at least we can pick and choose a bit what we buy, to minimise the impact. All of us are going to have to face an increase in the retirement age. Looks like DH will be hit by this as he was due to retire 2018. My State Pension age has been pushed back 5 years from 2015 to 2020 and I will not be pleased if I have to wait yet another year on top of that. I do think that there has been no consideration made for people who work in heavy manual jobs and it might be possible to negotiate scaffolding, lift heavy machinary, stand all day, etc. etc. when you are in your twenties and thirties, it's not always possible though when you are in your sixties. As for completely abolishing the default retirement age, I'm not sure I agree with that either, does this mean that for example an eighty year old person cannot be asked to leave their job, even if they are clearly unfit to do the job correctly? Does it mean that if you choose to retire because your health is not so good, you would not get Pension Credit etc. etc.should you need it, because you could have carried on working? Is this the start of medical assessments to see if we are frail enough to retire? I have just heard on TV News that if people are unable to do their manual jobs upto retirement age, then the possibility of retraining should be looked at. I wonder how this would work out in practise? It doesn't bear thinking about. For each of us, whatever our age and circumstances, this is a worrying time. I am wondering if there is any way over the next 8 years that we could save enough for DH to still retire at 65 as he is in a heavy manual job and has already had enough, but I think with all the cuts we are facing, this will probably be impossible. Keep strong O/Slers at least (as they say) we are all in this together. We will just carry on in our O/S way and not let them get us down.