can they help us

tcr_3

Phone them first thing in the morning. Establish whether they have all the information they need from you.

If they do, ask for an emergency payment of benefit. And don't be put off if they say "it's with the Decision Maker", just politely tell them straight that you can no longer wait & that you need the decision made right away and that you can simply no longer wait.

If they won't commit to that, ask to speak to a supervisor. And if you don't get any joy with them, ask to speak to their Customer Service Manager. But don't lose the rag with any of them, that gives them the right to hang up. Just keep insisting that you need the decision made.

As to two pages of arguments about a phone line, what a load of crud.

tinktinktinkerbell

tcr wrote: »

Phone them first thing in the morning. Establish whether they have all the information they need from you.

If they do, ask for an emergency payment of benefit. And don't be put off if they say "it's with the Decision Maker", just politely tell them straight that you can no longer wait & that you need the decision made right away and that you can simply no longer wait.

If they won't commit to that, ask to speak to a supervisor. And if you don't get any joy with them, ask to speak to their Customer Service Manager. But don't lose the rag with any of them, that gives them the right to hang up. Just keep insisting that you need the decision made.

As to two pages of arguments about a phone line, what a load of crud.

ive got to phone the benefit enquiery place tomorrow and theyve got 3 hours to call me back and if they dont ive got to get back onto the crisis loan people, the crisis loan woman i spoke to today chased it up for me and the woman she spoke to said she was going to get into the DMs

dktreesea

Everything seems to take ages with the DWP these days. I really feel sad for people who get stuck, with no money coming in and waiting forever for their claims to come through. They are understaffed for the current level of demand and currently being inundated with claims from self employed people who have fallen on hard times and had to give up their businesses. Someone at the council who used to work with them was saying that their problem is they don't really have people who work there used to working with the self employed because that group are usually dealt with by the HMRC.

Don't give up your phone if you can possibly manage to hold onto it. Fact: employers expect a contact phone number (preferably your own) to be on a job pplication and are suspicious if you don't have one. It will make you look like you are not serious about getting a job. The days of ringing a neighbour four doors down and asking if she could just run up and ask your Nan to come to the phone are long gone.

This may seem daft advice, but keep some flour, yeast and salt in the house, to make bread. Or a couple of cans of baked beans - something cheap. We really did run out of money one day, and had absolutely no food in the house, plus we had never been out of work before, were in a new city and didn't know anything about food banks and the like. Or anyone to borrow money from, to tide us over.

The DWP is dragging its heels while people down on their luck slip into destitution. I'm sorry they are having to do a hard day's work every day, now their staffing levels have been reduced to the level yuou get in most small businesses around the country, but I still think it's disgusting.

I agree with the poster above who suggested getting in touch with your MP. There's an election coming up. If they don't help, try the local paper. They'd love a story like this.

tinktinktinkerbell

dktreesea wrote: »

Everything seems to take ages with the DWP these days. I really feel sad for people who get stuck, with no money coming in and waiting forever for their claims to come through. They are understaffed for the current level of demand and currently being inundated with claims from self employed people who have fallen on hard times and had to give up their businesses. Someone at the council who used to work with them was saying that their problem is they don't really have people who work there used to working with the self employed because that group are usually dealt with by the HMRC.

Don't give up your phone if you can possibly manage to hold onto it. Fact: employers expect a contact phone number (preferably your own) to be on a job pplication and are suspicious if you don't have one. It will make you look like you are not serious about getting a job. The days of ringing a neighbour four doors down and asking if she could just run up and ask your Nan to come to the phone are long gone.

This may seem daft advice, but keep some flour, yeast and salt in the house, to make bread. Or a couple of cans of baked beans - something cheap. We really did run out of money one day, and had absolutely no food in the house, plus we had never been out of work before, were in a new city and didn't know anything about food banks and the like. Or anyone to borrow money from, to tide us over.

The DWP is dragging its heels while people down on their luck slip into destitution. I'm sorry they are having to do a hard day's work every day, now their staffing levels have been reduced to the level yuou get in most small businesses around the country, but I still think it's disgusting.

I agree with the poster above who suggested getting in touch with your MP. There's an election coming up. If they don't help, try the local paper. They'd love a story like this.

yeah my bf said the local paper would jump all over something like this so that is something we are thinking about if we get no joy tomorrow

thank you for the advice

yeah

Vader123

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

yeah my bf said the local paper would jump all over something like this so that is something we are thinking about if we get no joy tomorrow

thank you for the advice

yeah

I very much doubt it. Your MP would be a better avenue to explore.

Vader

tinktinktinkerbell

well another update

i phoned up this morning like the woman yesterday said i should

apparently the things we took in TWO WEEKS AGO (bank statements, copy of our accounts) only reached the DMs TODAY!! proper raging! the guy said he has set it as an emergency and said it should (where have i heard that before) be sorted by monday

kelloggs36

Sadly this is the result of cutting back on 100,000 DWP staff which was announced a few years ago by none other than Gordon Brown our then Chancellor, as a cost cutting measure. I didn't hear many people complaining then, as they only believe the Daily Mail headlines of 'gold plated pensions' rather than the impact it has on Joe public.

talulah25

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

yeah my bf said the local paper would jump all over something like this so that is something we are thinking about if we get no joy tomorrow

thank you for the advice

yeah

perhaps I better get writing to my local paper then lol!

Wee update on our situation, after 5 and a half months waiting for housing benefit and council tax benefit we had a letter from housing association this morning advising us they have started legal proceedings to have us evicted :mad:!!!!! Phoned up housing benefit and was told they need proof of our address to further the claim, proof of address that we sent in with original claim and have a receipt for and they have been sending us mail to this address since the original claim went in, also they are in contact with our housing association so cant they just ask them????!!!!!

I am DONE, dont know where to turn anymore, just found I'm pregnant again and cant cope!

Sorry for hi-jacking this thread but I just cant handle the stress any longer!

shegirl

talulah25 wrote: »

perhaps I better get writing to my local paper then lol!

Wee update on our situation, after 5 and a half months waiting for housing benefit and council tax benefit we had a letter from housing association this morning advising us they have started legal proceedings to have us evicted :mad:!!!!! Phoned up housing benefit and was told they need proof of our address to further the claim, proof of address that we sent in with original claim and have a receipt for and they have been sending us mail to this address since the original claim went in, also they are in contact with our housing association so cant they just ask them????!!!!!

I am DONE, dont know where to turn anymore, just found I'm pregnant again and cant cope!

Sorry for hi-jacking this thread but I just cant handle the stress any longer!

You should be fine so try and relax.The fact that housing benefit have screwed it all up for you should enable you to get a stay if they gain the eviction.Contact them and do all you can to stop it going further.If you have any money coming in anywhere (I'm assuming you do) offer to pay a couple of pounds a week if they are insistent.I know HAs are harsher than the council on these matters but get some help and you should be alright

tinktinktinkerbell

talulah25 wrote: »

perhaps I better get writing to my local paper then lol!

Wee update on our situation, after 5 and a half months waiting for housing benefit and council tax benefit we had a letter from housing association this morning advising us they have started legal proceedings to have us evicted :mad:!!!!! Phoned up housing benefit and was told they need proof of our address to further the claim, proof of address that we sent in with original claim and have a receipt for and they have been sending us mail to this address since the original claim went in, also they are in contact with our housing association so cant they just ask them????!!!!!

I am DONE, dont know where to turn anymore, just found I'm pregnant again and cant cope!

Sorry for hi-jacking this thread but I just cant handle the stress any longer!

least you have some money coming in though (you're the one that gets £123 maternity pay right?)

and im not being funny and im sorry if this sounds harsh but if you cant afford kids you really shouldnt be having sex