Poxy Pension Credits !!!

gorgeousgeorge

Aaaaaaargh, poxy pension credits have stopped all of a sudden, OH's JSA(cb) came to an end on the 14th, and he was paid just over a weeks money into his account, but pension credits havent paid since about a week before that! maybe a lot longer, we informed them that JSA had come to an end, and they said that he will be put on their system ( was getting clerically paid for a while) but by the look of it, they havent done it.:mad:

OH starts a new job in a few weeks time ( still waiting for start date to be confirmed as they keep changing it ) , but need to get this claim sorted out and have any outstanding money paid to us, as now H/B want to know what he is claiming now JSA(cb) has stopped, and they have suspended any further payments until we get proof from Pension Credits! Bloody sick of being told different things when we ring up, and speaking to different people, who obviously dont communicate with other departments! :mad:

gorgeousgeorge

Does anyone know the best way of speaking to someone 'higher up' at the pension credits department, OH has rung again today.... we are still not on the 'system' even after being paid clerically in the past, 3rd person we have spoken to has said the same thing, 'I need to go and speak to so n so in something department'. Have got the names of all these people that we have spoken to, and not one has come up with the correct answers.

The start date for his job has been put back again :mad: and we havent had any money coming in since 14th of june which was the end of his JSA and have had nothing from pension credits since beginning of june....

Any advise out there?

PasturesNew

This is why I stay well clear of benefits and claims... if your life changes all the time you can never catch up ... best off out of it. No doubt I'd have been able to claim some money from some pot some of the time, but is it worth the hassle/forms/runaround... I think not.

gorgeousgeorge

PasturesNew wrote: »

This is why I stay well clear of benefits and claims... if your life changes all the time you can never catch up ... best off out of it. No doubt I'd have been able to claim some money from some pot some of the time, but is it worth the hassle/forms/runaround... I think not.

No, sometimes it isnt worth the hassle, has all been very frustrating trying to get what we have been entitled too. Hopefully once OH starts his new job and that contract comes to an end, they will take him on as a permanent member of staff.
He never ever wanted to claim, and did not for the first 3 months he was unemployed, as he thought he would be able to find work easily, but that didnt happen, and so we have lived off the small amount of benefits that were given to us, and our savings, which are now nearly gone
Just very frutrating that different answers to our questions are given all the time, and that certain departments dont 'talk' to each other :mad:

gorgeousgeorge

Think I finally made a bit of headway with Pension Credits today, rung them up yet again, told yet another 'voice' what the problem was, and was told word for word exactly what we had been told before....' Oh i will go right now and see the person who is dealing with your claim, and get them to ring you back'

So i just said, 'are you reading off of a prompt card, as I have heard the same story over the past few weeks, and nobody has called me back, and I also have a log of every conversation, and the names of those that I have spoken too' and also said to them ' If i dont hear from you within 24hours I will be contacting my local MP and will be making an official complaint as I dont like to be lied too'

The chap on the phone soon changed his tune, and put me on hold for about 5 minutes, then came back and said the lady who was dealing with our claim was out of the office, and would ring us in the next 24 hours! I just said, thats fine, but I will still stand by what I have said......lo and behold, we had a call within the hour! Saying she has just put our claim into the 'system' as it was in the 'clerical system' we would be receiving notification of award hopefully tomorrow, followed by monies into bank account.....

Mmmmmm..... Lets see :think:

Bet they wont waste anytime taking us off 'the system' as soon as we inform them of OH's start date at work!

I understand that benefits departments are very busy, but the way you get spoken too can be very patronizing, and then to be promised callbacks for them never to come can be very frustrating :mad:

I would much rather be spoken to in a better manner, and be apologised too for the delay ..... some of these people have no 'customer relations' at all, and think they can get away with it hiding down a phone line :mad:

gorgeousgeorge

Pension Credits have been sorted eventually, although they take off money for a private pension, that OH pays INTO every month!

Oh well, another ccouple of weeks and he will be back working thank god.... will have to try and rebuild our saving that we have lived on whilst waiting for PC to be sorted out....

anmarj

gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

Pension Credits have been sorted eventually, although they take off money for a private pension, that OH pays INTO every month! .

I take it is this one?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2454155

then yes, he could of claimed this at 60, he choose not to and is continuing to pay, so it has to be taken into account.

His choice

lindann_2

[QUOTE=_(_due_to_having_2_grown_up_kids_still_at_home_)_:([/QUOTE]

Would you having children at home effect benefits, assuming they were working.