Constructive Advice Regarding Benefits Required Please

Nickynoo1

I have not read the whole thread, too long, but i did read the first post. I used to work in HB/CTB and when the DWP stopped JSA an automatic e-mail would would sent to the council, the HB/CTB would be suspended, and there on a whole load of unecessary work, hassle and distress would be caused.

The trouble with benefits, apart from the jargon, is that it is so bureaucratic. It takes 12 weeks of training an employee (local authority, don't know how long dwp take), how is "jo public" supposed to know the ins and outs. And for making 1 mistake, it seems a bit extreme to turn your life upside down. The small print in claiming JSA should advise that in doing so you owe them your life and dignity.
best bet is to get a job, and get out of their claws...

mixtrixx

anxious_mum wrote: »

Blimey, I just realised I will never get back the 20 minutes or so that it took me to read this post. Boring doesn't even begin to describe it. And it is could HAVE, should HAVE, would HAVE, not could OF blah blah blah.....Get a damn job if you're so qualified!

I'm so sorry it's become boring I suppose anxious mom is lingering around for ways to get more benefits out of the system? How much child support actually goes towards nappies? food? drinks on a night out with girl friends?

Obviously getting better results out of the DWP then I am.

I think I've done more then 20 minutes to explain that someone aint got the right to judge me on nothing they have read fully, which includes starting at the first post.

SingleSue

I didn't think my posts were idiotic or !!!!!!, I thought I gave supportive and constructive advice on how to widen the chances of gaining employment.

And I was very nice about it too!

mixtrixx

Nickynoo1 wrote: »

I have not read the whole thread, too long, but i did read the first post. I used to work in HB/CTB and when the DWP stopped JSA an automatic e-mail would would sent to the council, the HB/CTB would be suspended, and there on a whole load of unecessary work, hassle and distress would be caused.

The trouble with benefits, apart from the jargon, is that it is so bureaucratic. It takes 12 weeks of training an employee (local authority, don't know how long dwp take), how is "jo public" supposed to know the ins and outs. And for making 1 mistake, it seems a bit extreme to turn your life upside down. The small print in claiming JSA should advise that in doing so you owe them your life and dignity.
best bet is to get a job, and get out of their claws...

Actually you are the only one to of read part of the original post but still actually be one of the few to comment on my actual problem so thank you.

As you say, and as I mention it is all down to misleading or unclear letters DWP send out. I had to go through the process of contacting my council to see if they could actually contact the DWP or JC+ Office to actually confirm that I was in receipt of JSA, just that because that failed to put the date in which the suspension ended, it was left to mislead one into thinking I had come off JSA full stop. Which OK a stamp and envelope does not cost a great deal, but it does when your in the red, with Direct Debits Bouncing causing £25+ Admin Charges before the actual bills are paid, which is more stressful even if you were to win an appeal or claim hardship, as that does not pay the bills due out there and then.

mixtrixx

SingleSue wrote: »

I didn't think my posts were idiotic or !!!!!!, I thought I gave supportive and constructive advice on how to widen the chances of gaining employment.

And I was very nice about it too!

No actually you are right, and I just had to double check to see if I had actually posted something quoting you thinking I had done so wrongly lol

But yes it was constructive, so thanks again.

lauzellen

I don't think your attacking parents is constructive at all...

Have you appealed yet? Are you now receiving JSA again? I haven't read the whole thread - just your initial post and the ones on this page. I can understand frustrations caused by the abiguity of the letter you had recieved and the hardship this would have caused. Ultimately you did miss your signing on day so I can understand them stopping 1 weeks JSA but I don't think it should lead to HB/CTB also being cancelled/suspended. Yes is is a costly mistake, but one you need to deal with as best you can.

After being out of work for 5yrs I think you need to re-look at your strategies to try to gain employment and how you word/phrase applications to ensure each one is tailored. You need to get out of the benefit trap ASAP - even if it was a low paid full time job you could get support in the form of working tax credits. Are there no temporary to permanent role about? So if you prove your worth you will be put on a permanent contract. I know times are difficult and you are going to need to make an extra effort to make yourself seem employable to and employer due to being out of work for so long, but i'm sure with the right attitude and through tailoring applications that it can be done.

How about volunteering 1st to prove what a good worker you are? This can lead to employment of the paid sort.

mixtrixx

KimYeovil wrote: »

What does the OP expect prefixing their thread title with such a red flag?



You have been on benefits for five years. You know the penalty for missing a signing is one week's money not one day's.



Nonsense. You are not maintaining your bank account correctly. If you are not prepared to maintain your account like a grown up then do not pay by direct debits. You have had a fixed income for five years. You have had more than enough time to build up a buffer of a couple of months payments in any accounts that are used for bills.

Hic-coughs happen. Plan for them.

Loosing 1 weeks pay for 1 day signing late has not been the law for the last 5 years it came in towards the end of 2010 (October I think) or there abouts, to which I was verbally told by someone not associated with JC+ and had not signed any agreement to confirm that this change came into effect.

and no I dont have money saved up in advance, otherwise I would not be arguing my case so stubbornly. The fact is, that most of my bills are already discounted through either being paid through using an online tarrif or direct debits. I get £596 a month JSA, my out goings are £560 a month. That does not even include property ground rent service charges which come every 6 months @ £60 as it's leasehold property.

So when I say I am managing my finances well, I am doing what I say as a responsible adult should do with the income he has/had coming in.

I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I have very little in the way of luxuries, only those that I paid for whilst in employment.

I dont think I should actually have to save whatever little bit of money to cover anything when It's been doing me no harm the last 5 years, 1st time offence 1 weeks money stopped ridiculous the law says you can live on £70 a week, hmm ok so DWP stop £65.40 of that? is DWP complying what the Law state? Did I provide evidence to suggest i seeked work for the 4 Days I never got paid? Yes
So JC+ are in breach of the JSA Agreement I and they both signed, I got punished for my part (unfairly) now they should be made to reimburse the 4 days they done me out of.
If someone turns up late on the same day, but cant fit them in until the next day, then should they not be penalized for signing on on the wrong day? No it's just the JC+ being !!!!!! when someone turns up late outside the 4 minute window each JC+ member of staff is given with each client. Yet how many times have people stood waiting looking at the clock for it to be 10 mins past their signing times and not even get so much as an apology?

busy_mom_2

Jobseekers allowance is not an alternative to a job, it is a last resort. Why should the state support you because you got the sack from your last job and think you are above everybody else and a normal job.

Yes you should start to wake up and smell the coffee because you will soon be loosing more of your JSA if you don't get off your backside and get a job, any job don't care what you are qualified to do. Try McDonald's always work at one of them.

This government expect people to help themselves, there is no magic wand or bottomless cash tin to get you into work or pay the training that you so desperately expect.

You really need to realise exactly what you benefit can be sanctioned for. You might be in for a shock, you can loose a weeks benefit for being late, yes 10 mins late and you loose a week!

Have you ever thought why you might be kept waiting a few minutes? Perhaps the person in front of you is also moaning and groaning thinking the world owes them a living and taking longer than the 3 or 5 mins allocated to them. They too might be questioned because they are late or not taken adequate steps to seek employment. Do you moan in the supermarket or the post office if there is a queue in front of you?

In a nut shell get a job,any job, sign off and give the poor JCP staff in your local office a break!

anxious_mum

mixtrixx wrote: »

I'm so sorry it's become boring I suppose anxious mom is lingering around for ways to get more benefits out of the system? How much child support actually goes towards nappies? food? drinks on a night out with girl friends?

Obviously getting better results out of the DWP then I am.

I think I've done more then 20 minutes to explain that someone aint got the right to judge me on nothing they have read fully, which includes starting at the first post.

You're barking up the wrong tree there matey, I have never claimed anything from the state since the day I was old enough to work :j Plus, at 17 and 15 my boys wouldn't appreciate nappies these days! I've never been out of work for 5 years either.

Plus, I'm mum, not mom, I'm not american.

GilbertGradgrind

You can appeal against a decision made by a decision maker on factual grounds.

First, you had signing on documents which gave you a date to sign on. If you sign on on the day that document states then you have not failed to attend an appointment, the Job Centre have failed to tell you of a new appointment.

Second, you were told a decision maker would make that decision. You are entitled to know that a decisionmaker did, in fact, make a decision. You are not entitled to know their name but it will be recorded on Customer Management System/Labour Market System (CMS/LMS) that a decision was made, the date of the decision and when you were informed. You are entitled to this information under the DWP's Data Protection Act (DPA) and Freedom Of Information Act (FoI) obligations. In asking for that information, it might well be better to go through the CAB or a Welfare Rights Adviser.

Third, CMS/LMS will record letters sent out. You might well have been sent out a letter that did not arrive. In order to demonstrate that you will need to get confirmation from Royal Mail - or the DWP Mail Carrier of choice in your area - that they did or did not deliver in your area on time in the period the letter was sent. Over Christmas there is a lot of delayed post and Royal Mail do advertise "latest posting dates" and that supports an argument that you were not informed in good time to keep the appointment.

Appealing is the obvious thing to do. However, if you appeal you will lose on a lot of grounds that are just technicalities. Writing a long letter to the DWP is not going to get a decision reversed. You need to do the running around to collect all of the documents that will be needed to actually make an effective appeal. You can ask the Jobcentre for documents but that is something you will need to go out of your way to do. You would also be better going through the CAB or a Welfare Rights Paralegal Service.

The first step is to inform the DWP that their decision was wrong and that you will get the CAB or Paralegal to clarify why. You will also need to inform your Local Council of the appeal in order that they do not start proceedings for the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Credit that will be due for that week where you had no benefits. You may also need to get notification from the Jobcentre that you had no means at all during that week. Which might go towards an argument to the Local Council that they should pay the Council Tax Benefit. You may have to find the Housing Benefit - as that is passported from the Job Seekers Allowance.

The only way that you will get the benefit reinstated is if the Jobcentre has made a substantive mistake. It is very possible that they did not and that you are going to have to live with it. Unless you can show that they did not update your Jobseekers Agreement correctly and ensured that you were informed then you are likely to have to put up with the situation.

The argument that you are currently putting forward is that you made best efforts to comply with your duties. That has never been good enough for the Jobcentre: you are obliged to comply with your duties except in circumstances that are beyond your control.

Losing a weeks benefit will count as a sanction. If you do not appeal then the sanction will remain on your benefit records. Other posters have pointed out that you have been unemployed for a long time. That used to be irrelevant until the DWP instituted the Flexible New Deal in 2008/2009 and now length of unemployment is regarded as relevant. A sanction is viewed as a way to move you into work. Regardless of what you now do, you are likely to be move to "engage" with a service provider to find work.