Job centre advisor said she would sign for me...then DIDN'T!

radio-jo

I have been on JSA for a month now but haven't received any payments yet.

I have had two major issues. I had been doing some work experience and was unable to make my first sign-on date. I rang my Job Centre two days before my sign-on date to ask if I could come in later that afternoon or the next day to sign. The woman I spoke to (who was in my local job centre, it wasn't a call centre) told me 'You are telling us too far in advance'. I said my sign-on date was in two days time, how could I be ringing too far in advance? Then she said 'You cannot reschedule. You will have to miss your appointment and someone will ring you to re-arrange your sign on date'. I asked her if she was sure about that as it didn't sound right to me. She said yes.

No one rang me on my signing day. The next day (Friday) was a bank hol, as was the Monday. I went to my Job Centre on Tuesday and asked what was going on. I was told my claim had been closed as I hadn't shown up to sign on!

Anyway, I did a rapid reclaim and have appealed their decision to close my previous claim. I was due to sign on the 12th of this month. During my initial meeting to setup the rapid reclaim, I was told my sign on date and I told the lady dealing with my claim that I was going to be away on the 12th and 13th (I was graduating from my open university degree on the 12th), could I sign on when I come back? She said that is no problem as long as I have evidence to show why I won't be able to sign that day.


On the 10th I went in for a meeting to go through my CV etc. I again mentioned to the advisor (a different lady) that I was not going to be around on my signing day and asked if I could sign on now or when I get back. She said "Oh no. If you can't sign on your claim will be closed". I was quite upset to hear this - please note I did not get angry or raise my voice, I just welled up as I sat in front of her - and explained to her that I have no money because people in this job centre have been giving me incorrect information, and if my claim is closed my claim for housing benefit will also be closed and I won't be able to pay my rent!

At this point she lowered her voice and said "Ok. In this instance I will do you a favour and what I will do is, I will sign for you on the 12th". She then got me my signing book and got me to sign it and date it the 12th. She then read out my phone number and said "Right, Once I have signed for you on Thursday, I will leave a voicemail on your phone to let you know". I thanked her and told her I was really grateful for her kindness.

Of course she never left a voicemail and when I called the job centre the computer system was saying I had not signed on the 12th! I spent the entire day on Friday trying to get hold of the woman who said she would sign for me. I left two messages for her and was calling her number literally all afternoon but it was constantly engaged.

I am going to go in tomorrow to speak to her to find out what the hell is going on.

Does anyone have any advice? Obviously my signing book is there in the job centre with my sig on it dated the 12th but no advisor's sig beside it!

Horace

Thankfully I no longer have to deal with the jobcentre but am aware that they will stop your benefit if you cannot sign on. It is not protocol for the advisor to sign you on and as the advisors deal with several people a day it is possible for them to forget.

Appeal the decisions to close your claim explaining why you were unable to sign on, ensure that next time you are given a signing on date that you attend. If you had known that you wouldnt be able to sign on at your normal signing on time, personally, I would have gone along on the same day and signed on - it only takes a few minutes because they are keen to get you out of the door before they move onto their next client.

Re your housing benefit - deal directly with the council for that one as jobcentres tend not to get involved with those claims.

suelees1

You'll still be entitled to HB but you need to let them know

radio-jo

Horace wrote: »

If you had known that you wouldnt be able to sign on at your normal signing on time, personally, I would have gone along on the same day and signed on - it only takes a few minutes because they are keen to get you out of the door before they move onto their next client.

I couldn't sign on this week as I was not here - I had to fly to Belfast for my graduation. My flight was booked, ceremony tickets and hotel booked too and this is why I was unable to sign on Thursday as my flight was on Wednesday afternoon. I wasn't even expecting them to pay me for Thursday and Friday!

If you're referring to the previous issue - I was unaware that you can just show up later that same day if you miss a sign on time earlier in the day. Why wasn't I told this when I called them *two days in advance* to tell them I wouldn't be able to make it?

I am hoping that it will stand in my favour that I have signed my sign-on book. How would I have been able to do this if a member of staff hadn't given me the book to sign? I am going to give her the opportunity to sort things out for me tomorrow BUT if she denies all knowledge I will happily drop her in it. There was a recent expose in the Observer about JCP staff knowingly closing claims unfairly so they hit their targets -- I wonder if this is what has happened to me. :mad:

suelees1

It's an onoing problem these days that incidents like these are par for the course radio-jo. Don't take anything you're told for granted and always try to check it out. Additionally there are a lot of inexperienced and/or disinterested staff paticularly on the other end of the phones at the contact centres - not all I hasten to add before someone jumps down my throat.

radio-jo

Thanks, Suelees1 . I've decided i'm going to use my mobile to record every interaction I have with job centre staff from now on.

suelees1

I've sent you a private message

radio-jo

Thank you

suelees1

I've just sent it

Horace

I remember that I had to sign on at a particular time and went into the jobcentre (it is virtually next door) and asked them if I could sign on at a different time (something that I had never done before), I was told by my jobcentre that I could sign on later that afternoon although when I went I got a ticking off and told that my case had been referred to someone else because it was obvious that I could not keep appointments. Funny, how I went to that appointment with the other advisor and she had the nerve to be 15 minutes late - needless to say she got short shrift from me. I found that going in on my signing day and asking if I could sign on later that day helped although they didnt particularly like me doing that.

With regard to your trip to Belfast for your degree - copy all the proof and send it with the appeal letter (don't send the originals because they will lose them).

One thing that you can do is to write to your MP and ask him to contact the Parliamentary Ombudsman on your behalf - I did it when the jobcentre messed me about (placing me into a 'job' with a fraudulent company that they knew to be fraudulent), I got directed instead to the Regional Manager who then dealt with my complaint and the persons concerned were disciplined - as for the company, well some of us made the woman running it famous by getting the BBC See Hear programme to do an expose on her. You could try writing a letter of complaint to the Jobcentre Manager too.

dookar

There's a card, in the job centre, with your signature and a date on it. I don't see any way you could get an adverse decision on this