'supporting each other through really tough times'

RAS

shegar wrote: »

We have had a home visit appointment made by Jobcentre , someone called a " compliance officer " is coming Friday pm, I done the worst thing ever in telling hubby about it, his poor head with the stroke and all this worry is not good at all for him, Ive told him not to worry and that I will deal with it.....

They will probaly take one look at him and realize just how ill he is mentally and physically with that dam stroke that has ruined his life, its left him epileptic, cant wash or bath himself, cant feed himself, cant barely walk ,DVT left side hemiplegia and wheelchair bound,but the jobcentre as put him in a work support group:eek::mad::mad:...Plus he have 24/7nursing care,he got all that yet his poor head keeps telling him that he will somehow have to work again and he fears for the appointment friday, ive told him 10 dozen times since the letter came on Monday not to worry, why do they worry the life out of the really sick people and yet the " shirkers " get away not having to work, every town and village have a work shy shirker , as I call them............

Sheila

Wish they would find a better term for these staff. They audit a percentage of cases each year; that is what the compliance officer does.

People often freak out because of the job title but thay may also end up getting more benefits rather than less. It is one of the most common stresses on the benefits forum but very rarely are specific individual targetted.

They will check that your benefits are correct and you are getting all to which you are entitled. They may ask for a few extra bits of evidence but unless OH is actually swinging from the rafters, they are not going to be interested in his state.

You might want to let them try and interview him first (with his consent) and only help out when the officer struggles?

katieowl_2

Thanks Lyn, I'm quite choked up by your very kind reply!

I said to DD never mind, we'll be able to work twice as hard at the market and that is all down to us then!!!

Kate

westcoastscot

mardatha wrote: »

We spend £140 a month in coal alone!

We're the same here - £18/bag so £144 month, plus a minimum of £60/month electricity. Like you my stove is on 24/7 - really cosy!!!

Shegar please don't worry at the compliance visit, as others have said they are auditing themselves not you - I wish they'd explain that in their letters - I do point it out everytime I assist someone to meet with them!

Pops it must be cheaper to live in a smaller house, and as you say you're disabled then do you not qualify for a bus pass? that would solve the problem of living further away from amenities.

[Deleted User]

Oh Bless you KATE you are lovely and I'm sorry for making you bleary eyed. Hope everything sorts itself out to both your advantages and you'll look back on this as a blessing, Love Lyn xxx.

GreyQueen

kidcat wrote: »

Have skipped forward just to reply to shegar, will go back later as I am out at moment, a compliance officer visit is not necessarily to check you, they send them out to check that the depts involved are doing things properly. We had a visit a few years ago as were receiving a small amount of housing benefit, I was so worried and panicked then they arrived and explained they have to check so many cases to audit staff, she checked all our stuff and explained where the staff had done it wrong and how we were actually entitled to a little more, she sent a report a few weeks later and then our benefit was increased and backdated,

So please don't worry its likely not to be them checking you,

Shegar, please try not to stress it too much, kidkat is right in what she (and others since) have said.

I work with someone who used to be a DWP compliance officer, they will check that you have what you should be getting and you often end up with more after a compliance visit, not less. Your poor OH and you, you've nothing to hide, bless your hearts.

Been out for the evening with a pal, another cheapy socialising event. We normally hang out at each other's homes and natter and drink tea. I have some pals who are on much higher salaries than me and they go out for meals but I don't join them on those occasions (after all this time they know not to ask, my budget simply doesn't stretch to it).

That's OK. I'm very comfortable about cutting my coat according to my cloth. A pot of tea and a library book and I'm good for the evening.

I agree with what people say about YS bargains. They're absolutely garbage. Haven't seen a really good one for more than 6 months (Anchor butter at 45p a pack, saving of over a £1). I bought several and unfreeze them one at a time for use.

Gonna aim to wander across to the Magic Greengrocer after w*rk tomorrow for the first time in 2013. It's a family biz, father to son. MG tells me that only 3% of the greengrocery market is now in independant trade like his.

I buy slightly-damaged fruit and veg from him for silly prices, like £1 for a carrier bagful. Yeah, the bananas will have brown speckles (yum!) and there might be a bish or a bash on something which needs to be cut out, but it's all good stuff, just no longer saleable as Class 1.

Greengrocer and me sing from same hymn sheet about avoiding waste. They often cook up great pots of stuff at home from the slightly-damaged stuff and they deplore waste. It helps stretch my budget a lot.

I have almost given up on some recipes as they require to be tricked out with fancy ingredients and seasonings which can easily double the cost of the meal. I find some veggie recipes particularly bad offenders in that category.

Tomorrow I shall have my version of a takeaway; a chicken tikka masala ready meal, reduced on offer to £1.75 and bought with a clubcard 75p off voucher, so a plentiful tasty dinner for £1. At that price it was cheaper than YS!

OK, enough drivel. Love and peas, GQ xx

[Deleted User]

Managed to send the post twice, sorry p I T Numpty is me!!!!!

Aria`s_Tail

We are on prepayment meters and average about £40 a month on the leccy and about £60 on gas through the winter, £20 through summer so about £80 a month. And thats with 2 tropical fish tanks running (4 x flouro tubes) and an OH who never switches the pc or Xbox off at switch. And I can't be cold of my joints/back play up!

Aria`s_Tail

Popperwell wrote: »

Yet they predict that by the end of the year allowing for VAT and changes in prices(and I am on a duel deal until October)that I will have spent £1,396. I seem to use such a small amount now...how can I cut back any further?

Pops please try not to worry too much about this. At our old house we had something similar with Npower. They used it as an excuse to double the direct debit amount. I ended up reading meters every month and submitting them online until they agreed that we weren't gonna use anywhere near that amount, even with price increases.

mcculloch29

westcoastscot wrote: »

We're the same here - £18/bag so £144 month, plus a minimum of £60/month electricity. Like you my stove is on 24/7 - really cosy!!!

Shegar please don't worry at the compliance visit, as others have said they are auditing themselves not you - I wish they'd explain that in their letters - I do point it out everytime I assist someone to meet with them!

Pops it must be cheaper to live in a smaller house, and as you say you're disabled then do you not qualify for a bus pass? that would solve the problem of living further away from amenities.

Pops, not that I wish to nag, but we had this conversation a few weeks ago - please do apply for your bus pass if you are on Higher Rate Mobility! It was the very first thing I did when my DLA award letter arrived.

I nearly broke my neck struggling through deep slush in Durham (in Jan 2010) to get my pic taken for the pass. I was supposed to go to Spenny, but it was Catch 22 - there was no bus to get there, and DS wasn't running a car at that time.

Then when the pass did arrive one lunchtime, I was on the first bus into Darlo with it, for free ... just because I could.

Incidentally, I've just applied for a Blue Badge so that DS can park in disabled spaces on shopping trips with me. Any extra distance walking takes its toll.

I can fully understand why, Pops, you want to stay put, your house is ideally situated and there is almost zero likelihood of your getting something similar but smaller.
Some of the areas locally (that you would probably be moved to) are areas nobody would actively choose to live in. It's all about quality of life.

kidcat

Pops - I agree with Arias tail, often these guesstimates are based on average usage in the area. We had a final bill from our old supplier that was based on a meter reading apparently. But then I discovered they couldnt have read the meter as its locked in the back.
I investigated and discovered the reading was way higher than the current figure which was weeks after the alleged reading.
After alot of calls and fuss I discovered that they had used an estimate based on average local use rather than our previous usage even.
If you put meter readings in weekly or monthly you can see what you are using and also so can they.

Katie - if dopey manager said she was leaving surely she no longer has a contract?? As MrsLW says you are both better off out of there, and as for your DD being pregnant, she is not required to declare that and I dont think she should, they cant even ask her any more.