'supporting each other through really tough times'

meanmarie

So many sad stories here to-night...hugs to all of you who are suffering from the pain of a miscarriage especially....I had 2 which OH would never discuss so that seems to be a typical male response.

My sympathy goes to those who are homeless or in danger of being so...can't imagine being in that position but know that I am very lucky.

Marie

kidcat

Jem I hope you are ok and that the police were able to help.

mcculloch29

In what now seems like another life, I was a SSAFA caseworker.

Please do ask for help, Ginny - SSAFA/Forces Help frequently get funds from regimental/corps associations, who are really quick to help and very efficient.
They do look after their own.

[Deleted User]

JEM lovie, I hope you have some good news that DH is OK and he just hasn't been able to contact you. Thinking of you, stay strong little one, Cheers Lyn xxx.

missrlr

Hello all, just spent a whole evening catching up.

I do hope all who suffered loss can continue to cope and come to terms with this. Do hope conversations can happen and have a positive outcome for you.

Just a thought on the alarm, I have installed for lone worker purposes a system which was lined to a phone line and had a button to activate. Fob type affair on lanyard. If it was activated it called 3 numbers in turn til one was answered, and announced a pre recorded message (that is we recorded it) that it was the alarm BUT in addition you could as the recipient of the call press a short sequence of buttons on your phone and hey presto it turned into a 2 way comms station! It was fee free, well aside from the cost of the phone line and call. But as long as you have a phone line anyway it is not an additional cost. I think it was a Yale product, but we found it on or via the age concern web site. Worked really well BUT ONLY if the person is likely to be in one room. It doesn't move about the house so to speak. Having said that we had it in a BIG old lab with loads of noisy equipment and It was very clear. Oh and unlikely but we did have a conflict between it and another piece of radio based equipment so worth checking that too.

We have the spectra of redundancy looming over this house, gulp. Will be collating info and reviewing this weekend ....... Battle plan time

jem132

Hi all well the chat with dh did not happen he came in at 10.15 and went straight to bed. I think it's going to be over we can't keep on like this.
Police think the man is the same as the mugger they just need to catch him now and will keep us updated. Xxxx

rosiepup2000

monnagran wrote: »

Council officials - well, some of them, seem to take delight in humiliating people in need to make them feel worse than they already do. Benefits are started and stopped for no reason, leaving people who have nothing with less than nothing. HB is stopped and people not told till the baliffs arrive to evict them for nonpayment of rent.


x

Sorry, I have to delurk as I work in Housing Benefits and reading this made me very annoyed.

We can't just 'stop and start' benefits for no reason; we have to work in accordance with the HB regulations which set out the circumstances when a claim can be suspended/cancelled. A claim must be suspended for a full month before it can be cancelled - in 99% of cases the reason why a claim is suspended is because a claimant hasn't responded to a request for information. Have you got any idea how frustrating it is to have to write to umpteen claimants every day, asking for information, waiting a month for the reply that never comes, writing again when the claim is suspended, telephoning the mobile number that is never answered? And these aren't idle requests for unimportant information that we shouldn't be wasting our time harrassing people about - these are queries about basic things which affect whether someone is still entitled to benefit, like where people are living (because claimants move and don't tell their HB office), or their income (because claimants start work or move in with partners and don't tell their HB office, or their JSA stops and we don't know why). If you think that Housing Benefit assesors sit on their backsides all day stopping people's benefits for no reason out of spite I'm sorry, you're mistaken. We've got way too much to do.

As for someone's HB being stopped without them being told and them not finding out until the bailliffs arrive to evict them...well, firstly they would have received a query letter, or at the very least a suspension notification. If they did nothing after the suspension notification their benefit would be cancelled after a full month had expired, and they would then receive the cancellation notification. One would assume the landlord would be in touch when the arrears started to build up, which you would think would prompt the claimant to contact the HB office, but even if not, the landlord would have to serve them with notice to quit and then have to follow the court process to apply for a possession order which would involve serving the claimant with the court papers including the court hearing date. Even if they didn't go to court they would be served with the court order. The landlord would then have to go back to court to get another order for the bailiffs to carry out the eviction, which would have to be served, and finally the bailiffs would have to give notice of the date they would be attending. How much time does that whole process take? And during all that time the claimant hasn't noticed that their Housing Benefit has stopped - really?

I actually have a lot of sympathy for HB claimants, I think a lot of them are in an awful situation (particularly single people, for whom the LHA rules are especially harsh, in my view). But you really should consider whether you are being told the whole story before heaping the whole blame onto the benefit assessors.

Popperwell

For VJ's Mum I see the latest promotion in Holland and Barrett is not BOGOF but big bottles of just about all they do(and I mean massive)but they are being sold at half price!

Loads on show in the window display but I have not looked at the website yet...

VJsmum

Ooh thanks, Pops. I will have a look. Specially if they have my favourite Rooibos tea. Though I will be able to play teabag poker soon

Jem - so sorry. I really hope you can have the conversation. men are very ostrich like aren't they (sorry, Pops)? Do you have a sister or a girlfriend to talk things through with - my OH is not good at talking but my girlfriends and sister are and help to put perspective on things. OH doesn't talk about the miscarriage, he just says "well we have our two now". if i'm honest, it isn't something I dwell on - the loss of my mum is worse and my BIL's suicide has had far more long reaching consequences. We also would not have had DD if that pregnancy had gone ahead as there wouldn't have been time, it did make my pregnancy with her a very anxious time, though and I think it contributed to my PND afterwards.

As it is I am now looking forward to a teenage invasion this evening :eek: Several of DDs friends are coming for a sleepover - I always call them "the vashtenerade" after a Dr Who alien who strips the flesh from anything it comes into contact with. I find teenagers "hoover" up any food put before them - even the girls will :rotfl: Though I think pizza and ice cream are the order of the day.

It is a week of "freezer surprise" as I really can't fit any more in and am put off looking in them as it is such a hassle getting stuff back in. So I am buying little extra than food for tonight and a bit of fresh so that we can run stocks down. i might even take advantage of the cold weather and finally get the one defrosted. Only a year overdue.

Have a good day everyone.

Cheapskate

Morning Toughies, (((hugs))) and good vibes to those (so many!) having really bad times this week

Well, I got my final wage yesterday, bit more than normal as I've been paid out for some leave I couldn't use, so most of it's going in the savings pot. Going to spend a bit of it as it's 25% off clothes in sainsbug, just stuff we actually need though. This weekend will be a major maths exercise to work out exactly what we'll have coming in and going out, and I'm going back to using cash where I can - it's easier to see what you've spent, I think!

We'll be having freezer surprise teas for some time, and we need to use up some of the ambient stock which has been lurking for some time. As I'll have more time now, I'll do more batch cooking/baking and haunt my butcher for cheap odds and ends! :rotfl:

A xo