Work programme missed appointment

anonle

Hi, I missed an appointment with the work programme yesterday(friday) due to getting a lift off a friend on wednesday to visit a poorly relative who lives some distance away, only to find when i was ready to come back his car wouldnt start, i took my phone but it died and didnt take my charger as i wasnt expecting to be there for long.

I got home this morning(saturday) turned on my phone to see a text sent from yesterday off dwp saying "we need to contact you in the next 3 hours about your participation with the work programme if you do not respond your benefits may be affected".

Do I still attend my programme on the monday? Is there any way I can contact them over the weekend? Email? Phone? I'm a young single person living on my own with bills like council tax and electric to pay can they still cut my benefits?

Any advice yould be appreciated as i have been left absolutely clueless and worrying, Thanks.

Sncjw

Is your local jobcentre not open on a weeken. If it is try and speak to your advisor or another member of the team to explain situation.

TELLIT01

Call the number given and leave a message if that's possible. If not, call as early as possible Monday i.e. from 8am onwards. Don't leave it til late morning!
The person you speak to will have heard every excuse under the sun before so you may have difficulty getting them to believe / accept your explanation.

anonle

Ok thankyou very much for taking the time to help and i will do that.

Savvy_Sue

Just a tip for the future, you can often swap your SIM into another phone if the numbers are stored on the SIM rather than the phone.

Plus I've charged my phone in mobile phone shops in an emergency before now.

charlie-chan

If you miss a work programme appointment, it is best to call them to let them know what had happened so it is recorded on the system.

I am not sure if this applies to all work programme providers but for the one I know about, the process is supposed to include a letter or a phone call to yourself asking why you missed the appointment and you can explain why. The decision makers (who have nothing to do with the WP) decide whether it was a suitable reason for missing the appointment. If it is not, they will sanction you.

samsmoot

I suppose that technically, yes, it is benefit fraud if you say you were sick when you weren't, but it's a little white lie that may help prevent you suffering long term destitution and does little or no damage to others.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

TELLIT01

If you would normally be expected to attend for the Work Programme on Monday then you really must attend. One non-attendance might be accepted, but a second almost certainly would lead to sanctions.
The initial advice about phoning them at 8 on Monday, and carrying on trying until you get through still stands.
To be fair, your story is so convoluted I'm inclined to believe you anyway :-)

patman99

Having read Samsnoot's post (as quoted) I can agree with his advice. This is the sort of advice I give to people in the same situation.

Op, if you do get a sanction, then make sure that you put in an appeal right away. If the sanction is for more than a week, I would be tempted to speak to my Dr giving him the symptoms of depression. That way you will be able to claim esa and thus, keep the benefits coming in.