They have not paid me since the end of June due to me declaring some money I inherited. They did not receive the bank statements I sent. I only found out when I asked them at the start of August as I noticed my bank near empty. :(
It was not a lot of money well under any limit but because I told them (being too honest) they stopped payments and "forgot" to tell me.
I obtained more copies (?5 and two weeks wait) and then sent them, takes two weeks to obtain. Will not accept photocopies and will not let me take them in personally apparently.
Guess what rang on Friday (so they had them a good week) no documents. Livid that my details are floating around somewhere. :( , told bank that they were lost as that call is recorded so at least I have tried to be honest with it.
Had to order another set (another two weeks wait!) and I said to the DWP there's *no* way I'm posting a third set for you to potentially lose. I do think the others arrived but got mislaid not did not get delivered. Same address as where you send other paperwork and that's always arrived without a problem. Thought about signed for but that's no use with a PO box iirc, all that may prove is A.N.Other signed for them.
Figured one set going awol = possible but two = no.
Said to ring back when the third set arrive (!) and they would "try" to sort something out, like I should be grateful :confused: ie arrange an appointment somewhere.
I hope they will backpay it as its not my fault. I wanted to hand in them originally but they said had to be posted could not take to JC or suchlike.
I know it cost's but ALWAYS - ALWAYS - ALWAYS send any 'official' documentation by recorded delivery or special delivery if you can afford it.
That way you can always say the date it was received, by whom and at what time, then if they do 'loose' it after it's been received, they have to bare the cost of replacements.
Been burnt by this before ( Inland Revenue ) - never again.
Where an Act authorises or requires any document to be served by post (whether the expression ?serve? or the expression ?give? or ?send? or any other expression is used) then, unless the contrary intention appears, the service is deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre-paying and posting a letter containing the document and, unless the contrary is proved, to have been effected at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.
I know it cost's but ALWAYS - ALWAYS - ALWAYS send any 'official' documentation by recorded delivery or special delivery if you can afford it.
I may do that if they refuse to accept it "in person", I do not doubt they had it though in any way.
Its a PO box irrc so was not sure if I could do that as 'recorded' delivery I thought would not matter just it was delivered "somewhere" and they could say they never had it. Seeing as the cost is so far ?12 for the duplicates paying for delivery is going to be cheaper, we'll see.
I'm concerned about a bit of paper with my name / address / ni number and bank statement on it floating though. I did tell the bank this when I ordered the replacement and said it was the DWP... No cover/defence I know but at least I've been upfront and honest with it.
I might be contributing to this thread soon, due to my employment being under threat. I'm worried i won't be eligible for any benefits due to my savings account.
I might be contributing to this thread soon, due to my employment being under threat. I'm worried i won't be eligible for any benefits due to my savings account.
you'll probably get contribution based for a year, assuming that you've contributed enough and meet the qualifying criteria for ESA, regardless of capital limits
I was interviewed today by a reporter from The Independent newspaper about the problems I'd had with applying for ESA. A photographer called this afternoon and took a shedload of pictures. The article's supposed to be in tomorrow's edition. They don't hang about. It's related to a campaign supported by four charities (PD, MS, CF, RA) to have the assessment procedures improved. I just hope they spell my name correctly.
I think I've just read it, if its the one about the GP Charges for help with appeals.
I think I've just read it, if its the one about the GP Charges for help with appeals.
The papers chose to highlight that aspect, although the charities' campaign is more focused on getting the assessments correct. I was a bit annoyed that the headline and content of my section were placed in large quotes, implying that it was a literal transcription of what I'd said, whereas the headline I'd never said at all, and the main body was selected snippets from my interview connected with snippets composed by the reporter. Plus they'd selected only negative comments and none of the positive comments - but they did spell my name correctly.
There were related articles in The I, Mirror, Telegraph, plus Sky News and ITV News. The charities have prepared a submission to Parliament and will be promoting their case from next week.
Atos scandal: French disability firm decide that man who has cerebral palsy and needs crutches is fit for work
28 Aug 2013 07:46
ANTONY WALKER had his benefits docked after French firm's fitness-to-work tests ? but experts at an appeal took just minutes to see sense and overturn the decision.
There's been some progress on the lo-o-o-ong running saga of my ESA claim. To recap:
* June 2011 - Eventually had to retire early from work due to increasing difficulties with Parkinson's. Applied for ESA.
* September 2011 - Claim rejected.
* I wasn't having that so I asked for the decision to be reconsidered.
* October 2011 - Decision unchanged, claim rejected.
* I wasn't having that so I entered an appeal.
* September 2012 - (Yes, that is a year later.) First Tier Tribunal appeal hearing. Claim rejected.
* I wasn't having that so I requested leave from the First Tier Tribunal to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
* October 2012 - Request refused.
* I wasn't having that so I requested leave to apply directly to the Upper Tribunal.
* June 2013 - Application referred to the Secretary of State. Claim rejected.
* I wasn't having that so I proceeded with my application directly to the Upper Tribunal.
* October 2013 - Upper Tribunal judge allows my appeal due to errors in law made by the First Tier Tribunal and directs that a new hearing be convened to reconsider my original claim.
* Moral: Don't take "No" for an answer.
While all that was going on I entered a new ESA claim in November 2012 which was accepted, and in September 2013, after entering a request for my case to be reassessed, I was transferred to the support group with a 3 year extension (this means that I get paid ESA for another three years without any requirement to look for work, as the DWP has finally accepted that I'm not able to do so).
So the ultimate result of the appeal against the first claim is somewhat academic, insofar as the inconvenient intrusion of reality meant that I was subsequently granted the benefit anyway; except that if I do finally win the appeal on the first claim then I'll get paid the four months unpaid ESA from July-October 2012. Now I've got to wait for the clerk of the court to send me the date for a new appeal hearing. Two years and four months (and counting) to (not, as yet) resolve an ESA claim appeal application, during which time I've accumulated almost 400 pages of case notes and spent untold hours reviewing documents, researching medical & legal matters and composing correspondence. No wonder that the DWP have got a large backlog of outstanding cases, and that many people would be unable to pursue an appeal even if they had a good case.
They've introduced new rules and new forms for the new Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit benefits; which benefits replace DLA (in the case of PIP) and various other benefits including ESA (in the case of UC), but excluding contributions-based ESA. Although the new rules & forms seem much the same as the old rules & forms, apart from this new Mandatory Reconsideration Notice, which makes mandatory something which was previously optional (as it was previously possible to go straight into the appeals procedure without first asking for a reconsideration).
I had my appeal earlier this week and it seemed to go well. Got the letter this morning saying that it was successful. Now I just need to wait on the money getting sorted and then I can pay all my bills from the past 8 months.
At least I won't have the job center breathing down my neck and I'll be able to go back to looking for and applying for jobs that I can actually do!
-edit-
Oh yeah, I was speaking to my representative before the appeal and it turns out that the doctor who gave me the medical at the start of this year had put his own opinions on the form which is something they're not meant to do.
Oh, no. Every time you turn up something monumental and terrible happens.
I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
--Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)
There are some similiarities in what you describe to my own experiences with the medical assessment for benefits process - in my case I have had several depressions in my life during the course of these I have had only partial contact with reality at times in any meaningful sense (and due to a philosophical bent in my interests I tended towards the pessimists, and irrationalists like Sartre and Neitzche whose writtings doesn't help rebuild trust in an objective meaningful reality also not understanding that true philosophy uses its insights to provide consolation, not despair) I had severe loss of well being (feeling like a bit like a "vapour" when I lay down, and talking in work at times but bizarrely not actually able to hear myself, yet also not being aware of talking against excessive background noise), paranoid concerns, and a general inability to function socially, and experiencing isolation. I was taking baths only once every two weeks at times, and very suppressed appetite due to high dose of anti-depressant medication. It is a case of "ruling out" at times, so after a overdose of sleeping tablets and assesment at a mental health unit Bi-polar and Schizophrenia were ruled out - it is not either of those. In the meantime I was appealing the decision which had resulted in suspending all income. I didn't want or have the energy to go through the appeals process, or to bother anyone else with helping me in that.
I so understand what you are saying about finding the right kind of work. In my early twenties during an earlier episode of depression I was able to find something fairly simple - packing work - I cycled about five miles also to get to that work... earned ?45 for 15 hours / per week, and somehow managed to pay for a room in a shared terrace house.. couldn't be arsed finding out if I could get any other help and generally used the uplift of knowing I wasn't taking a penny I didn't work for to supplement my low mood.
When the last assesment came round, I was so close to reaching a point of being able to take on some part-time work - but slid into negativity and despair as I simply didn't know what was going on.
Some of the stuff on my assessment was a bit like a personal opinion of behaviour / ability, not a medical opinion, or psychiatric opinion. No questions were asked about how I viewed going back to work, being able to cope if got employment.
I know the system has to means test, and assess. I don't sit around waiting for ideal conditions. I have done voluntary work to keep going in the past - I hope to find an opening in the voluntary sector again.
Glad to hear you are getting a bit of peace to look / find the kind of work you can do and enjoy in some measure. Hope things continue to improve for you now that a corner has been turned in the appeal process. You need peace of mind and time, not pressure at the moment.
No questions were asked about how I viewed going back to work, being able to cope if got employment.
That was briefly spoken about during my appeal, but only as a side note when I answered one of their questions. If I hadn't mentioned it, it would never have come up. It wasn't even necessary that I said what I did about finding work, but I mentioned it to prove that I wasn't a layabout who was trying to get money for nothing like most of the neds round here.
If I could get part time work from home that's not got strict working hours then hell yes I'd do it. I was getting help from disability advisors through the jobcenter but nothing like that ever appeared when looking for jobs. Unfortunately now that I'm on ESA and not jobseeker's they can't officially help me at all which is a bit crap. Thankfully one of the guys does other work part time elsewhere so he's going to look into a few things for me even though I'm not on their books anymore.
It's that kind of help that would really benefit me with the way I am. If I'm on JSA I can't afford to keep going out to get the help finding jobs and sign on (since march I've clocked up over ?400 in debts which doesn't sound a lot, but being on ?70 a week and unable to travel by bus it's going to take a long time to pay back, although less time now that I'm not forced to pay out almost ?50 a giro on travel expenses that aren't covered by anyone). Now that I'm on ESA and don't need to go out as often I'll be able to go to the disability guys less often but I'd still get the help I want and need, but I can't do that at all.
I know there's "permitted work on ESA" (or something) but without the help to get a job that fits in with my disability what chance do I have of getting something suitable?
Because of my travel limitations I can't do voluntary work as the travel expenses wouldn't be covered which would mean I'd probably be spending ?17 per day just on travel.
Also, Independent Leanring Accounts are a great idea, but they only cover some courses in some college's/universities and I now can't get an ILA because I'm unfit for work. In the time I've been on JSA I've not seen one course that I could do while still having money for food.
Also (again), I'm unfit for work, but applying for DLA (or PIP I think it is now) doesn't help because I don't fit into any of the categories there that decide I need help so I'm getting nothing from them either.
Hmm, I didn't mean to rant, I'm off to calm down.
Oh, no. Every time you turn up something monumental and terrible happens.
I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
--Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)
Just saying that I understand what you mean about being able to look for work at your own pace, and according to what you feel ready to take on. With depression it is difficult to demonstrate an incapacity, for I live alone and do the normal stuff such as shopping, cooking etc. But they didn't seem to take into consideration lack of inner resources, or limited capacity for work.
Just saying that I understand what you mean about being able to look for work at your own pace, and according to what you feel ready to take on.
Sorry, yeah I knew what you meant. I just wish there was somewhere that would be able to help while on ESA but there doesn't appear to be anything unless I'm on JSA. The whole system is flawed more than I thought even a few years ago. Isn't this ESA/Universal Credit meant to make things easier? It's more broken now than it was before.
I'm gonna stop before I go off on a rant again :lol:
Oh, no. Every time you turn up something monumental and terrible happens.
I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
--Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)
Applied for Personal Independence Payment on the 1st of July, still waiting for my assessment interview. Capita have cancelled it three times (with 16, 4 and 46 hours notice) and on the last occasion I received the confirmation letter AFTER the phone call cancelling it. But if I was to cancel it twice I would have to re-apply.
Applied for Personal Independence Payment on the 1st of July, still waiting for my assessment interview. Capita have cancelled it three times (with 16, 4 and 46 hours notice) and on the last occasion I received the confirmation letter AFTER the phone call cancelling it. But if I was to cancel it twice I would have to re-apply.
Months ago when I did my DLA form and sent it off I got it about a week before the return date (possibly due to our postie being crap, we also got a gas/electric bill one week after it was due). A couple of days after the return date I got a phone call from them asking if I had any problems with the form as they had recieved it after the return date. One day later I get a letter from them saying thank you for returning the form. The date on the letter was two days before the return date! Just goes to prove none of the departments speak to each other and they take their sweet time to pass forms to the relevant departments.
Oh, no. Every time you turn up something monumental and terrible happens.
I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
--Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)
Like many of the posters here, I've been through the ATOS mill a few times and can confirm that on one occasion the "Health Care Professional" (Doctors do not carry out the medicals as it would contradict the Hippocratic Oath) trivialised my disability (Which is Klippel-Feil Syndrome) by making an inappropriate joke. Unsuprisingly on that occasion I scored Zero Points. It took a year and half for an appeal to which I won and had the money backdated but still it was a financially difficult period.
Anyway, as many of you have read the Goverment has "Indefinatley Delayed" the roll-out of Personal Independance Payment which is at least welcome news, but rather than "Indefinate", I'm sure many of us would like to see a permanent end to this and their many other measures of Welfare Reform (Bedroom Tax, Workfare, Sanctions for very minor reasons etc)
For the last year via twitter, I and many others have got involved in the campaign known as the "WOWPetition" (The WOW means War On Welfare) it's trying to get 100,000 signatures to get the governement to carry out a Culmative Impact Assessment to look into the damage the Welfare Reform is doing (A question that can be answered very quickly if they care to read the various Blogs, News Stories etc regarding this) to which it should lead to it's abolition. At the moment it's 3/4 of the way towards it target. But we have until December the 12th to reach it.
If anyone has been affected by ATOS, Forced into Workfare, Been made to pay Bedroom Tax or anything else that you feel that is draconian with regards to benefits. Please sign and spread, the main site for more info is www.wowpetition.com , the Goverment E-Petition can be found directly at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154
Thanks for reading. And here's hope that no-one will suffer much longer by an uncaring goverment, an indiffrent press who demonizes the most vulnerable in our society and the private companies who profit from this demonization.
Just to clarify, the delay is for those transferring from DLA to PIP. Large areas of the country will have to wait for that change thanks to the incompetence of the IT contractors and the slowness of the re-assessment process.
Just to clarify, the delay is for those transferring from DLA to PIP. Large areas of the country will have to wait for that change thanks to the incompetence of the IT contractors and the slowness of the re-assessment process.
Thanks, I was curious to know what the Goverment's real reason for this was about.
After two and a half years and four tribunals (counting one which was cancelled without telling me in time), spending untold hours researching the case and acquiring medical records and composing letters and requesting evidence and writing submissions and travelling 560 miles to the various hearings, the decision to refuse my first ESA claim has finally been set aside and my appeal has been upheld, the reconvened tribunal deciding that I should have been granted ESA from June 2011 rather than November 2012. Two and a half years to resolve a benefit claim appeal; that's some backlog.
Applied for Personal Independence Payment on the 1st of July, still waiting for my assessment interview. Capita have cancelled it three times (with 16, 4 and 46 hours notice) and on the last occasion I received the confirmation letter AFTER the phone call cancelling it. But if I was to cancel it twice I would have to re-apply.
An update on this. My fourth appointment was also cancelled. My complaint thus got the attention of customer services, and a very nice lady there made sure I got my fifth appointment confirmed quickly. I've now had the assessment so it's up to the DWP to evaluate the claim.
Anyone trying to claim, I suggest keeping a file with a list of dates and actions, keeping a note of who you speak/write to.
Mine arrived today, it was heard last week. Rejected upheld with zero points :-o , despite me providing enough detail (so I thought) with why I thought I should score x for each section and why etc. I was expecting six or nine at a minimum.
More to do now, although I am a bit better since it was started off so I may be able to do a limited 16hrs or so which is better than nothing. We shall see I'll think it over the next couple of days.
About a week after this (them saying that's it no ESA) a letter arrived saying to send in more bank statements* to continue. So the left hand does not appear to know what the right hand is doing.
*they keep losing them or misplacing them.
As they were not paying I ignored it. Last week another letter arrived saying to send in a new sicknote for it, even though (as above) they are not paying it. So that's another hand that does not know what the others are doing.
Thankfully I appear to have a job I can do now working from home now (as I do feel a bit better too) starting next month. :) Hope it turns out OK.
My mum had her benefits cut at the end of last year and has been put on some kind of 'work programme' despite her barely making it further than her front door, she has multiple health problems and can't work, she's also 60.
I help out financially i can but i have my own bills to pay, she said recently all this worry is going to send her to an early grave. I'm worried.
Are immigrants treated this way? I really wonder where this country is heading sometimes.
Comments
It was not a lot of money well under any limit but because I told them (being too honest) they stopped payments and "forgot" to tell me.
I obtained more copies (?5 and two weeks wait) and then sent them, takes two weeks to obtain. Will not accept photocopies and will not let me take them in personally apparently.
Guess what rang on Friday (so they had them a good week) no documents. Livid that my details are floating around somewhere. :( , told bank that they were lost as that call is recorded so at least I have tried to be honest with it.
Had to order another set (another two weeks wait!) and I said to the DWP there's *no* way I'm posting a third set for you to potentially lose. I do think the others arrived but got mislaid not did not get delivered. Same address as where you send other paperwork and that's always arrived without a problem. Thought about signed for but that's no use with a PO box iirc, all that may prove is A.N.Other signed for them.
Figured one set going awol = possible but two = no.
Said to ring back when the third set arrive (!) and they would "try" to sort something out, like I should be grateful :confused: ie arrange an appointment somewhere.
I hope they will backpay it as its not my fault. I wanted to hand in them originally but they said had to be posted could not take to JC or suchlike.
That way you can always say the date it was received, by whom and at what time, then if they do 'loose' it after it's been received, they have to bare the cost of replacements.
Been burnt by this before ( Inland Revenue ) - never again.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/30/section/7
I may do that if they refuse to accept it "in person", I do not doubt they had it though in any way.
Its a PO box irrc so was not sure if I could do that as 'recorded' delivery I thought would not matter just it was delivered "somewhere" and they could say they never had it. Seeing as the cost is so far ?12 for the duplicates paying for delivery is going to be cheaper, we'll see.
I'm concerned about a bit of paper with my name / address / ni number and bank statement on it floating though. I did tell the bank this when I ordered the replacement and said it was the DWP... No cover/defence I know but at least I've been upfront and honest with it.
you'll probably get contribution based for a year, assuming that you've contributed enough and meet the qualifying criteria for ESA, regardless of capital limits
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/overview
I think I've just read it, if its the one about the GP Charges for help with appeals.
The papers chose to highlight that aspect, although the charities' campaign is more focused on getting the assessments correct. I was a bit annoyed that the headline and content of my section were placed in large quotes, implying that it was a literal transcription of what I'd said, whereas the headline I'd never said at all, and the main body was selected snippets from my interview connected with snippets composed by the reporter. Plus they'd selected only negative comments and none of the positive comments - but they did spell my name correctly.
There were related articles in The I, Mirror, Telegraph, plus Sky News and ITV News. The charities have prepared a submission to Parliament and will be promoting their case from next week.
Atos scandal: French disability firm decide that man who has cerebral palsy and needs crutches is fit for work
28 Aug 2013 07:46
ANTONY WALKER had his benefits docked after French firm's fitness-to-work tests ? but experts at an appeal took just minutes to see sense and overturn the decision.
* June 2011 - Eventually had to retire early from work due to increasing difficulties with Parkinson's. Applied for ESA.
* September 2011 - Claim rejected.
* I wasn't having that so I asked for the decision to be reconsidered.
* October 2011 - Decision unchanged, claim rejected.
* I wasn't having that so I entered an appeal.
* September 2012 - (Yes, that is a year later.) First Tier Tribunal appeal hearing. Claim rejected.
* I wasn't having that so I requested leave from the First Tier Tribunal to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
* October 2012 - Request refused.
* I wasn't having that so I requested leave to apply directly to the Upper Tribunal.
* June 2013 - Application referred to the Secretary of State. Claim rejected.
* I wasn't having that so I proceeded with my application directly to the Upper Tribunal.
* October 2013 - Upper Tribunal judge allows my appeal due to errors in law made by the First Tier Tribunal and directs that a new hearing be convened to reconsider my original claim.
* Moral: Don't take "No" for an answer.
While all that was going on I entered a new ESA claim in November 2012 which was accepted, and in September 2013, after entering a request for my case to be reassessed, I was transferred to the support group with a 3 year extension (this means that I get paid ESA for another three years without any requirement to look for work, as the DWP has finally accepted that I'm not able to do so).
So the ultimate result of the appeal against the first claim is somewhat academic, insofar as the inconvenient intrusion of reality meant that I was subsequently granted the benefit anyway; except that if I do finally win the appeal on the first claim then I'll get paid the four months unpaid ESA from July-October 2012. Now I've got to wait for the clerk of the court to send me the date for a new appeal hearing. Two years and four months (and counting) to (not, as yet) resolve an ESA claim appeal application, during which time I've accumulated almost 400 pages of case notes and spent untold hours reviewing documents, researching medical & legal matters and composing correspondence. No wonder that the DWP have got a large backlog of outstanding cases, and that many people would be unable to pursue an appeal even if they had a good case.
Here's the links for the new benefits:
https://www.gov.uk/pip/
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/
The general introduction of PIP has been delayed as the initial applications have resulted in a large backlog of outstanding medical assessments.
At least I won't have the job center breathing down my neck and I'll be able to go back to looking for and applying for jobs that I can actually do!
-edit-
Oh yeah, I was speaking to my representative before the appeal and it turns out that the doctor who gave me the medical at the start of this year had put his own opinions on the form which is something they're not meant to do.
I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
--Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)
https://www.youtube.com/user/VincentTSFP
I so understand what you are saying about finding the right kind of work. In my early twenties during an earlier episode of depression I was able to find something fairly simple - packing work - I cycled about five miles also to get to that work... earned ?45 for 15 hours / per week, and somehow managed to pay for a room in a shared terrace house.. couldn't be arsed finding out if I could get any other help and generally used the uplift of knowing I wasn't taking a penny I didn't work for to supplement my low mood.
When the last assesment came round, I was so close to reaching a point of being able to take on some part-time work - but slid into negativity and despair as I simply didn't know what was going on.
Some of the stuff on my assessment was a bit like a personal opinion of behaviour / ability, not a medical opinion, or psychiatric opinion. No questions were asked about how I viewed going back to work, being able to cope if got employment.
I know the system has to means test, and assess. I don't sit around waiting for ideal conditions. I have done voluntary work to keep going in the past - I hope to find an opening in the voluntary sector again.
Glad to hear you are getting a bit of peace to look / find the kind of work you can do and enjoy in some measure. Hope things continue to improve for you now that a corner has been turned in the appeal process. You need peace of mind and time, not pressure at the moment.
If I could get part time work from home that's not got strict working hours then hell yes I'd do it. I was getting help from disability advisors through the jobcenter but nothing like that ever appeared when looking for jobs. Unfortunately now that I'm on ESA and not jobseeker's they can't officially help me at all which is a bit crap. Thankfully one of the guys does other work part time elsewhere so he's going to look into a few things for me even though I'm not on their books anymore.
It's that kind of help that would really benefit me with the way I am. If I'm on JSA I can't afford to keep going out to get the help finding jobs and sign on (since march I've clocked up over ?400 in debts which doesn't sound a lot, but being on ?70 a week and unable to travel by bus it's going to take a long time to pay back, although less time now that I'm not forced to pay out almost ?50 a giro on travel expenses that aren't covered by anyone). Now that I'm on ESA and don't need to go out as often I'll be able to go to the disability guys less often but I'd still get the help I want and need, but I can't do that at all.
I know there's "permitted work on ESA" (or something) but without the help to get a job that fits in with my disability what chance do I have of getting something suitable?
Because of my travel limitations I can't do voluntary work as the travel expenses wouldn't be covered which would mean I'd probably be spending ?17 per day just on travel.
Also, Independent Leanring Accounts are a great idea, but they only cover some courses in some college's/universities and I now can't get an ILA because I'm unfit for work. In the time I've been on JSA I've not seen one course that I could do while still having money for food.
Also (again), I'm unfit for work, but applying for DLA (or PIP I think it is now) doesn't help because I don't fit into any of the categories there that decide I need help so I'm getting nothing from them either.
Hmm, I didn't mean to rant, I'm off to calm down.
I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
--Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)
https://www.youtube.com/user/VincentTSFP
I'm gonna stop before I go off on a rant again :lol:
I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
--Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)
https://www.youtube.com/user/VincentTSFP
No probs, take care :-)
I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
--Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)
https://www.youtube.com/user/VincentTSFP
Anyway, as many of you have read the Goverment has "Indefinatley Delayed" the roll-out of Personal Independance Payment which is at least welcome news, but rather than "Indefinate", I'm sure many of us would like to see a permanent end to this and their many other measures of Welfare Reform (Bedroom Tax, Workfare, Sanctions for very minor reasons etc)
For the last year via twitter, I and many others have got involved in the campaign known as the "WOWPetition" (The WOW means War On Welfare) it's trying to get 100,000 signatures to get the governement to carry out a Culmative Impact Assessment to look into the damage the Welfare Reform is doing (A question that can be answered very quickly if they care to read the various Blogs, News Stories etc regarding this) to which it should lead to it's abolition. At the moment it's 3/4 of the way towards it target. But we have until December the 12th to reach it.
If anyone has been affected by ATOS, Forced into Workfare, Been made to pay Bedroom Tax or anything else that you feel that is draconian with regards to benefits. Please sign and spread, the main site for more info is www.wowpetition.com , the Goverment E-Petition can be found directly at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154
Thanks for reading. And here's hope that no-one will suffer much longer by an uncaring goverment, an indiffrent press who demonizes the most vulnerable in our society and the private companies who profit from this demonization.
Thanks, I was curious to know what the Goverment's real reason for this was about.
An update on this. My fourth appointment was also cancelled. My complaint thus got the attention of customer services, and a very nice lady there made sure I got my fifth appointment confirmed quickly. I've now had the assessment so it's up to the DWP to evaluate the claim.
Anyone trying to claim, I suggest keeping a file with a list of dates and actions, keeping a note of who you speak/write to.
More to do now, although I am a bit better since it was started off so I may be able to do a limited 16hrs or so which is better than nothing. We shall see I'll think it over the next couple of days.
*they keep losing them or misplacing them.
As they were not paying I ignored it. Last week another letter arrived saying to send in a new sicknote for it, even though (as above) they are not paying it. So that's another hand that does not know what the others are doing.
Thankfully I appear to have a job I can do now working from home now (as I do feel a bit better too) starting next month. :) Hope it turns out OK.
I help out financially i can but i have my own bills to pay, she said recently all this worry is going to send her to an early grave. I'm worried.
Are immigrants treated this way? I really wonder where this country is heading sometimes.