TheDudeAbides I initially posted on this thread some time ago just as I had received my letter to attend Ingeus because I was worried about false sanctions and the like because I knew nothing about any system as I had not been unemployed for years beforehand. I thought about the way to handle this for a long time before I got to the interview and decided as I am an older professional type I would speak to the person involved in the manner of a fellow professional also making that person aware that I was totally aware of my data rights etc. So after assessing the person when I got there I spoke along these sort of lines. I am not happy about being in this position because I have worked all my life and this is the first time I have ever been out of work for such a time ( which is true) I informed him in my opinion that it must be my age because I had all the necessary experience and qualifications to do my job perfectly correctly. He agreed that age does play a part and went on to ask for my CV where I informed him I would sent it to him by e-mail however whilst I recognised they had some of my personal details I would not agree to my CV being forwarded or my home telephone number which is ex directory and registered with the telephone preference service being passed around without my knowledge. He agreed to that and also agreed to put it in writing to me in an e-mail. (which he did later) and true to his word he never sent my CV or telephone number to anyone without calling me and asking my permission first. He then asked me if I required any help with my CV I said no because I paid for this CV writing as it is and that it had been looked over by several job centre style departments and they could find nothing they wanted to change. He then asked me about looking for work outside my own area of expertise and I told him I was doing that as well changing my CV without lying to enhance some skills over others however the feedback I received was that it was felt I would only use a job as a stepping stone and leave soon as I found something better within my own industry. He then said it appeared there was little more he could do because I had it all covered and that he would see me once a fortnight sometimes longer where we could catch up etc. I asked him what was available in the area with regards employment and he said not much I have a few contacts and will root around for you. He asked me if I wanted to use there computers to search for work or the telephone I said no thanks I have 24/7 broadband and any time land line calling package at home. When I got home I forwarded him and e-mail with a legal disclaimer and my CV. He sent me a return e-mail with the weekly report form re my job seeking activities which I used to e-mail back to him on a weekly basis. I spent around 2 months going to see him in all before I became ill and had to claim ESA which is worse in my opinion-) he told me during that time he would not put me through to any non paying employment as he believed I deserved better so I was lucky but I also truly believe that if you have everything in place and can do no more re your job search then there is nothing they can pick on you for because you have done everything possible. plus if you make them aware that you do know your rights and you will do something about anything you are unhappy about without coming across as aggressive I am sure they will recognise that you mean what you say and that it could be more trouble than its worth. Strangely enough as I was later taken off JSA and placed on ESA so I rang him to explain what was happening and to keep him in the loop which has also paid off because if I am placed in the work related group he will also be my advisor again and he told me if you say you cannot work I am going to do very little because its not worth it because I feel I know you well enough to tell me when you feel you can go back to work and then I will help you as much and I can from that point. So now I am in the position of being terrified by the ESA process but at least if I am placed in the work group I am not worried about my advisor as I already know him-) Just a last peeve about ESA. When you go onto ESA and are waiting for your consultants and treatment plans etc it gives no time for actually getting well before you are thrown into yet another system that is not helpful if you are trying to get well under difficult circumstances. If I had not known my workplace advisor beforehand I would now be worrying more about that than getting well as the system is designed to say you are not ill when you really are. Its disgraceful. Oh and I also record all telephone calls and meetings and store everything on my computer and in date written order format.

Hi Malc, No it was dealt with internally, I have a letter stating my complaint was upheld. Regards bb

Hi Malc, Thanks for your reply. This situation has been ongoing now since March this year because of this electricity charge that does not belong to me. My complaint to EON was upheld in my favor but then they stated they could not provide me with a final bill for the gas until I had received a letter from the provider I had been using on a pay as you go electric meter in my previous address which turned out to be British gas. (I never knew because I bought my electricity vouchers from my then landlord) I waited and waited and no contact from British gas and then August this year I received a letter from EON stating they are taking me to court for the full amount which included the electric charge. I telephoned again ( a written record of all calls made to the company have been made as and when) and this time I told them if they did not get to me a final bill for the outstanding gas alone I was going to see a solicitor because I had had enough. They promised to get a bill out to me ASAP and a week later I am still waiting. Now the reason for my original post concerning repayments to EON was because I took a chance when they were not sorting this bill out to make an agreement with another company I owed money to after a move of address and this ends the middle of October but as I am on benefits this took every available spare penny I had to pay off this other bill quickly. So I became worried about receiving this EON bill quickly and then not having the money to pay straight away. Option 1 would be to offer £10.00 a month during September/October (and this is difficult because it will be taken out of my food budget which is already very low, then in November to January next year pay £20 a month after the other bill is paid off in October. Option 2 explain I have no money until November and offer the £20 an month from that time which will then end February 2012. I owe £80.00 or thereabouts. I have never owed an energy company any money or an outstanding bill in this way so I need to know what I can practicably organize with EON in case they do not accept what I am saying about repayments when I receive this bill. If you can help me with dealing with this I would be grateful because I get so worried about money but do not like to owe money and have never run away from my bills. I have worked all my life and only lately find myself in this position for the first time in my life so I need them to understand I am doing my best as I certainly do not want to end up in court as after all it was me who provided them with the final reading, new address and telephone numbers in the first place lol. And finally -) the above is all based on the truism that they have actually sorted this problem out with my final bill and that it is on its way to me as I type, as if not I will require assistance on how to resolve this once and for all. Warms Regards Bbest

Ah Ok however thats not like me wanting a new bed or a hoover lol I still hate them for refusing me!

well Brig sounds like a worthy project I suppose your looking forward to the end-) I presume the remarks on experian trigger alerts are not for everyone then??never heard of them lol gets better and better this

Hi, I had my first appointment last week with Ingeus and when I see all this talk about signing forms I had none of that??? Does anyone know why?? He asked me what type of work I was looking for and I told him. He asked me to forward my CV to him by e-mail and asked me if he could send me a weekly tracker form (similar to JSA weekly action record) I agreed to everything by e-mail as I wanted to keep a record of everything said or agreed etc. I was writing down and recording everything at the interview but was never given any paperwork to look at nor was any data protection discussed so I brought the subject up. I informed him that I used copyright on my professional CV and did not wish the content changing in any way or forwarding it to any person or company without my permission and he agreed he/company would not do so. I also explained that as my telephone was ex directory and TPS registered only he was allowed to use it and all other calls should be made to my mobile telephone number instead and again he agreed. I left the offices and when I returned home I forwarded him my CV by e-mail and he got back to me saying it was way too professional if I was going to get a more minimum pay type of employment position and that we may have to change it somewhat. my return e-mail stated that my CV had been paid for and completed by an independent consultant and that I had visited 3 separate DWP outsourcing offices voluntary in my time of unemployment and that all had stated that they did not wish to change anything as the CV was well prepared etc, I also pointed out that to change too much information or out and out lie regards your work history was illegal and could effect future employment if found out. I thanked him for his time and observation in this matter and that we would discuss further on my next appointment. (Which is once a week) At least I can clearly see what is going on now but does anyone know why I was not presented with forms to sign. Regards bb

I agree I think I will speak to my doctor again as he has already offered but I did not want to at the time, but my stress and anxiety are through the roof right now and this is certainly not healing in any way. let me know how it goes for you. xx

Hi Brig, That info is very useful thank you, I have copied and paste it -)

Thanks both, there is more to this than meets the eye -) whilst I can understand differing company methods what I dont understand is when will I know I will be okay again?? Do I have to do anything specific or just wait it out?? Regards Bb

Hi All, I have been on JSA for a year now looking for work, however some physical symptoms that developed such as IBS constant flare up's, (great on the bus) depression, panic attacks, anxiety, sweating, shaking and more have caused me immense problems which I now have to soon see a psychiatrist and support workers etc. I am almost acrophobic because I get brain fog, step out in front of cars without realizing I am in the road etc., it’s becoming more difficult to search for work but I do still complete what is required of me but now am absolutely terrified because of the new work program. I attended the program as I have to with the best coping strategies I could muster on the day and wrote down everything discussed at the interview as a precaution as I have heard so many bad things about them. It was obvious despite my professional background he wanted to try and make me accept anything. To be honest in a normal world for me where I have strength and presence of mind I would simply accept the status quo and go along with almost anything until I could get back into paid work. This is only the second time in my life I have been unemployed. Now I am terrified on a daily basis having nightmares about going out, not coping, being somewhere a long time and needing the loo etc., a brief discussion with my doctor regards all this going on and he stated he would be prepared to provide me with a sick note whilst I receive my treatments and therapy etc. but looking at what people are saying on these matters and the stress it is causing everyone I am afraid to go this route too as if my money gets stopped I will have no food and nowhere to live if my miniscule benefits are stopped. I feel so stuck in the middle not really knowing which course to take and its making me even more ill with the worry of it all. Regards bb

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR....................................

Oooooh Reading this thread makes me very scared! I have been on JSA for a year now looking for work, however some physical symptoms that developed such as IBS constant flare up's, depression, panic attacks, anxiety, sweating, shaking and more have caused me immense problems which I now have to soon see a psychiatrist and support workers etc. I am almost acrophobic because I get brain fog, step out in front of cars without realizing I am in the road etc., its becoming more difficult to search for work but I do still complete what is required of me but now am absolutely terrified because of the new work program. I attended the program as I have to with the best coping strategies I could muster and wrote down everything discussed at the interview but it was obvious despite my professional background he wanted to try and make me accept anything. To be honest in a normal world for me where I have strength and presence of mind I would simply accept the status quo and go along with almost anything until I could get back into paid work. Now I am terrified on a daily basis having nightmares about going out, not coping, being somewhere a long time and needing the loo etc., a brief discussion with my doctor regards all this going on and he stated he would be prepared to provide me with a sick note whilst I receive my treatments and therapy etc. but looking at what people are saying on this thread and the stress it is causing everyone I am afraid to go this route too as if my money gets stopped I will have no food and nowhere to live if my miniscule benefits are stopped. I feel so stuck in the middle not really knowing which course to take and its making me even more ill with the worry of it all. Regards bb

Hi Brig, It just shows as I knew everything was okay before the Virgin problem and now it isnt so I can only assume it is this so are you saying all I can do is wait until it goes away on its own so to speak?? Regards BB

Hi Brigadier2jcs, I just sometimes check if I am allowed credit (not too often) just to see if all is okay. After several months I checked again in this manner after the problems with Virgin and the collections agent and was refused (catalog) so that’s how I knew there was a problem and wondered what I could do about it. I have been very careful I pay my bills on time, have 1 credit card and a couple of catalogs which I pay a small amount to and that had always worked for me until now. Regards bbest

Hi dx100uk, Yes of course re budget -) I took a chance on time when I thought I had the oppertunity to pay off another bill lol I no longer use EON at my new address this bill refers to my old address bill so I am no reliant on them for my energy at the moment. My other bills I owe have been agreed now and end in November so I am not going to change those, I will look to see if there is anything I can sell to settle the bill when it comes however I just wondered if there was some way I could make them wait for a couple of months without causing problems as after November I am more on an even keel. Regards bbest