Hi guys, I really need some advice at the moment as I'm struggling quite a bit here. Firstly, my boiler broke earlier this month, and I contacted my landlord who sent out a Corgi Registered engineer to check it. The engineer told him that the heating element had blown and there was no way it'd be able to be fixed and needed replacing. I'm currently living with my partner and children, and because we're recieving Child Tax Credit he told me to contact Warm Front who would provide a boiler grant to get us a new boiler because he doesn't want to pay £1500 to get a new one. Warm Front sent out too people who did a survey on the 12th August. They asked for my Child Tax Credit award letter, but at the time we couldn't find it. They took other forms of proof and said if there was a problem, I'd be contacted. I'd still heard nothing on the 20th, so I phoned Warm Front and they said the info I'd given them wasn't good enough and they want to see my original CTC award. I told them I still couldn't find it. I was told "Well you better just keep looking for it then won't you". After I got off the phone to them, I contacted HMRC and they agreed to send me a CTC Review 2013/14 form. In the meantime, I'd found a Provisional Child Tax Credit award from 2012/2013. I contacted them about it asking if it'd be acceptable, and the woman I spoke to said yeah that should be fine, so I drove down to Warm Front and handed it in. After she'd photocopied the form, she said she'd arrange an install date and all would be fine. Today I contacted them for an update and was told again that it's not good enough and they want the original form. I told them I can't find the form, but HMRC are sending me a review letter and i'll provide it as soon as I can. They proceeded to tell me that it wouldn't be good enough and unless I provide the original letter, they won't even acknowledge my claim. I contacted my landlord and he just told me to keep at them and that he didn't want to pay the money to get a new one when I could get it for free. He then told me to contact the engineer that came to look at my broken boiler (who I assume my landlord knows) and see if he could have a word with Warm Front to get it pushed through. Problem is, I've had no hot water for nearly a month now and I have children in the house. I'm getting a bit fed up and don't feel that my landlord should be putting me through all this just so he can save a few quid for his own personal needs. I'm having to take my children round to my mums house to bath/wash them which is more than an inconvenience, and neither my landlord or Warm Front seem to be bothered in the slightest. What exactly can I do here? I'm getting pretty stressed out and depressed over the whole thing. Thanks for reading, and sorry for the long post. Any help would be very much appreciated. Paul

I'm actually in Salford, so i'm not sure if they're the only ones around here. I do agree that they seem to think that the rules don't apply to them, and for all the supposed mandatory appointments I've had, I've never had a letter or anything saying I may loose my benefits should I not attend etc... To be fair, I don't think I've EVER had a letter off them regarding any kind of appointment? I don't think they really care to be honest with you. I'm just a little worried that if I show the proof that I didn't have an appointment on the 31/1/13, and they see that on the printout I've given, it says Client did not attend on the 4/2/13, they'll go digging into that and see why. Even though no action was taken at the time, can they take action now, or is it far too late to do so?

Had my appointment at Seetec today, my advisor contacted a member of the Job Centre yesterday, and he told me that they looked into my account and saw no pending sanctions or any indication of a sanction pending. This contradicts what I was told personally at the JC yesterday when I was told that there WAS a pending Benefit doubt over a missed appointment on the 31st January 2013 but the systems hadn't been updated to reflect it. Here's the odd part though... The letter states that I was told on the 21st January 2013 that I had an appointment on the 31st January 2013 and I failed to attend. My advisor showed me my attendance record from January to Now. On the 21st, I contacted Seetec about my sons doctors appointment, my then advisor noted this and told me to come in the next day at 10:30am. I attended the appointment though it wasn't noted in my records. Now the alleged appointment on the 31st January... I DIDN'T have an appointment on that date, there is nothing to suggest I was supposed to be there, and no WP08 letter was sent out around that time either. My advisor printed me a copy of my attendance record, but the thing that's bothering me, is that it says on the record that I didn't attend an appointment on the 4th February 2013. Again, no action was ever taken about this, no WP08 was sent out, and I'm pretty sure I DID attend, but there's no proof of this because Seetec destroyed all sign in/out sheets around that time, they only started keeping them from May, and they don't have access to Financial Records so they said they can't check the travel expense sheets to see if I did attend. The only reason I can think that it says I didn't attend was either my advisor was off on that appointment and it wasn't recorded, or she just simply forgot/wasn't told I attended as it was a Job Search appointment. Could this be dragged up if I show them proof of the none appointment, or is this too far in the past to be sanctioned? I also asked them about the letters I was supposed to receive for every mandatory appointment, and I was told that they don't need to do that, as they supposedly sent me a letter when I very first enrolled saying that ALL appointments were mandatory and if I didn't attend, I may loose my benefit. I told him about the guidelines sent from the DWP to Seetec, but was told they do things differently and it's pretty much the same thing. All in all, my advisor was extremely helpful today and told me that if any questions were asked by the DM, he'd defend me and point out that no appointment was ever scheduled. I'm just a little afraid about using the printout in case they start questioning me about the 4/2/13 appointment. Saying that, Seetec have no proof that I was or wasn't there, and no action was ever taken/

Hi Mr.P I would request all copies of appointment letters, but they didn't give me any. All my advisor used to do was tell me, verbally, when my appointments were, and sometimes wrote them on a little card for me. The only piece of paper that had my appointments on were my 'review' letters. This told me the date of my next mandatory review appointment. All the others were just job searches where i'd have to attend the building, do a quick job search, then leave. I never actually saw my advisor on Job Search appointments. I know for an absolute fact I have NEVER missed a review appointment, and I also know I've never missed a Job Search appointment, except for the Chicken Pox incident and my sons doctors appointment, both of which I phoned Seetec and explained the situation. My current advisor has told me that my old advisor never used to put it on the system that i'd attended, so there were quite a few that he could see where it said I wasn't present, but there was proof of job search done? I just don't understand it. The exact words from my advisor this afternoon on the phone was: "Can you bring the letter with you tomorrow, as I've been back through the system and I can't see anything about a missed appointment on any of the dates you gave me" I'll definitely be recording every visit I do now for proof should this ever happen again!

That's the thing though Helen, prior to my Chicken Pox illness, I've NEVER missed or even been late for an appointment, so I've had no idea what I'm supposed to do when I was ill etc. Hence why I phoned Seetec. Plus when I went into the Joke Shop (Job Centre) about a problem or question I had with my claim, I was told by the worker I spoke too that because I was with Seetec now, they were dealing with everything, so any problems, questions or anything like that, I was to deal with them instead of the Job Centre. I didn't quite believe that, so I went to ask someone else if that was true, and they confirmed it to me that any problems I had, I had to go to Seetec. That's why I contacted them about my Chicken Pox. At no point did my advisor tell me to contact the JC about a change of circumstances form. A claim which she denied to the decision maker who contacted her. I'm at a loss about this, If I contact my advisor saying I can't make an appointment for reasons beyond my control, and then she tells me not to worry she'll rebook it, why would that be classed as a missed appointment? I've had friends who have done it and nothing has ever come of it. I've had friends who have lied about appointments to get out of job searches, and nothing comes of it. Coupled with the fact my current advisor said there's no record of me missing an appointment on my notes they have, it's confused him too. I shall definitely be bringing a book with me which I will be asking my advisor to sign every visit, and I shall record every conversation I have with them over the phone, letting them know it's being recorded obviously. I'm in agreement with Mr.P on this one though, they've failed to tell me within a reasonable amount of time about an appointment I missed, which I will show them the information that Mr.P has given me. When I missed my appointments through Chicken Pox, they notified me of possible sanction within 3-4 weeks of missing them. 7 months is a bit extreme for them to expect me what I was doing on that day.

Thank you so much for the advice Mr.P, it's set my mind at rest. Strangely, I had a call from my advisor at Seetec whilst I was out (this advisor I've had since June or so, so not the advisor who claimed I missed an appointment in January) and he was telling me that he's been back through my appointment history, and he can't see a missed appointment on either of the dates I've given. He's as confused as what I am, yet the woman who the JC contacted stated that I had missed one and they must know why before the 23rd of this month. When I asked how the hell am I supposed to remember what I was doing back then, her response was along the lines of "Not my problem, ask your partner and just try and remember". My partner can't remember anything at all! I've got an appointment tomorrow so we're going to try and get to the bottom of this, as it's confusing and completely out the blue.

Hi guys, Having a bit of a problem with the Work Programme lately, and I have no idea what to do. The Job Centre and Seetec themselves are extremely unhelpful and I'm feeling rather annoyed and wound up with them. The problem is back in March, I was sanctioned on my JSA for missing 2 appointments with Seetec. I had chicken pox and phoned my advisor at Seetec telling her that I wasn't able to make my appointments that week, and she told me there was no problem, thanks for letting her know and she'll see me the following week at my next appointment. Couple of weeks later, I received a letter saying I had missed two appointments and was being sanctioned for 4 weeks due to the fact I didn't send in a "Change of Circumstances" form. My advisor didn't tell me I had to fill this is and I'd never filled one in before so I had no idea I had to do that. So a reconsideration was sent in, which was turned into, without my knowledge, an appeal. Got the decision on that back, and the sanction stood because my advisor lied through the teeth to the decision maker saying I showed no signs of illness (Which she even commented to me on the appointment I went in "Oh your looking very spotty aren't you, how you feeling now?") and that she told me over the phone that I had to contact the Job Centre and tell them I wasn't able to go to Seetec that week (Which she didn't, but surprise, surprise, the calls aren't recorded). This isn't the problem though. Today, 15/8/2013, I received a letter saying I'd missed an appointment with Seetec on the 31/1/13. I have absolutely zero recollection of missing an appointment that day, and I was never told I'd missed an appointment. All I can think of is that at one point, I telephoned my advisor saying that I had to take my son to the doctors because he wasn't well at all, and the appointment fell during an appointment I had. I explained this to her and she told me not to worry, and come in the next day (I think It was for a job search, but I'm not sure). I really have no idea if this was the appointment they're referring too. Simple fact is, I just can't remember ever missing an appointment with them. I asked the JC why I hadn't heard of this earlier, and they said that it had been put on hold along with hundreds of others... yet they contacted me instantly about the incident with the chicken pox. I really have no idea what to do now. The JC said just think back and write down why you missed the appointment, but I just can't remember. Do I just put the doctors appointment with my son and hope that it was that? Which I told her about anyway and she didn't have a problem with? I just can't think what to do and I can't afford another sanction at all. Any help would be great as I'm at an utter loss at the moment. Thanks, Paul

Thanks for the info Rez The original charger i have on my desk now, the problem with it is, it developed a fault and the end of the lead (the connection to the laptop) overheated pretty severely and melted away. Basically the end of the lead has fallen off. I'm actually rather suprised it didn't damage the laptop, but i'm assuming thats because i got to it in time. I'm going to take it in tomorrow to them, as it's the original charger and they requested it, regardless of it's condition. I also have eveything else that came with the laptop, box, documents etc, so i guess it wont harm dropping all them off too?

Success on the laptop. I went to Currys today for an update on the laptop and was informed that due to the complaint i'd put in about the service i had recieved during the whole repair saga, i was being given a replacement laptop upto the value of the old one (£469). Bit of a problem still though. I informed them at the beginning, when i first sent the laptop off, that i didn't have the original charger to the laptop due to it breaking around 6 months into owning it. (I wasn't informed by currys that this was covered under the warranty). Now they've given me the replacement laptop but they've kept my universal charger that i paid £100 for and are refusing to give it me back. Are they allowed to do this? Or am i entitled to my charger back? I'm happy that they've replaced it, but i'm a bit peeved about the whole charger issue now. They've given me till Friday to get an original HP charger or they'll be keeping my universal with no refund. Paul

You're spot on with the model. It's a HP G70. It's not been away for more than 28 days, but they're really messing me about for no reason at all. Two Currys workers have now seen the fault with their own eyes, noted it down on the repair form for the Techguys, and it's still not been sorted. All i've got from the Techguys is format it, re-install software etc, and unless the fault is suddenly disappearing when they recieve it, which i doubt, i'm at a loss as for why they wont sort it. The thing that confuses me is that when it was first sent off, i contacted them when i recieved it back and they said 2 engineers have checked the mouse and found nothing... Though today when Currys phoned the Techguys, they were saying they didn't have any idea that the mouse was broken? I'm not sure what to believe. They seem to have no idea whats going on. Thank you for the advice!

Hi guys, First post on here, but i have a frustrating situation with a Laptop repair. First off, i bout the laptop on the 17th January 2009, so it's outside the 1 year guarantee, though i had a problem occour with it mid December, but with Christmas, the death of a family member, severe weather and birth of my child, i couldn't return it untill 14th January, still within the 1 year guarantee. Now the problem is this, i had a problem with the mouse on the laptop, the touch pad wasn't responding at all, and i felt it was a certain hardware issue as i explained to the staff member at Currys. He saw the problem and agreed, and also noticed that my LCD hinge could do with fixing, so he also put that down as a problem, and the laptop was sent off to the Techlessguys (They really are a waste of space!). Around the 25th, the laptop was delivered back to Currys, and i received a call informing me of this, i asked the woman if the mouse had been sorted and she assumed it had, so i went to pick it up. When i got there, i tried it out for a moment, and the problem seemed to have gone, the girl behind the counter proceeded to then tell me: "If you refuse to purchase the extended warranty now, we will refuse to help you should the fault reappear and we will basically tell you to go home and sort it elsewhere" Needless to say, the fault remained and when i contacted the Techguys, they told me that they never sorted the mouse out as two of their engineers had looked at it and deemed it working, even though the Currys worker saw and noted the fault. I decided to take it to a different Currys store near my house due to the appalling service i previously got, and at first they were very helpful, informing me, after they called the Techguys, that a format was needed and they'll take care of it and should it need to go away again, they'll take care of it automatically. Come today, i got a call saying my laptop was ready to pick up and it was fault free. I went down to collect it, was given about a minute to test it in store before being told any problems come back and we'll get it sorted. Upon testing it in the car, i noticed the fault was STILL there and it hadn't been fully tested as they had promised me it would be. I proceeded to take it back to the store where they pretty much told me they will have to send it off AGAIN to the techguys, because according to them, the fault with the mouse was never recorded, even though supposedly 2 engineers had said it was working? Adding to this, it seems they have broken a key on the keyboard and also damaged the £100 universal charger i bought because the original broke, both of which they are refusing to take responsibility for. Basically i'm being given the runaround and told the problem is fixed when it really isn't. I've now got to wait up to 2 weeks for it to be "fixed" and upon asking them for an exchange, i was told it wasn't possible until it had been sent off for a 4th time. This is the third time in nearly 3 weeks that it's been sent off for the same problem. Is there anything i can do here to get an exchange? I feel that the service I've been given is absolutely appalling and it seems like they really don't care one bit. Sorry for the long post, but i wanted to give as much info as possible. Paul