Like the posters above have suggested, things have a way of working out, tmlvs. Here's hoping next year is better for you - you'll pull it together.

Hope the OP tmlvs is OK - hasn't replied to the thread. Aside from my recipe (which I can't imagine would be that helpful) there was some useful, sound advice given above. One sympathizes with their financial predicament - however, a simple thank you costs, er, nothing...

I'm thinking this (and everybody pile in, if I'm being way out of line and irresponsible here): once you decide that you are going to probably bugger up your future credit rating (and in the future this is actually something that is often fixable - you sort of build it up again), surely once a person has made that decision, shouldn't they max out as much as they can on their credit card / overdraft? It would seem logical. Here's my (twisted) reasoning: If you're going to affect your credit rating by defaulting on, say, £750 (or agreeing to pay it back in installments), then why not affect it by doing the same with £1,500 / £2,000? Surely the "points" you get knocked down by are the same? I would imagine that the "points" you get knocked down by are the same if it's £1,000 or £3,000. Perhaps somebody could put me right on this... Bankfodder, Rebel11 CitizenB and thorntondog et al above have all come up with suggestions better than this anyway, so please don't take this advice! Another thing I'd say in this situation is to buy food sensibly. For example, there was a terrible advert for KFC once that said, "I can feed the whole family for £9.99!", (Which brought to mind the Jack Dee quote: "What kind of family eats out of a bucket?") - and I remember thinking, "£9.99? I could feed a family for 4 days on £9.99!" If you buy vegetables in a market they're much cheaper than the supermarket. And pasta goes a long way. If you buy cheese, buy strong cheddar. Stronger = use less. Right. This may seem flippant, but it's not - here's a recipe. Use a big saucepan like a cast-iron Le Creuset one (there are cheap versions around). If you haven't got one, just a big pan. Get a tin of anchovies in oil. Fry a couple of onions and half a clove of garlic in the oil from the tin. Throw in some chopped dried herbs if you have them. Roughly chop up the anchovies, put them in. See, anchovies are packed with flavour. They don't really taste fishy once they've sort of melted into the onions and garlic. So you have these onions and garlic and anchovies that are packed with flavour. Right. Add two cheap tins of chopped tomatoes. Swill some water into each tin to get all the tomato out, and add the water (a fifth of each tin) to the sauce. Add some salt and pepper. Cook for around 10 minutes. Cook some spaghetti (cook it in water already boiled from the kettle). If the packet says 10 minutes, cook it for 9 1/2 minutes. Strain the spaghetti with cold water (stops it cooking, washes off the starch) Now get the cooked sauce, and put most of it in a bowl. Just leave enough in the pan for one serving. Add just enough spaghetti to the sauce to serve one. Heat it up a little, stirring. Let the rest cool down in the bowls before refrigerating. There ya go. Much better, more grown-up than bottled ragu sauces, and actually cheaper: Tomorrow, heat up just enough to feed you. The next day, heat up just enough to feed you. You can get the "basics" range in supermarkets for tinned tomatoes (chopped or plum tomatoes, makes no difference as you can roughly chop / mash the plum tomatoes in the pan). Buy "basics" garlic, and buy a whole bunch of onions in the market or where ever. Get some multivitamins while you're in the supermarket... ; ) Buy spaghetti (or penne etc.) in large 1 kilo / 2 kilo amounts. The only expensive thing is the anchovies - they can cost around 80 / 90p. You can also add a tin of sardines too. Any old cheap red wine knocking around? Add half a glass of that. If you want, add more tomatoes - even a fresh, finely chopped one if you have it. I lived in Italy, and this kind of thing is eaten over there all the time. It's cheap, probably lasts three days in the fridge (so four servings) and if you have people over, it's quite a cool thing to cook. If you're feeling flush, grate some goddamn cheese into it before serving. Good luck out there.

Lol!! You could say - "Well I am a bit disappointed with myself today. I'm a bit hungover, and I'm not performing as well as I could. I'll give myself a warning, and put me on a probationary period. But in answer to your question: yes, I'm still employed by myself..."

Yep, osdset - exactly the same eye-rolling response I've seen by staff at DWP when discussing these "providers"... Gotta kick against them. They certainly aren't getting any employer details off me, and they can stuff their 75 pieces of silver.

Well YorkyLad has just confirmed my concerns about these "providers". Wonder whether one could simply give them fake employer details? Also agree with him re: employer contact details. Could be quite a few small firms out there that really won't like the idea of Government-contracted private companies systematically checking up on them , and one could imagine that the prospect of this may actually put them off the new employee. The idea that your new worker needs babysitting by these "providers" surely doesn't look good? If I was an employer (I have been in the past) I would not sanction this kind of snooping for financial gain - especially if I was running a busy company. Imagine trying to steer a company, and meanwhile getting calls like this: "Hello, it's Wayne from Ignorameus: just wanted to see how little Johnny is getting on. Is he turning up for work regularly? Do you envisage employing him for the next year? We'd like to know..." Seriously - f**k that! I'll forgo the £75. I just don't need these people snooping into my life. ; )

Right. Cheers for that. I guess my issue is two-fold. I just ain't happy with: A/ These "providers" crashing in on my right to privacy B/ The idea of being regularly "checked up on" (essentially because they to want guarantee their money). However, if they help me get a job, cool! So to conclude - sure, find me some work. Then bugger off. Thanks again flumps1976!

Thanks very much for that... A very articulate and helpful adviser at that. I wasn't asking about clothing, but I understand it is perhaps relevant. I was told that these "providers" are only getting a basic "admin" fee from the Gov, so I can see how they're sort of sales-based. My basic question was really this: I am willing to take part. Willing to go to job-hunting workshops. Willing to have CV writing lessons Willing to go along to interviews etc. I just don't want to sign a contract that gives away any of my privacy for the next 2 years (or gives away my rights to privacy anytime) In fact, I don't really want to sign anything. Can I take part as above, but not sign anything? Am I legally obliged to sign some kind of contract? If I was an employer and took somebody on (and let's say hypothetically that person was promoted in 8 months time, so they're now a manager of some kind), it would be very irritating to keep getting calls from some private company about my excellent, loyal employee. If I was the employee, it would be irritating and embarrassing to be rung up or emailed by this company regularly over the next 2 years. After all, if one were to be cynical, all those contacts would essentially be them just checking on their potential cash prize at the end of the 2 years - checking on their "investment", if you will. It would almost be amusing to ring them in 23 months and 3 weeks time to tell them that you had left the job... Again, if I employed somebody and this firm kept ringing up, it would possibly give the impression that the new employee needed babysitting, and that he / she was a liability in some way. I simply don't need this in my future career. So I figured if I could somehow not sign anything, then I've not given any consent. Thanks in advance again...

Good thread... I've got my first interview with them coming up in a couple of weeks in Newcastle. Simple question: Do I have to sign the contract? Am I legally obliged? I can't imagine I am. After reading the Data Protection-related posts here, would it it not be better for me not to sign anything? It would possibly appear that signing stuff with them simply gives them carte blanche to tread all over one's privacy, contact employers, share one's details etc.. - surely sanctioning is only applicable if one refuses a job interview etc.? Not signing a form - surely they couldn't sanction one for that? Also - I had the impression that the poster flumps1976 perhaps worked in some capacity for the DWP. Could they (or somebody else) perhaps advise me as to how to sign off A/ making sure I still get the one-month run-on etc., whilst B/ simultaneously making sure that Ignoramus Inc. don't get any credit? Thanks in advance