I decided after many years being with my Bank to re-claim all my bank charges over a period of years!! today i received a call from my bank in regards with what i was asking for, the lady on the phone sounded quite vague and then by saying that they could only refund me partially my charges for 6 months??? So then i refused it and i told her to put it in writing what she had offered me,i told her i disagreed with her offer and i will be taking this further. Can anyone advise what i need to do now? thanks

Hi thanks I can't really afford that right now, can anyone give me some input what those descriptors mean exactly still confussed?

Hello A few day's ago i had my first home assessment with the change over from my old DLA, i have anxiety problems and not able to go out socially with my agoraphobia and i also suffer from painful joints with my arthritis. My home assessment was at 10 am the Assessor turned up 10 mins early a woman, she seemed ok at first but as the assessment went on she became quite abrupt and over voiced her opinion over mine which was very annoying? I had a friend with me noting down some of the assessors questions and the way she was trying to see if i was getting stressed with the questions being asked. The next question was about getting around has i have agoraphobia it's obvious that i have difficulties going out or even using public transport, my mental health will not allow me to use public transport reliably. This is because there are specific features about public transport that will trigger my mental health symptoms causing severe distress anxiety, panic attacks, somatic symptoms . As a result I specifically avoid using public transport. But again she over voiced her opinion that in my form i had said i can only travel in a car for emergencies only? usually in my friends car. I was under the impression that anybody who couldn't use public transport reliably as above should not be considered as being able to make an unfamiliar journey, this would mean they satisfied descriptor 11d and not just 11 b? But what would this also mean if i could get to the doctors ok which was a familiar route and not far from my home, but again i would need the help from my friend to take me i found these descriptors very confusing? Can anyone explain more about these descriptors, thank you

Hello I've been with my back for over 20 yrs and i get charged silly amounts of money when just being over drawn by £10, my back will not up my over draft facility and i usually go over drawn each month, i don't have any credit cards as i can not afford the repayments. I just wondered if you can re-claim back the charges that i think are unfair to customers?

You should come and join the JSA office where i live, my friend has had a terrible time from them she's already been sanctioned twice without good cause? she was signing on the regular days and sometime the person who she had to see didn't show up and left my friend hanging around for an hour..the JSA advisers really do enjoy giving sanctions to the poor people that can not find work...my friend has been to several job interviews but because of her age which is not really old she always finds the younger person gets it first? i really do hope if and when labour gets in and change the whole JSA and ESA system back to how it was run before. IDS AND HIS conservative pals should all be chucked out next election.

I would get on to you local MP tell them you are not happy being made to go through this stressful situation again also make a complaint to Atos and DWP, i don't understand why they think its necessary to assess someone so quickly and for that person to be waiting on edge for months for their results, i think they must enjoy making sick people worry to death?

Hi there Can i ask which group you had been put into in feb this seems abit soon for you to be even sent a new claim just after a few months? it goes to show this Governments desperate approach of assessing everyone that has already been through this stupid and stressful process.

Yes this happens to my friend when she gets her DLA and ESA payment in the same week, her ESA was a day late which worried her but the following day received it.

Comic relief red nose day is suppose to be for charitable people with a giving heart, not for the likes of David Cameron who is just greedy and does not know the meaning of being generous?

Yes thay do say you need a water meter but not always the case, my friend didn't need to have one and just had a deduction from the yearly bill. Worth just telling them that you don't want to be put on a meter

Hi there My friend has got a skin condition called psoriasis anyone managing their skin condition with water can be deemed as needing help, if your son has any skin conditions that needs attending each day you could get a deduction from his water bill each yesr?

Hi Which of the disability benefits that you can get will exempt you from this cap?

Government response: 32. The Government is keen that Universal Credit reflects the world of work, where 75% of people receive wages monthly.4 Paying in this manner will help smooth the transition into monthly paid work, encourage personal responsibility for finances and support claimants to budget on a monthly basis. This Governments ideology of work work and more work is just getting beyond idiotic now many of the vulnerable people will find having a monthly payment difficult enough, and many more will not understand the UC rules and will need to be safe guarded in case of falling behind in rent arrears, how does the DWP know which type of vulnerable groups of people will most be effected by this change before its to late?

I have heard some people saying that people that receive the support group and DLA will not be affected, i want to find out more about this for my friend who is also in the support group contribution based from IB, plus she gets dla in LRM and LRC compacity i don't think shes gets the premium rate on top of her benefits, i just wondered if she will be affected she already pays abit towards her rent each week and pays about £14 council tax monthly

I would imagine it was a stupid idea to start with how would people pay for other essentials other then basic food needs? it seems like this Government rush through polices that had not been thought through properly just like these welfare reforms?

As above post had said make a complaint this should not be happening to vulnerable people who need help to fight Atos and DWP, your appeal is important and this should not be compromised by the likes of this terrible Government. Also get on to your local MP, ask if they know if GPs are for certain stopping the help of Med 3.

Yes i can imagine the rioting soon to be happening when the bedroom Tax comes around in April, it seems our well informed PM thinks cutting the police force will Not be important enough when there will be hundreds and thousands of people in each city and town responding to an unfair Tax?

And thats exactly what Atos does best make assumptions and stupid rash judgments on peoples lives, Atos as only one aim and that's to make as much money from these assessments as possible and something needs to be done about it?

Hi, this my first post here This may be a little long winded but here goes (apologies in advance) Brief History : Around 5-6yrs ago ,I started claiming Incapacity Benefit for several different conditions in part because i had missed my signing on time/date at the Job centre, more than 2 times within a 12mth period (they will then refuse to pay you for all or part of the 2 week period, as they don't consider you to be actively seeking work,if you are too sick to sign on) My GP back then was great, issued and continued to issue sick notes as required (every 3mths) until DWP stopped requiring them, 12mths or so passed, had to attend ATOS WCA passed 15points on 1 descriptor and several points on others 2yrs later ATOS WCA again passed with 15points same result But this latest time after attending the first ATOS appointment ,and being asked if i could come back on a later date (which i agreed to) as it was 3 weeks before xmas 2012, a new appointment was scheduled for a date days before xmas but the time was too early for me to travel 18miles @ off peak fares So i arranged another appointment which was in the first week in January 13 ATOS WCA 2013 : This was carried out by a nurse not a doctor who did not ask what i would consider to be real questions, and tried to twist some of my answers The nurse performed a rudimentary physical examination, and some of the methods used didn't seem to be relevant to my condition I was asked how i travelled to the assessment centre by the nurse and how long it took Only the other day i got the results of my latest WCA and i scored NIL /ZERO/0 My first thought was is this some kind of sick joke I then rang the BA to request an appeal form and for the full information from the DWP/ATOS I then booked an appointment with my GP for a routine visit , and also get the results from recent x-rays i had for investigating new conditions I informed my gp about the recent WCA and the DWP decision regarding entitlement to ESA , and asked for a sick note for the long standing conditions which she refused ,saying that those conditions where not a good enough reason not to work ,and also asked me why she should pay taxes so that people can claim benefits ,when they could work ,and that this country was too soft compared to others,But she did begrudgingly issue a sick note for 4 weeks for a recently diagnosed condition ("moderate" osteoarthritis of the knee ) It possibly affects several other joints too, but when i got home i noticed that this sick note is not in my name, BTW my GP is not the same GP that issued the sick notes some 5-6yrs ago So now i will have to A Get a second opinion from another GP . or B Change my GP As well as appeal,or start a fresh claim for ESA for the recently diagnosed condition This whole system is not fit for purpose, GP's being brainwashed by Cam-moron and his side kick clegg, ATOS WCA is not put in place to make sure that those who cannot work get all the help that they deserve But it is there instead to help get as many people off sickness related benefits as they possibly can, they are not independent/impartial as they are contracted by the government /DWP Yep i've been reading about another person having the same issues with their doctor recently, it seems that Mr Cam-moron is trying to stop doctors from giving out med 3 notes with appealing and also stopping the appeal reassessment rate, so in fact when you think you are to iill to work you will not be able to claim the reassessment rate of £71 but in stead be made to apply for JSA, which sort of contradicts your illness as being able to work? I really do hope cleggy boy is happy now with standing by this idiot? i think he's a very desperate man and there is no way he will be re- elected come next term. Thing is didn't the BMC say that the ATOS WCA system currently in place is not fit for purpose, if this is true ,then why are some GP's ignoring this? My GP's diagnosis regarding my knee as moderate, osteoarthritis which could also be Psoriatic arthritis as i have had psoriasis for around 20yrs, My knee will randomly lock up whilst walking around, this can and has happened even after only a few paces or may not happen at all so matter how far i walk, i dare not run at all, Sometimes it locks up when i'm getting in or out of bed, in the process of sitting/standing , I cannot use a step ladder to change a light bulb /or stand on a cushioned chair without sever discomfort(pain) I was told by a consultant @ A&E some 10-12yrs ago that my knee joint was basically wearing out faster than they normally do, I was asked if i played football/rugby at a semi pro or professional level, (which i didn't ) but my job at that time involved a lot of ladder climbing, to which he replied that could be a cause, he also informed me that there was a realistic probability of needing a knee joint replacement in later life, and maybe a change in career could slow down the wear , So know that my knee is more serious than my GP thinks, So maybe it's time for a change of GP based on this alone, The system of the DWP saying people are fit for work, even though they are unable to return to their previous profession or trade is wrong also, because a lorry driver /joiner /electrician for instance cannot walk into a IT office job without experience /training ect Assuming that a job exists, and the employer wishes to employ that person who quite probably will not have worked for a very long time , who's also quite possibly middle aged , They assume too much, "you could do this or that" And i could fly to the moon as well , both are very unlikely to happen in reality That is so very wrong too

At my medical the HCP asked about the side affects i have on my medication, i get dizziness, sickness and if i take a higher dose i will hallucinate So do they think i'm able to work with these symptoms? what happens if i suddenly had these symtoms in the work place and caused a risk to another person. it just seems to me this whole WCA is a load of rubbish and is designed to over look any physical disabilties.

But didn't Mark Hoban say at the House of commons debate about the WCA, there were no actual Targets for numbers when being assessed? of course we only have his word about that and many other MPs were speculating that he was not telling the truth? Mr Hoban would have many people believing that the Atos system is working fine, but recent numbers have shown that complaints about the Atos HCPs tells another story.

You can ask for any esa85 report a few days after your assessment but has this is from your previous ESA i'm not sure if that will be still available now? be warned the DWP hates sending these out as you can imagine it will be full of inconsistances that will be needed for you to use for a tribunal? I do recommend you take your own recording device like a mobile fone as this can also be done secretly, my understanding is if you ask for a recording they don't like to use them and will likely use an excuse saying that they can't get one in time. IMO its better to just record it without them knowing about it, if you tell them at your assessment that your recording them they usually stop the assessment?

I had my assessment a few weeks before you and i'm still awaiting my results too? due to their corrupt ways they are stacked up with so many appeals and behind on paper work. I would give it another month before you get a response.

Yes that is right i remember the old IB assessments and it was much better for the claimant to sit with a medic doctor and explain their illness, also in the house of commons debate the Atos HCP's are also under fire for not providing the expertise needed to do medical assessments? but then it doesn't need to as the LiMa computer software system is mainly designed not to recognize sick claimants difficulties but to make them look able to work instead ? This Government and the DWP knows this but have kept using it?

See most people with anxiety and agoraphobia problems don't necessarily see a psychiatrist or even take any medication for their illness and some people find it difficult taking them? this is what makes the whole esa assessments difficult is the lack of evidence that some people can not give them. Did you see the house of common debate on the whole Atos system it was designed to fail benefit claims, it was first used by UNUM in the USA and was stopped because of its bad reputation, it is now being investigated by some MPs and has now been reported in some papers. It wont be long until Atos is replaced by a new and fairer assessment procedure.