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essexmat

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essexmat last won the day on September 17 2014

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  1. Good evening, everyone, it has been a good few years since I have posted so I hope everyone is well. I have had great help from this forum in the past and I am hoping you can help/advise me once again. I will TRY and be concise and as brief as I can. After a period working full time, I had a breakdown at work due to a family bereavement, financial problems and a relationship breakdown. At first work were supportive but things got bad and I ended up having a full-blown breakdown at work. I decided at this point that my health was more important and resigned due to the pressure being too much even with modifications to my role being made. Since then (May 2023) I have claimed Universal Credit (ESA element) including housing costs. I received my WCA questionnaire and completed it and had my WCA mid July 2023 (6 months ago) and have still heard nothing – is this normal? I know I will almost certainly not have enough points so am reluctant to call and ‘remind them’ could it have been lost and I will eventually need to have another WCA when they see I have not been processed properly? In addition to this I have been getting periodic 3-month fit notes from my GP for clinical depression, anxiety and OCD. Although the DWP UC accept these my ‘work coach’ who I see every 3 months whilst on fit notes has referred me to the RESTART programme who, after investigating, seem to be like an organisation I had horrors with many moons ago, being INGEUS. My question is, can a WCA outcome ‘trump’ a fit note from GP and when I have my first appointment with RESTART (tomorrow) and outline my limitations and illnesses and having a fit note can I be mandated to search for work with a current fit note? My so-called work coach has also mentioned they will put me on CV courses, interview skills etc, all capabilities I have from past roles where I am proficient but not at the moment. Although I am mandated, I find this a tick box exercise but I guess to keep my benefits I have to play along. Whilst I want to eventually work again, I think a tailored return would be best so can I say because of conditions I find it difficult to travel long distances and only want to work part time? I guess this is what I discuss when formulating a plan with RESTART? Also, and I apologise for the long post, WHEN the WCA does come back and I inevitably fail am I entitled to appeal this via a mandatory reconsideration and whilst this is ongoing will I still receive my UC payments? With my anxiety at an all time high this is starting to stress me out so some advice would REALLY be helpful. Thank you
  2. Ah so my earnings pw fall in to that category, that is good news So basically all I need to do is report the changes (weekly or monthly?) and the company do the rest? UC will fluctuate based on assessment period as I expected but at the end of the day I will be better off so all good. Lesson for myself - once started, report changes as and when they happen and let the rest take care of itself!
  3. unclebulgaria67 This is a great help and thank you for replying. Indeed as you say it would be strange for the government to encourage work and not help with contributions and I will check this. I actually just done an Entitled To calculation and it came to £121.48 UC but it may have taken in to consideration 5 week months - whatever it is I will be around £150.00pm (at least) better off so more than happy with that from a mental stability and financial point of view. Would I report the changes weekly after each pay day or monthly? For example if UC was calculated for me on 5th of each month and I am paid 4th that could be a big impact and if reported on 5th or 6th I would be 'better off' Would I be better reporting say £597.60 as a monthly total? After reporting good news about not doing anything else as you say the employer will report to HMRC direct Sounds positive
  4. Hi all it has been a very long time since I posted here so with this I will try and be brief. Currently on UC which oays my shared room rate and basic allowance which comes to £534.49 per month. I have an opportunity to work part time 9 hours each day 2 days a week at £8.30ph getting paid weekly so 18 x £8.30 = £149.40pw and over 4 weeks around £597.60pm which is more than I get on UC. The job is a 10 min walk from home so I do not have to contend with fares either. I understand UC will take £0.63 from my allowance for every £1 I earn so in effect I will get £0.37 UC frfom my current rate? If I have done my maths correctly my UC should be around £197.91pm which I know can fluctuate due to being 5 week months etc. Also, if I work more because I was asked to or less sue to sickness or a holiday like Xmas Day being a day I would normally work I guess my UC will be worked out based on this so I do not lose out? Can I also ask what hapoens with regards to my 'stamps'/NI being paid as I won't be liable for tax either due to not earning enough. Presumably as I will be paid weekly I declare this on my UC account but should I do this weekly or at the end of the month? My statement date for UC is 5th of month and payment date 11th of month Thank you
  5. Good to hear you got it sorted. Also, I am with you, of courseit was done on purpose in the hope people would not fight it or take it further. Just another sorry twist from the Nasty Party in belittling people who are most in need and are eligible for certain benefits/help. Their hope is say 10,000 were affected, only a small % would take it further and thus saving the DWP money - the DWP are a nasty piece of work make no mistake. It is not the minions it is the policy makers and those in charge. Slightly changing the subject - when my work coach (lol @ work coach) said I should apply to be a work coach I simply said "I couldn't do it, although I do not make the rules, being part of the system I would hate to put people through what many are going through and have to enforce dictatorship rules and policies" Anyway, off on a tangent, good you got it sorted and I hope anyone else in the same situation follows your lead.
  6. Thank you to the site team for deleting the reply from yet another troll. I saw it last night and simply ignored it. I seem to attract them these days. I know I sometimes go off on a tangent and that is through sheer frustration so please let me know if I need to tone down my posts. I guess as this has not been deleted/altered it is ok. I do find this a great site to vent as well as get valuable advice - it is just a shame, I guess like most sites, with people who can remain anonymous and hide behind keyboards they can get away with saying what they want provoking a reaction. Keep up the good work guys and gals! P.S What is this I now have under my user name "I record my calls.Do you?"
  7. Yep, all par for the course I am afraid, especially under the juristiction of the nasty party. No one, and I mean NO ONE will get through a WCA unless you are literally at deaths door these days. Yep, the assessors reports will be full of lies, mine was as well as are most people's. Still, the assessor and oik at DWP know you and your condition(s) better than your GP and health professionals so console yourself in the fact that you should be happy that you are FIT FOR WORK like many others suffering. Apologies for the sarcasm, it just makes me sick.
  8. I need to be brutally honest and I am not a troll as I have been/am in the same situation. I was on ESA and called for a WCA based on my anxiety/depression/mental state. Needless to say I scored ZERO and shoved on to UC even though my GP says I am not fit for work. Just console yourself that some practitioner who does not know you and some oik at the DWP knows you better than your GP and can say you are FIT FOR WORK. Unless you are a danger to yourself, have loads of evidence from a mental health team etc you WILL NOT keep ESA after the WCA. Sorry to be so brutal about it but it is best not to worry about the WCA, you WILL NOT pass it and keep ESA just on depression and seeing your GP as I was in the same position. Hardly anyone passes the WCA so you are not alone. Simply it is the nasty party and DWP setting you up to fail and make you iller than you already are ... As I said, I am not being nasty just truthful based on my own experience and the experience of many others. You will be shoved on to UC. I know you did not want to hear/read this but it is best to know what is goingto happen than over worry about it.
  9. That's right, our lovely DWP and JCP who want you to get back in to employment but when it comes to the crunch are unwilling to help you when you need a little bit of help and this set you up to FAIL! As you know I am on UC, I lost £95.00pm when moved from ESA and HB so am struggling. I have been applying for work but getting nowhere my work coach (work coach LOL) says to me "try registering with agencies and seeing if they can help" ... OK, I email a few agencies and I geta reply from Hays and speak with them on the phone about my work history and background etc. They tell me that they may have a few openings and would like to meet me - fine, train fare to town return is £9.40. As I am on UC almost £10 means a lot of food shopping and it is an amount that I can hardly 'lose' at the moment given my financial circumstances. I email my 'work coach' and say I have arranged an appt with the agency and I would like to claim my fare back. Guess what? DWP WON'T PAY IT as it is not an actual interview just registration. So I say "if I want interviews I need to register so I am on their books" - the answer (like a robot) "No we cannot pay your fare" Fine, end of story, appointment cancelled - you want to know why I have not been doing as you say and seeing agencies? BECAUSE YOU (DWP) ARE NOT HELPING ME AT ALL WHEN I AM TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE FINDING WORK!!!! What part of I am on UC and struggle with rent/food do you not understand? Want me back in work and off UC then HELP ME WITH A LOUSY TRAIN FARE! Angry? Yeah, expected this? Yeah ... DWP ... no help at all, just keep cutting peoples money and offering no help at all. Pathetic.
  10. You have it 100% spot on my friend. From the age of 13 I was working - I am 43 now in those 30 years I have been out of work (through no fault of my own) 3 years. In that time whilst employed in what I call proper jobs in the city working full time, pension, bonuses etc I dread to think what I have paid in to the system. I then get ill and claim ESA and am then chucked off of it for daring to be ill. I then lose £102pm in benefit income which is MY MONEY from my payments in to the system, not THEIR money and now my depression and anxiety is WORSE. Even my GP says I am too unwell to travel to work and do a full day but that is OK I should do any job to help with my UC - yeah, great. I have no social life now, I just about get through the month. Luckily my parents have contributed to food and bills to help me get through this but why should they have to? I have actively seen claimants bullied at the JCP, luckily I can stand up for myself but others less fortunate cannot. One claimant on a desk a few meters away from me was threatened with a sanction because he was 10 mins late for an appointment because he dared to help an old lady who fell over in the street and call ambulance for her. Some WCs are OK and just want you in and out, others get a kick out of manipulation and bullying. I hope some of them end up on UC and suffer!
  11. Just catching up on this. Yes, I made sure I claimed 'off cycle' They of course did not offer it but I knew my rights about only paying to comein fortnightly. You want me in weekly? Pay for it! As my WC is part time I am not back now until January 3rd. I have heard how they speak to some claimants there - it is disgusting, luckily they cannot do that with me as I throw the book at them with legislation and rights. Basically (so far so good if good is the right word for being on this awful benefit) I am left alone - hopefully it stays that way. Why should I complain anyway? I have £62 to last me until January 11th. Oh well, more money off the credit card that won't be paid anyway within a few months. Bad credit score? Got one already and will never need a mortgage anyway so no harm done! Yes I know I sound like a baby and really angry - I never used to be, it is the DWP that had made me like this
  12. What you do with your payment is up to you. Of course you should pay your rent in you get a housing element and any other bills. What you spend your money on (and it is your money if you have a history of paying in to the system) should be nothing to do with them. If I can I occassionally treat myself to a McDonald's or something off Ebay - SO WHAT? When I claimed UC I wasn't evenasked for bank statements - just ID etc. Let them look, it is more about seeing if you have large incomes coming in to ensure the benefit is eligible for you.
  13. My Work Coach on UC (work coach, LOL) is part time 3 days a week. I go to see her and sit down, say what I have been doing (a few real applications and cover the rest of the time in one click apply applications) but she is not interested anyway - she is a pussycat (so far and I hope it stays that way) - I am in and out in 5 minutes - fact is, most cannot be bothered to adminster the 35 hour rule and have no way of checking. Just tow the line, show you are doing something and job done. From experience to date (been on UC 7 weeks and to the job centre every week since claiming as you have to go weekly for the first 13 weeks of the claim) they know very little about UC and my WC even told me once a month to see me would be good enough but the rules are in place to see me week UC in principle should work, in reality it is a farce
  14. Sounds familiar - they (the DWP) simply do not care at all. I have not had ONE PENNY for 6 weeks and am now in debt to the tune of £382 to my Father and £500 to a credit card (SO FAR) Basically the DWP are killing people and making them homeless and that is a fact
  15. First of all, I genuinely feel for you - this whole regime is nothing short of a disgrace and verging on a dictatorship set up to make you feel worse than you do already and make you feel like you have nowhere to turn. I myself was chucked off ESA amd on to UC - I am now £102.57pm worse off than I was, have not had ONE PENNY since October 30th and won't get a penny until December 11th. My ESA report arrived and I went through it properly and it had 16 pieces of transcript in it that were not discussed or assessed or blatant lies. They get away with it because they can and no one has taken this government to task about it because people have not got the strength to do so and they know this. To date I have had 9 brown envelopes all contradicting each other from HMRC, DWP and UC and I am totally confused. I think I have been on the phone to various people around 4 hours these last few days and still nowhere near sorting it. The answer is, appeal if the law says they are wrong but personally I had no fight left as I was getting iller by the day and on the verge of a full breakdown. My GP saw me and said my BP and pulse was up - 160/100 and 110 and I was not well so he offered to sign me off. I said no point as I was kicked off ESA and found fit for work. Best of luck
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