New ESA Claim

[antone]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2469751/One-10-come-benefits-losing-spare-room-subsidy-thanks-bedroom-tax.html

 

You're citing the what? Good grief.

[mr_mastiff]

You're citing the what? Good grief.

 

Its along the lines of children can can no longer sing Ba Ba Black Sheep, or must wear safety equipment for conkers! Of course there is no break down of percentages of why they no longer claim benefits or figures from the DWP or

how many were on sanctions at the time.

[bedofweeds]

Its along the lines of children can can no longer sing Ba Ba Black Sheep, or must wear safety equipment for conkers! Of course there is no break down of percentages of why they no longer claim benefits or figures from the DWP or

how many were on sanctions at the time.

 

Why on earth are you so dismissive of good news? 25,000 claimants no longer claiming benefit for whatever reason surely is good news?

 

Phibbs is saying that it is because of the 'bedroom tax' - who knows he might well be right.

[mr_mastiff]

Yes but he might be very wrong and as a public figure he as a duty to tell the public the truth. Without full and professional research giving breakdowns of the type of claimant and why the benefit was stopped his figures are worthless.

 

I would be willing to bet that if challenged he would not be able to produce no more than the headline grabbing political propaganda printed in the paper.

[bedofweeds]

Yes but he might be very wrong and as a public figure he as a duty to tell the public the truth. Without full and professional research giving breakdowns of the type of claimant and why the benefit was stopped his figures are worthless.

 

I would be willing to bet that if challenged he would not be able to produce no more than the headline grabbing political propaganda printed in the paper.

 

Worthless?? Why? He has quoted factual figures that are showing an approx. 11% reduction in claimants following the introduction of the 'bedroom tax'. Those figures may or may not be directly related to that reason - they are just as likely to as they are just unlikely not to. But the important thing is that which ever way you look at it, 25,000+ people are no longer claiming benefits since it's introduction. Make what you may of it, but please don't be so blinkered as only to see it from your singular point of view.

 

The government are gaining on the overall reduction of the numbers claiming welfare which has to be a good thing however it is achieved 'bedroom tax' ATOS, sanctions or whatever.

[mr_mastiff]

Yes 11% reduction thats great.. All I am saying is the evidence for it being the bedroom tax does not add up. Nor would I believe it was due to the efforts of the work programme nor any other influence without solid factual

independent figures to back it up.

[joeblogs]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]47173[/ATTACH]

 

Take your battery out and naff off you bore

[pcombo]

I got a letter on friday telling me i have to go in for an interview with a compliance officer on wednesday.

 

Soon as i got the letter i called my local job centre to find out what this was about, they told me someone made an allegation against me.

 

I want advice is can i ask the following questions.

 

1. what the allegation is.

2 what evidence DWP have to support his allegation.

3. when the allegation was made and how, in person/telephone and internet.

 

I feel like if the dwp want to follow this allegation up then it is up to them to find the evidence not for me to prove it wrong.

 

Advice please.

[antone]

Your interview being with Compliance already suggests that the DWP is not taking it particularly seriously - if they really thought you were up to some shenanigans, it would be the Fraud Investigation Service looking into it. It's just that they're obliged to look into everything, even allegations that they believe to be spurious.

 

But specifically:

 

1) Yes, you can ask this and you are entitled to know.

2) They probably don't have any evidence worth talking about- see my comment above.

3) Ask away, but they might not tell you and they don't have to.

 

This is not a criminal investigation, so while you could say nothing except "prove it", I'd advise against doing so if you can easily show the allegation to be false.

[pcombo]

I was called into a compliance interview on wednesday because they said im not declaring assets. Well I dont have any savings or assets worth 6k to 16k as she kept telling me.

 

But I have been getting a few payments recently from my premium rate number no where near 6k or 16k. So i assumed i dont have to tell them. Plus it isn't actually work.

 

So what will happen to me, I have only had 4 payments to which half were sent to a friend because he is apart of it with me.

 

DWP want all my bank statements since my claim started which ill provide so what will happen when they see these payments.

[kirkbyinfurnesslad]

You could well be done for fruad

[pcombo]

How could i be done with fraud, i haven't committed any fraud.

 

I haven't worked, i dont have savings between 6k and 16k as they said.

 

All iv got is revenue from telephone which isn't work.

[Nystagmite]

It may be classed as income, which you have to declare.

[kirkbyinfurnesslad]

Sorry but that's Just trying to be clever.

It's income and needs declaring ..how much had u earned.

 

Don't be clever

[abc123def]

you should have declared the income

[pcombo]

Sorry but that's Just trying to be clever.

It's income and needs declaring ..how much had u earned.

 

Don't be clever

 

Am not being clever, the officer was going on about 6k and 16k in savings.

 

The money that i get isn't like i do anything for it. if people call the service i get the revenue.

 

I dont advertise it, i dont manage anything to do with it. i dont work.

 

I only get half of it anyway.

[antone]

How could i be done with fraud, i haven't committed any fraud.

 

I haven't worked, i dont have savings between 6k and 16k as they said.

 

All iv got is revenue from telephone which isn't work.

 

As mentioned, you need to declare these things. It will probably be classed as income, and has nothing to do with your savings. If your JSA is contribution based, it might not be an issue if it truly isn't "income from employment". If your JSA is income based, it almost certainly will be an issue.

 

If the amounts are small and this is a genuine mistake, it seems more likely that an overpayment will be raised if appropriate and deductions made from future benefits. The fact that Compliance are involved suggests that they don't currently intend to bring any criminal fraud action.

[pcombo]

well the payments were around £1000, But half of that money was sent to a friend and this will be indicated on the statement.

 

 

I genuinely didn't know you couldn't earn money on the internet. We run a free game and people can buy things for it when they call the number.

 

Edit: I am actually ****ten myself right now. Every time i think about it my stomach turns i go into hot flushes. i just hope they sanction me and make me pay the money back.

Edited December 12, 2013 by pcombo

[antone]

well the payments were around £1000, But half of that money was sent to a friend and this will be indicated on the statement.

 

 

I genuinely didn't know you couldn't earn money on the internet. We run a free game and people can buy things for it when they call the number.

 

Edit: I am actually ****ten myself right now. Every time i think about it my stomach turns i go into hot flushes. i just hope they sanction me and make me pay the money back.

 

That will probably count as income from employment, I'd think (probably self-employed). Don't panic, though - you may have to repay the benefit paid, but if they were considering more serious action, chances are you'd have heard from the Fraud people (FIS) and not Compliance.

[pcombo]

Firstly, I would go to any interview or training group organised by this company.

 

My problem is they are demanding that i go to there office Monday 3 Hours, Wednesday 2 Hours, Thursday 2 Hours. I am suppose big wide open room and just apply for jobs and fill in applications. For me to get to this office I need to take either 2 buses or 2 trains and to be honest it is ridiculous that they want me to go there to just look for work.

 

I have a computer with internet at home to which i can easily look for work to which i have been doing since my time on JSA, The receptionist said to me, How do we know your actually apply or looking for work at home, Which is actually libel they cant just say those things.

 

I said to my advisor i am not sitting here for 2 hours, She said in bad tone "your staying here until 5pm". Only to my surprise like 50 mins later she leaves the building and saying her goodbyes she away home, Well at this stage i was actually ragen. She is my personal advisor who deals with my case, The way i see it is if shes not there in the office why should i be there. The receptionist said ill you but shes not there to do that.

 

They seem to want me to apply for jobs that i just cant physically bring myself to do and with no experience, Like cleaning i have severe asthma and i got met with a response wear a mask. I was given an application for catering assistant on the questionnaire it asks what you expect from customer service etc, I have no idea about catering of customer service.

 

Since 29th of January, Wednesday from 15:30 my life has been a misery since, I cannot stop thinking about this i cant sleep at night. I constantly think about working links, its driving me insane.

 

I told them i have really bad social anxiety disorder that prevents me doing things.

 

I cant do things like. Eat in public, or buy food in a busy place, or use public toilets, i cant wear smart clothes like a suit in public i would feel embarrassed or as if people are watching me. I cant sit in restaurants myself, I cant do any shopping myself, I take rejection as a personal insult and it really effects me badly, I hate busy places i feel i am surrounded and people watching me. I cant even look at my mobile phone on a bus if someone is sitting behind me because i feel they will be watching me. They said maybe you could do bar work or waiter, I explained. Well they didn't care. I couldn't do a waiter job i just couldn't physically do it.

 

I have had bad gambling addiction for years but thats taking a back seat from my life right now.

 

Job centre wont even help me i asked them. DWP or anyone wont help me. I am being blackmailed by a private limited company who are just out to make targets who are making my life a complete misery.

 

I feel like just going and signing off thats how bad i feel.

 

Can anyone give me advice on what i should do. I cant go on like this its depressing me even more than i already am.

 

Sorry for the long post

 

Thanks

[Beatrice Bee]

I've read proposals about 35 hrs per week supervised job search at the JCP for the long-term unemployed.

Or 26 weeks community work placement, 30 hrs pw. Enjoy it while it lasts because it only gonna get worse:

from April 2014 it is the Help to Work Scheme with the above delicacies.

As its name suggests, it will help you back to work because you will hate it so much you will sign off and will take any job, even if litter picking,

just to be rid of your advisers.

JCPs do not have that many computers so the current work programme providers will run the schemes. So enjoy it while it is only 2 hrs a day and not 7.

[Mr.P]

1)My problem is they are demanding that i go to there office Monday 3 Hours, Wednesday 2 Hours, Thursday 2 Hours. I am suppose big wide open room and just apply for jobs and fill in applications. For me to get to this office I need to take either 2 buses or 2 trains and to be honest it is ridiculous that they want me to go there to just look for work.

 

2)I have a computer with internet at home to which i can easily look for work to which i have been doing since my time on JSA, The receptionist said to me, How do we know your actually apply or looking for work at home, Which is actually libel they cant just say those things.

 

3)They seem to want me to apply for jobs that i just cant physically bring myself to do and with no experience, Like cleaning i have severe asthma and i got met with a response wear a mask. I was given an application for catering assistant on the questionnaire it asks what you expect from customer service etc, I have no idea about catering of customer service.

 

1) Unfortunately, you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they have mandated you to attend (there is specific wording that must be used) by way of a letter (verbal, email, or text is not acceptable), then you have to go. They should be refunding travel expenses in full without any strings attached on production of a valid return ticket. You could argue that a "supervised job search" is inappropriate to your needs or circumstances.

 

2) Not libel - But coming from a receptionist, an inappropriate comment. He/she is just a receptionist without the authority to act as an adviser. If you are keeping a job search diary, it should be proof enough for any duly appointed adviser (which is not the role of a receptionist).

 

3) Do you have any restrictions on the type of work you are seeking in your Job Seeker's Agreement ?

If working with (cleaning) chemicals or in dusty environments adversely affects your health, this should be highlighted in your JSAg. Ask about drawing up a new JSAg next time you sign on (a note from your GP may help if the JCP ask for a reason).

 

The last JSAg I had stated that I "could not work with chemicals, food, or general public for [unspecified] health reasons" - Had to be quite firm with the JCP, but it did mean I could reject cleaning and burger flipping jobs.

[ep1987]

Sign off and apply for ESA.

 

Go to your GP and get a referral to the community mental health team.

 

When the ESA50 arrives in the post come back on this site and people will help you with how to fill it in and give useful links. Should you fail at ATOS you can appeal to a tribunal. All of this time you will get paid the same as JSA so long as you send in sick notes (some delays possible of course) and won't have to be a slave to the work programme.

[pcombo]

Hi, Here is the letter that they gave me,

 

 

It's not that i dont want to work, I would love to work i would. But i cant physically do it as in my brain wont let me fulfill it.

 

Also i am sick being blackmailed by them, anything i disagree with i am met with the response "your benefit could be effected" i am sick of this.

[Mr.P]

Working Links can not issue a Jobseeker's Direction - That is for JCP Employment Officers. I wouldn't recommend arguing the point as it could fast track you to a sanction.... As a mandatory Activity Notice, it contains most of the relevant wording, but it is missing an offer to cover child care, interpreter, or other special needs costs.

 

They want to waste your time, tie up an adviser giving you one-on-one job search guidance. Pester them to come up with suitable job sites. Make full use of their printer & paper (accidentally print out all the WP provider guidance).. Follow their example of sloppy grammar and punctuation and generate a pile of poorly written job spec letters.

If you are sitting in front of a computer, there is an HSE requirement that allows you to take regular breaks. See: http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/vdubreaks.htm

The "JSD" does state that you should "ask friends and family" and then goes on to say "you are able to use our resources such as [...] telephones" - An open invite for you to call friends & family on their phones

 

Have you had any formal training in touch typing ?

Use the one finger method...

 

At the end of each day, insist on copies of "job logs" along with CVs and covering letters (for your own records).