Is the Jobcentre making up reasons to stop benefits?

All the more reason people should sign Pat's Petition - its bad enough being on a work programme for JSA while fit and healthy must be hell for those that are ill. Cameron made a promise to protect the sick and vulnerable instead he is attacking them. George Osborne announced yesterday that he intends to cut the welfare bill by 10 billion pounds a year.

So while he gives a tax cut to his rich cronies in the cabinet instead of cutting down on tax avoidance and lets all his rich friends off paying stamp duty on the sale of their mansions he goes after the sick and throws them off DLA and ESA using a pc tick box programme with ATOS and forces them to undergo mandatory work for charities and the like while they are ill and more than likely make their health worse. All this so he can introduce more private health care into the UK by the back door and destroy the welfare state and the NHS.

reply to post by josephamccoy


Yeah, it's craziness. I would say more but that's for another thread I suppose.

reply to post by keldas


Like I said, the selfish people up top that only think of themselves, will get what they deserve. "karma is a bitch" as some people say. They can't get away with how they treat the masses.

Last year a friend of mine ended up unemployed. He lost his job then his home. Destitute he went and signed on. Was told to return at a later date, which he did. He was an hour early so he said look Im home less, can I sit here in the warmth until I sign on?
He went to sit down and as he sat down he turned and placed his ruck sack at the side of the chair. In doing so his back went and he ended up sat on the edge of the chair. Kind of leaning back wards. The guy at the desk saw him and said you cant sprawl out like that, sit up! My friend said I cant move my back has locked up. The security guard arrived an tryed to pull my friend up by the head into a sitting position. Which made his back totally go and he ended up laid on the chair. The guy at the desk said if you dont sit up I shall call the police, which he did.
When the police arrived. My friend explained what had happened. So the police called the para medics, who said that who ever had moved him, could have damaged his spine. Whilst the police were there they did a check up on my friend and searched his ruck sack. They discovered his mini lap top and said how does a home less person own a £1200 lap top? they checked the id on it and it was not stolen. My friend repairs pcs ect and he got it cheap and repaired it. The para medic wanted to buy it and offered him £50. My friend said no way. Any way the police took him to the police station and kept him a couple of hours before releasing him. It took him several months to get his lap top back.
When he told me of this I just couldnt help myself and burst out laughting my head off. It was like a monty python sketch. Although at the time my friend was in a bad way.
So he went to the state for help and was totally abused by them and almost arrested. Is it any wonder that people are getting fed up with these thieving slobs in the govt. When they get abused like this when they turn to them for help.

reply to post by illuminnaughty


Surely he should be the one complaining after what they did to him? the poor guy, that's no laughing matter.

So who was he going to complain to? Another govt department? He was home less so in todays world he has no rights and is just looked down on, as a bum or what ever.
It took him a while to sort himself out,but he is now working and got another place to live. Of course I let him sofa surf for a while and helped him any way that I could do.
Yes I know I shouldnt have laughted but I just couldnt help myself. It was like a sketch out of some comedy show.
Next time he returned to the dole office, all the staff had been changed even the security guard. This was within days of it happening to him.

Originally posted by keldas
Anyone in the UK on JSA or ESA should read the following -

www.consent.me.uk...

www.refusewp.com...

www.boycottworkfare.org...

And if claiming ESA please google Pat's Petition and sign up to ask for a pause for cuts to benefits and services.

Please pass on the above links to anyone you know claiming benefits it may help them. Also for anyone who is claiming for sickness or disability as I have said please google and sign Pat's Petition it might at least put a spoke in the Governments campagn.

More information on here about Pat's Petition carerwatch.com...

and some more help here www.benefitsandwork.co.uk...

and here wearespartacus.org.uk...

I am claiming JSA at the moment, I only ever claim for short periods of time as I have always managed to find work within a couple weeks. even if it's a rubbish job I would rather work that and chase up real decent job opportunities in my spare time when I can. So basically I always end up finding myself a job fairly quickly, am not work shy and am willing to do any work even if my ideal type of work is not available right away,

Last time I went there it was a joke. They print of job vacancies that you must apply for if they give you the details. The guy gave me some apprenticeships to apply for. Now I am 25 and when I was younger started an apprenticeship so am fully aware that I am now too old to apply, also the wages for these are very low, this job being 45 hours a week and only £8000pa (they get away with this by paying school leavers college fees which they then argue is part of their pay). I explained this to the jobcentre guy and he looked at me blankly like I was making excuses, I also explained that £8,000 a year is far too low and at 45 hours a week I would be working for less than minimum wage which is not legal which is why apprenticeships are reserved for school leavers. Again he just said 'well it doesn't have an age limit on there'. So I had to waste my time getting hold of the company just to confirm what I already knew. I couldn't believe that this person knew so little about apprenticeships schemes, I would have thought things like this were exactly what he was supposed to know about?

next I started asking him about my CV as I was told during an interview that I should have changed a couple things.. H wouldn't even listen to my question and just said that someone would look at my CV next time in 2 weeks. Well 2 weeks later the most patronising women in the world ever starts telling me that my CV is all wrong (despite the fact that I paid a professional to type mine up for me specifically to suit the ,more high end companies which I was applying to) She told me that it must be only 2 pages maximum! Now I am only 25, but I have worked during my education and held many different jobs. The only way to make it to her strict 2 pages is to leave some of my jobs out which makes it look like I have had periods of unemployment and also takes away the fact that I have worked in many different environments. When I questioned this she replied 'two pages', No explanation at all and when I re-phrased my question she said the same thing again 'two pages' and did not explain why. The third time I asked she said that employers receive a lot of Cv's so just want to look at nice short ones! Well I was a recruitment consultant before this and my Boss had been in the business for 30 years and he read each cv all the way through to get all the relevant information. I understand making it concise and easy to read is important, but telling me to not mention previous jobs that I have held just seems mental!

I can't stand the place, no wonder people feel so negative about finding work when they get spoken to like they are morons and even when you raise valid questions they seem to almost laugh to themselves as if to say 'oh my child just trust me, you know nothing!'. I am debating if I'm going to actually make some complaints at all. I doubt it will change anything, but I hope that they will start thinking about how they talk to people at least. Also last time I was there my mate happened to also be there at the same time. He had just got back from Argentina for a couple months teaching English (he is English himself and his family is he just chose there pretty randomly) he had to explain and fill out this big form while they asked if he was a refugee/asylum seeker/ illegal immigrant etc despite being a British citizen with his passport on him. What a joke!

Originally posted by illuminnaughty
Last year a friend of mine ended up unemployed. He lost his job then his home. Destitute he went and signed on. Was told to return at a later date, which he did. He was an hour early so he said look Im home less, can I sit here in the warmth until I sign on?
He went to sit down and as he sat down he turned and placed his ruck sack at the side of the chair. In doing so his back went and he ended up sat on the edge of the chair. Kind of leaning back wards. The guy at the desk saw him and said you cant sprawl out like that, sit up! My friend said I cant move my back has locked up. The security guard arrived an tryed to pull my friend up by the head into a sitting position. Which made his back totally go and he ended up laid on the chair. The guy at the desk said if you dont sit up I shall call the police, which he did.
When the police arrived. My friend explained what had happened. So the police called the para medics, who said that who ever had moved him, could have damaged his spine. Whilst the police were there they did a check up on my friend and searched his ruck sack. They discovered his mini lap top and said how does a home less person own a £1200 lap top? they checked the id on it and it was not stolen. My friend repairs pcs ect and he got it cheap and repaired it. The para medic wanted to buy it and offered him £50. My friend said no way. Any way the police took him to the police station and kept him a couple of hours before releasing him. It took him several months to get his lap top back.
When he told me of this I just couldnt help myself and burst out laughting my head off. It was like a monty python sketch. Although at the time my friend was in a bad way.
So he went to the state for help and was totally abused by them and almost arrested. Is it any wonder that people are getting fed up with these thieving slobs in the govt. When they get abused like this when they turn to them for help.

edit on 30-3-2012 by illuminnaughty because: (no reason given)

tis a pity he didn't get names and numbers. this is abuse as all gubbermint officials have a duty of care towards all citizens.
a similar situation occured to my wife when she attended a medical. it put her in bed for approx 4 weeks. i had to stop work to assist her and look after grandson. i was furious and wrote a thick formal letter to this pathetic setup.
they crumbled and within the formal complaint i assured them i would be attending any further assessments and will be taking notes, names, questions etc..

advice to all persons interacting with gubbermint officials....

take a pen and paper, write time and date, reason for report, names of officials you interact with and write all statements you possibly can. this leaves no margin for error and can be used to clarify accountability should one need facts in case of a dispute. remember they work for all of us. as soon as you come across as defeated, they will grind and wind.
remember Duty of Care.
regards fakedirt.

paperwork from citizens seeking clarity and accountability is a nightmare for all officialdom. it makes them shiver if their actions are questioned.

i am currently formulating a response to any friction from an agency i suspect are trying to dodge a bullet over the near death of a learned friend after they were warned there was an issue which they ignored. sadly i had to hold my tongue in icu when they attended as my gut feeling was to verbally rape them.

Originally posted by keldas

Originally posted by keldas
Anyone in the UK on JSA or ESA should read the following -

www.consent.me.uk...

www.refusewp.com...

www.boycottworkfare.org...

And if claiming ESA please google Pat's Petition and sign up to ask for a pause for cuts to benefits and services.

Please pass on the above links to anyone you know claiming benefits it may help them. Also for anyone who is claiming for sickness or disability as I have said please google and sign Pat's Petition it might at least put a spoke in the Governments campagn.

More information on here about Pat's Petition carerwatch.com...

and some more help here www.benefitsandwork.co.uk...

and here wearespartacus.org.uk...

Those are some pretty useful resources you have linked there keldas! Thank you!

No wonder the BBC have not reported fairly on what was happening with regards ATOS and the examination of the sick and disabled who are on are being moved to ESA, it seems they have an all too cosy relationship with ATOS themselves. It appears they have an IT contract between the BBC and ATOS.

victimsofatoscorruption.wordpress.com...

For anyone who is fed up with the lies and propaganda spewed by the Government and its various departments then please watch and sign and share Pat's Petition-

Originally posted by Bixxi3
IM early twenties and i've had a job since i was 16,first job out of school was cleaning at the school after hours i worked 2 hours after school 5 days a week and got 60 pound a month. while trying to contine my education. Sorry if i seem mad its just lazy people make me sick.

edit on 29-3-2012 by Bixxi3 because: (no reason given)

edit on 29-3-2012 by Bixxi3 because: (no reason given)

Ignorant people make me sick. How dare you assume everyone on the dole is lazy. If your willing to work your ass off for nothing then more power to you, do as you please. The minimum wage is a CON and not WORTH working for, i dont blame anyone for aiming higher.
Why are we paying MP's ridiculous wages when there already millionaires? People like Cameron dont need 150k of tax money as a wage BECAUSE HE'S ALREADY LOADED. Maybe we should stop his wage and start trying to actually create some jobs for people to go to?

The media has convinced people that the working classes are their own worst enemy and nothing could be further from the truth, the benefits culture was started by Thatcher and continued thereon by whatever political party was trolling the country. Being in your early twenties does it not piss you off that you cant even move out on a FT minimum wage??
People like yourself peddle this idea that we should work for nothing and be grateful, a politicians job does not require a skill set so why are they earning more then the minimum?

Originally posted by keldas
All the more reason people should sign Pat's Petition - its bad enough being on a work programme for JSA while fit and healthy must be hell for those that are ill. Cameron made a promise to protect the sick and vulnerable instead he is attacking them. George Osborne announced yesterday that he intends to cut the welfare bill by 10 billion pounds a year.

So while he gives a tax cut to his rich cronies in the cabinet instead of cutting down on tax avoidance and lets all his rich friends off paying stamp duty on the sale of their mansions he goes after the sick and throws them off DLA and ESA using a pc tick box programme with ATOS and forces them to undergo mandatory work for charities and the like while they are ill and more than likely make their health worse. All this so he can introduce more private health care into the UK by the back door and destroy the welfare state and the NHS.

edit on 30-3-2012 by keldas because: correction

Yup that best describes what a conservative government get up to when they come to the throne, bastards.

Hey OP, the short answer to your thread title is a resounding yes£ I think I have the best advisor in the UK, she told me they're looking for any excuse to stop benefits and, in fact, something similar happened to my girlfriend's brother, he was supposed to have a meeting on Feb 14th and didn't get a letter telling him. Because he didn't turn up his benefits were stopped for a fortnight just the other week. He told them he was going to appeal and they actually told him there was no point because by the time the appeal came through his benefits would be started back up. This is what happens when we get a tory twat as PM!

reply to post by djz3ro


add to that the system where if one is self-employed ie myself. i sustained an injury and couldn't work. when my accountant got wind he asked why i didn't sign on for sickness benefits. my reply was i would have to wait 28 weeks, yes 28 weeks at the time of incident before any benefits would be forthcoming. an injury sustained that kept me off work for three weeks entails waiting 28 weeks for some peanuts. i didn't bother following it up, i simply watched the money in my business account jump ship until i was fit enough to return.

demonising ordinary working people who find themselves unemployed is sickening in my opinion. as an above poster stated tax breaks for the rich and tough crap for the strugglers.

f.

reply to post by fakedirt


28 weeks is ridiculous! i'm trying so hard to get a job as I can't survive on benefits, I applied for 30 jobs last week. I'm trying to set up my own promotions company on top of that but some people just look down on you and think that being on benefits makes you lazy. Another thing happened to me a wee while ago. I have to pay, normally, £100 of my rent out of my benefits as my housing benefit only covers 3/4 of my rent. I started a job in January, signed off yet still got housing benefit, I asked why and they said it was a month long run on to help me back into work. Only the work dried up after 4 weeks, because it was less than 5 weeks I didn't earn the run on and now they're taking £40 off my housing benefit a month. So now I'm paying £140 a month from my benefit to my rent, so I applied for a crisis loan to help me with food and utility bill, only I got refused on the grounds that I DECIDED to use my benefits to pay some of my rent! The sooner I can get a job the better! I hate being on benefits!!!

reply to post by djz3ro


i would love to see a flowchart of the code of practice the benefits systems operates on. the pitfalls obviously are not explained prior to a movement into any short term employment as my step son has been hammered by not knowing/understanding/taking advantage of the riddle that is the benefit system.
when i turned twenty, i survived with no benefits or stable income for over two years (homeless to boot). it was a crap time but had its
upsides. turned my hand at almost anything labour wise to ensure food in the belly.

i do hope you can break free of this system geared to penalise folk without employment. the sad thing is, when performance related pay/bonuses/private company invovlement are brought into the equation, it then evolves into a money saving excercise across all considerations. suicides have occured due to measures implemented by this government as well as the last in abuse/office. as i stated many posts ago, it would be fitting imo to send an e-mail off to your local political rep and to chris grayling minister to voice your concerns regarding this setup.

best wishes fakedirt.

reply to post by djz3ro


You need to apply for Discretionary Housing Payments via your local council. They can top up your Housing Benefit and reduce the amount you need to pay from your Jobseeker's Allowance.

Your crisis loan application they'll class as a "mis-spent" i.e. you used your Jobseeker's Allowance not to feed, clothe or heat yourself but instead you used it to top up the rent. They'll see that as an ongoing need ... it isn't a one off. It'll likely happen again. And crisis loans are really only for one off emergencies that you couldn't plan for. But you can ask for a review of that decision, it'll take 48 hours max.

This isn't LBD, I'm Caroline, his partner, I work in Welfare Rights

Originally posted by strik2dae
reply to post by keldas

 

Damn where was this info 2 weeks ago

Got reffered to the work programme Monday gone

Aah well, guess I just have to find a job i suppose. At least the work programme ain't half as bad as the old new deal courses, my word were they unbearable.

GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO FIND A JOB........!!! NOT DIGNIFYING THAT WITH A COMMENT AS I UNDERSTAND THE UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION BUT YOU'LL GUESS YOU HAVE TO FIND A JOB... BISCUIT TAKE!