A deliberate policy of harassment of the unemployed appears to be taking place, if not to force them off the Job Register, at the very least to force them into destitution.
Harassment of Jobseekers and Unemployed by Job Centres is now so common and frequent that it appears to be government policy. Certainly it is policy within DWP.
To stop your benefits, all that has to be raised is a doubt. No facts, just a doubt. A doubt, is sufficient to stop benefits.
A doubt that you are looking for work, a doubt that you are available for work, a doubt that you are restricting your hours.
No further information is given, just a doubt, but it is sufficient to stop benefit. The onus is then on you to remove the doubt.
That is all it usually is, a doubt, but you have to waste a huge amount of time, often have to go to a Tribunal, to remove that doubt.
In the meantime, you receive no money.
Is it policy to make claimants destitute, to starve them into submission?
In the last few weeks, I have had around half a dozen doubts raised, all of the above and more. In most of the doubts, DWP are clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel to find reasons to stop payments.
End of February, I was very sick with norovirus. I felt that I was at death's door. I was then away for a few days. Since I've been back at the beginning of last month, all I have had is a succession of doubts raised on my claim. Payments were stopped.
The only reason I had any money at all, was because I won a Tribunal and finally, after weeks of delay, got paid arrears for last summer.
The most recent pathetic excuse for stopping benefit was for being five minutes late!
I broke a tooth. On my way to the Job Centre I called at my dentist to book an appointment. There was no appointments free for several days, and as it was regarded as an emergency, the dentist saw me immediately. Much to my relief as it is not a good idea to leave a broken tooth.
As a result, I was five minutes late at the Job Centre!
Anyone with more two two brain cells to rub together and an ounce of common sense, would have dismissed it as one of those things, but not the Job Centre.
I was told I'd have to wait to see if an appointment could be made available. I ended up waiting one hour and twenty minutes before I was seen.
I counted four to five Job Centre staff stood around doing nothing, chatting.
I'm always forced to wait at least five to ten minutes before I'm seen, often much longer. There is rarely an apology or explanation.
The person seen before me was given a lot of hassle for not following up jobs. They were looking up the wrong person's claim!
I complained at all the problems I was being caused.
No one else has these problems was the response.
Ah, so I'm being victimised, I replied.
No.
Ah, targeted then!
It was then claimed I would not have these problems if I was not unemployed, which seems a very clear admission that harassment is taking place against the unemployed.
I was then forced to fill out a form to explain why I was late.
This form is then faxed to Fareham DMA (Decision Makers) for a decision. In the meantime benefit is stopped. Fareham DMA, without exception, whether or not there is good cause, always decide to stop your money.
No fax was sent to Fareham DMA as it was too late in the day.
This was Thursday of last week. I was in the Job Centre until gone 5-15pm, another afternoon wasted.
Friday morning, around 8am, I had a call to ask would I come into the Job Centre that morning as my statement was not signed, therefore it could not be faxed.
My statement was signed and dated!
I walked into the Job Centre Friday afternoon. Handed my mobile to the assistant manager, and asked him what it said on my voice mail.
At first, he asked me to tell him what the message was.
I said no, I wanted him to tell me what he thought the message said.
He listened, then told told me I was asked to come in because my statement was not signed.
I said thank you, that is what I thought it said.
I then asked him to go and get the paperwork.
When he did, he saw not only was it signed, but I had signed and dated every page!
I then said, I'd had enough, I wanted the outstanding issues resolved, there was to be a cheque waiting for me Monday, else they would be dealing with my lawyers, not me.
Monday afternoon, I visited the Job Centre yet again. I went mid-afternoon, as that is when they pay out money.
The good news was, yes there was a cheque waiting for me, but I had to wait an hour until 4-15pm, as that was when they paid out cheques.
The bad news was that Fareham DMA, true to their colours as a bunch of Nazis and very much as expected, had decided to stop my benefits, as I was five minutes late as a result of an unforeseen dental appointment.
Not only that, I had to sign back on as a new claimant, as they had shut down my claim! More form filling.
I was then asked, did I have any ID. No ID, no payment, even though they knew who I was.
I had to go all the way back home to find some ID, and just managed to get back in the office at 4-29pm, one minute before they closed the door.
The 'ID' that was acceptable was a farce. A bill from a utility company, a letter from the council. It does not prove who I am. I could have been anybody. As copies are taken of the ID provided, it is in reality a trawl for information.
One week on and I have received nothing in writing to say why my benefit has been stopped, not even anything to tell me it has been stopped (I was told verbally).
This again is the norm.
The first time I'm usually aware that benefit has been stopped is when no money arrives, or sometimes the local council writes to me to say Housing Benefit and Council Tax has been stopped.
I guess this is deliberate, in the hope that you miss some arbitrary deadline for an appeal.
Another trick is to write to you when you are known to be away, then to say you did not reply in time.
A week later, I received a letter to say a doubt had arisen (yes, yet another doubt), I was restricting my hours, and benefit had been stopped. Four pages of waffle, but no explanation.
I have placed no restriction on my hours. It is as my Jobseekers Agreement, signed and agreed by the Job Centre.
Yet another visit to the Job Centre. More wasted time.
The assistant manager could offer no more explanation than myself.
As I walked in the door, a heated argument was taking place. It was claimed that a Jobseeker had walked in late.
He could not have walked in late as claimed, as he would have been literally walking in the door before me if that was true, and I did not even see him walking down the road.
I now always check the time with a very accurate watch as I walk through the door because of previous false claims of lateness.
Which brings us back full circle.
Since the beginning of last month I have wasted an appalling amount of my time. I have been in the Job Centre nearly every day. I have written hundreds of pages. A totally unproductive waste of my time. It is also an appalling waste of taxpayers time and money.
I could be tending to my garden, reading a book, taking a walk, I could even be looking for work.
Instead I have had to waste a huge amount of my time because a small number of mean- petty-minded people enjoy seeing other people suffer.
All the bogus doubts that have been raised for stopping legitimate benefit claims will eventually have to be determined at a Tribunal.
The situation has become so bad, that you almost feel you need to take your lawyer in with you when signing on at a Job Centre.
Footnote: Further to my complaints that nothing had been received in writing, this morning (Friday 4 April 2008), more than week after I broke my tooth, I received a letter to tell me my allowance was stopped from 27 March 2008 because: 'you did not attend to sign your declaration'. A completely false statement, I did attend, I did sign. Making of false statement is the norm for DWP. No explanation is given, no details, the letter says I can contact them for an explanation. The letter goes on to say I can appeal using form GL24. No form is enclosed.
I have described only some of the harassment that takes place, as experienced personally within the space of a few weeks.
Further harassment includes:
forcing people onto scam train courses
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/390290.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390820.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/11/386689.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/12/388044.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/12/388504.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/390153.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390471.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390638.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390901.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391396.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391397.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391531.html
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/394982.html?c=on
kicking the unemployed out of social housing
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390820.html?c=on
forcing the disabled into work and off benefits
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391465.html
Further reading
Keith Parkins, Stopping of benefits, Indymedia UK, 20 March 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/394331.html
To stop your benefits, all that has to be raised is a doubt. No facts, just a doubt. A doubt, is sufficient to stop benefits.
A doubt that you are looking for work, a doubt that you are available for work, a doubt that you are restricting your hours.
No further information is given, just a doubt, but it is sufficient to stop benefit. The onus is then on you to remove the doubt.
That is all it usually is, a doubt, but you have to waste a huge amount of time, often have to go to a Tribunal, to remove that doubt.
In the meantime, you receive no money.
Is it policy to make claimants destitute, to starve them into submission?
In the last few weeks, I have had around half a dozen doubts raised, all of the above and more. In most of the doubts, DWP are clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel to find reasons to stop payments.
End of February, I was very sick with norovirus. I felt that I was at death's door. I was then away for a few days. Since I've been back at the beginning of last month, all I have had is a succession of doubts raised on my claim. Payments were stopped.
The only reason I had any money at all, was because I won a Tribunal and finally, after weeks of delay, got paid arrears for last summer.
The most recent pathetic excuse for stopping benefit was for being five minutes late!
I broke a tooth. On my way to the Job Centre I called at my dentist to book an appointment. There was no appointments free for several days, and as it was regarded as an emergency, the dentist saw me immediately. Much to my relief as it is not a good idea to leave a broken tooth.
As a result, I was five minutes late at the Job Centre!
Anyone with more two two brain cells to rub together and an ounce of common sense, would have dismissed it as one of those things, but not the Job Centre.
I was told I'd have to wait to see if an appointment could be made available. I ended up waiting one hour and twenty minutes before I was seen.
I counted four to five Job Centre staff stood around doing nothing, chatting.
I'm always forced to wait at least five to ten minutes before I'm seen, often much longer. There is rarely an apology or explanation.
The person seen before me was given a lot of hassle for not following up jobs. They were looking up the wrong person's claim!
I complained at all the problems I was being caused.
No one else has these problems was the response.
Ah, so I'm being victimised, I replied.
No.
Ah, targeted then!
It was then claimed I would not have these problems if I was not unemployed, which seems a very clear admission that harassment is taking place against the unemployed.
I was then forced to fill out a form to explain why I was late.
This form is then faxed to Fareham DMA (Decision Makers) for a decision. In the meantime benefit is stopped. Fareham DMA, without exception, whether or not there is good cause, always decide to stop your money.
No fax was sent to Fareham DMA as it was too late in the day.
This was Thursday of last week. I was in the Job Centre until gone 5-15pm, another afternoon wasted.
Friday morning, around 8am, I had a call to ask would I come into the Job Centre that morning as my statement was not signed, therefore it could not be faxed.
My statement was signed and dated!
I walked into the Job Centre Friday afternoon. Handed my mobile to the assistant manager, and asked him what it said on my voice mail.
At first, he asked me to tell him what the message was.
I said no, I wanted him to tell me what he thought the message said.
He listened, then told told me I was asked to come in because my statement was not signed.
I said thank you, that is what I thought it said.
I then asked him to go and get the paperwork.
When he did, he saw not only was it signed, but I had signed and dated every page!
I then said, I'd had enough, I wanted the outstanding issues resolved, there was to be a cheque waiting for me Monday, else they would be dealing with my lawyers, not me.
Monday afternoon, I visited the Job Centre yet again. I went mid-afternoon, as that is when they pay out money.
The good news was, yes there was a cheque waiting for me, but I had to wait an hour until 4-15pm, as that was when they paid out cheques.
The bad news was that Fareham DMA, true to their colours as a bunch of Nazis and very much as expected, had decided to stop my benefits, as I was five minutes late as a result of an unforeseen dental appointment.
Not only that, I had to sign back on as a new claimant, as they had shut down my claim! More form filling.
I was then asked, did I have any ID. No ID, no payment, even though they knew who I was.
I had to go all the way back home to find some ID, and just managed to get back in the office at 4-29pm, one minute before they closed the door.
The 'ID' that was acceptable was a farce. A bill from a utility company, a letter from the council. It does not prove who I am. I could have been anybody. As copies are taken of the ID provided, it is in reality a trawl for information.
One week on and I have received nothing in writing to say why my benefit has been stopped, not even anything to tell me it has been stopped (I was told verbally).
This again is the norm.
The first time I'm usually aware that benefit has been stopped is when no money arrives, or sometimes the local council writes to me to say Housing Benefit and Council Tax has been stopped.
I guess this is deliberate, in the hope that you miss some arbitrary deadline for an appeal.
Another trick is to write to you when you are known to be away, then to say you did not reply in time.
A week later, I received a letter to say a doubt had arisen (yes, yet another doubt), I was restricting my hours, and benefit had been stopped. Four pages of waffle, but no explanation.
I have placed no restriction on my hours. It is as my Jobseekers Agreement, signed and agreed by the Job Centre.
Yet another visit to the Job Centre. More wasted time.
The assistant manager could offer no more explanation than myself.
As I walked in the door, a heated argument was taking place. It was claimed that a Jobseeker had walked in late.
He could not have walked in late as claimed, as he would have been literally walking in the door before me if that was true, and I did not even see him walking down the road.
I now always check the time with a very accurate watch as I walk through the door because of previous false claims of lateness.
Which brings us back full circle.
Since the beginning of last month I have wasted an appalling amount of my time. I have been in the Job Centre nearly every day. I have written hundreds of pages. A totally unproductive waste of my time. It is also an appalling waste of taxpayers time and money.
I could be tending to my garden, reading a book, taking a walk, I could even be looking for work.
Instead I have had to waste a huge amount of my time because a small number of mean- petty-minded people enjoy seeing other people suffer.
All the bogus doubts that have been raised for stopping legitimate benefit claims will eventually have to be determined at a Tribunal.
The situation has become so bad, that you almost feel you need to take your lawyer in with you when signing on at a Job Centre.
Footnote: Further to my complaints that nothing had been received in writing, this morning (Friday 4 April 2008), more than week after I broke my tooth, I received a letter to tell me my allowance was stopped from 27 March 2008 because: 'you did not attend to sign your declaration'. A completely false statement, I did attend, I did sign. Making of false statement is the norm for DWP. No explanation is given, no details, the letter says I can contact them for an explanation. The letter goes on to say I can appeal using form GL24. No form is enclosed.
I have described only some of the harassment that takes place, as experienced personally within the space of a few weeks.
Further harassment includes:
forcing people onto scam train courses
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/390290.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390820.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/11/386689.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/12/388044.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/12/388504.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/390153.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390471.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390638.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390901.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391396.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391397.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391531.html http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/394982.html?c=on kicking the unemployed out of social housing
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/390820.html?c=on forcing the disabled into work and off benefits
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391465.html Further reading
Keith Parkins, Stopping of benefits, Indymedia UK, 20 March 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/394331.html 
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