Dear Sir or Madam,
On Friday 7th July I received your letter notifying me that you intended to fine me for failing to notify you of a change in my circumstances. This change in circumstances was a direct result of your own making.
1. It’s not my fault that the DLA department failed to communicate with the ESA department.
2. It’s not my fault that no one at the DWP checked my file as they would have clearly seen that I had the severe disability premium added to my ESA, as a result of being on DLA, and that should have stopped at the same time as my DLA stopped.
3. It’s not my fault that no one at the DWP checked my DWP work psychology report in which the DWP psychologist diagnosed me with memory loss and slow processing speed. Not only should you have the original report on file but also I have submitted copies with my ongoing PIP claim and my ongoing ESA renewal claim.
So by wanting to fine me you appear to have proved that either
a) I am incapable of managing my own affairs. In which case you have also proved that the PIP department are defrauding claimants as this is one of the criteria you can get points for and I was awarded a total of 0 points
Or
b) You have failed to notify claimants of the need to tell you about what you have already done. In which case I suggest you fine yourself £50 for each claimant you have failed to notify (which I suspect is all claimants) and distribute the resulting £100+ million to charities and organisations who help claimants like the CAB, Benefits and work website, workers rights services and any others.
In the last few weeks I have received approx 7 letters from you telling me of an unidentified change in circumstances. Is it required that I inform you of these as well? Do you need notifying of each change separately or will one letter do? Will you be providing prepaid envelopes to all claimants so we can notify you of changes you have made to our benefits? Or is this situation simply preposterous?
4. It’s not my fault that the under qualified incompetent ATOSer who did my PIP assessment couldn’t do her job properly.
5. It’s not my fault that the garbage, extortionately over priced ATOS software didn’t produce a competent report on my assessment.
6. It’s not my fault that the two incompetent DWP decision makers didn’t correctly assess my situation and award me PIP.
Had steps 4-6 been done competently and in a timely manner I would have been awarded PIP and this farcical situation would not have arisen.
7. It’s not my fault that because of the incompetence of the DWP and its outsourced assessments that the tribunals service is over stretched and as a result it’s been over a year since my face to face assessment and I’ve still not had a tribunal yet.
My last job was as a process technician at a large multi national electronics company where it was my job to put in place processes and procedures and to refine these where necessary, to make the business run smoothly, efficiently and economically. If I had put in place the pathetic and dysfunctional processes and procedures that the DWP appear to have in place I would have been sacked except I would have resigned first out of sheer embarrassment.
It’s also a good maxim in business to ‘get it right first time’. If the DWP followed this it would save the DWP millions in not having to do the same work twice. It would save the DoJ millions in not having to do the DWP’s job for them and it would save the NHS millions in not having to sort out the stress and other medical problems brought on by claimants going through the process. If the DWP are going to ignore the reports by their own work psychologists then you might as well make all the work psychologists redundant and save even more money.
When I joined the Army many years ago I did so to protect all the people of this country and in particular those that were most vulnerable and unable to protect themselves. I did not join only for state sponsored terrorists, in the guise of the DWP, to sneak in through the back door and bully, harass, intimidate, assault, push people over the edge into committing suicide and in some cases murder some of the most vulnerable members of society. If you think I’m going to sit idly by while the DWP get away with this belligerent vindictive behaviour then you’re gravely mistaken. This needs to stop and it needs to stop now.
As the saying goes “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Unfortunately I’m not in a position to issue civil penalties. However I can bring criminal prosecutions to bear. You’ve already had your one free shot when a member of staff at Chesterfield job centre caused me to have a fit and an ambulance was called. Any further such incidents and I will be having the member of staff responsible arrested for assault. Push me too close to the edge and someone will be getting arrested for incitement to commit suicide. Push too far and my family will make sure murder charges are brought. In the mean time I will be actively encouraging any supporting all other claimants to do the same.
Cc: Local MP
Head of DWP
Chancellor of the exchequer
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