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Universal Credit/Benefits system

BristolEcho said:
I think it's solid advice. The idea people should be looking for adverts every day is stupid and really demotivating.

She is right to say that it would get you down as that is the affect it has on most people. There are things you can do in between to prepare for work, interviews etc without having to sit at a computer all day. Also if you come at it with a fresh mind after a day off you are more likely to go for something and feel able too complete the application etc.
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Yes, and it's not often we hear of DWP staff who actually show understanding of that!
 
BristolEcho said:
I think it's solid advice. The idea people should be looking for adverts every day is stupid and really demotivating.

She is right to say that it would get you down as that is the affect it has on most people. There are things you can do in between to prepare for work, interviews etc without having to sit at a computer all day. Also if you come at it with a fresh mind after a day off you are more likely to go for something and feel able too complete the application etc.
Click to expand...

In my field it was a case of maybe a few jobs coming up every few days so I had to be very quick on the draw. It kept me motivated, not the opposite.
 
Petcha said:
In my field it was a case of maybe a few jobs coming up every few days so I had to be very quick on the draw. It kept me motivated, not the opposite.
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That's really unusual, if it works for you that's great but won't work for most people. At my work part of our job is to bring in clients through tender processes or similar means which is a lot like applying for a job. Even though we're getting paid a good amount to do it and have a lot higher hit rate than people on jobseekers looking for employment most of us have to switch out of it every couple weeks or so because it bleeds us dry.
 
I remember getting very annoyed with the daily requirements for job searching back when I was on UC, and this was before Covid so they were really out to sanction you back then. I ended up just filling my online diary with what I called "no-hopers", jobs that I would apply for but have no chance of actually getting, just so I could make up the numbers, and keep the DWP off my back. The jobs I actually wanted came along on a weekly basis at best, and certainly not in enough numbers to stretch them out through the week.

It was a massive fucking waste of time for all concerned. A waste of my time, a waste of the DWP's time, and a waste of employer's time. Just fucking let people apply for the fucking jobs that they actually fucking want, and stop constantly breathing down their necks and threatening them with extra-judicial punishment for refusing to go along with the ridiculous charade.
 
I was supposed to be having a phone appointment today, but it was cancelled at the last minute and hasn't been rebooked. Not that I'm complaining, but it strikes me as a bit weird so close to Freedom Day. Anyone else had this happen to them recently?
 
I now have a job working 4 days a week (34 hours) & I had to go to the job centre yesterday & got an email last Friday saying I have another telephone appointment this coming Monday. The (surprisingly) lovely Sam at the job centre said as I only signed on a few days before lockdown it is probably an ID issue. I expect they will stop giving any money this month but it does piss me off. The note on my UC account says the call is with Sam but she knows nothing about it. I will wait & see & report back.
 
LeytonCatLady said:
I was supposed to be having a phone appointment today, but it was cancelled at the last minute and hasn't been rebooked. Not that I'm complaining, but it strikes me as a bit weird so close to Freedom Day. Anyone else had this happen to them recently?
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Not sure it's that weird. You can bet your month's claim that Freedom Day will be causing all sorts of diktats from on high for dwp staff.
 
Tell them you have turned to drink because of the stresses of lockdown, and are struggling with life in general. they’ll cancel your commitments, with the exception of attending appointments and checking your journal 1/2 times a week.

Ya welcome👍
 
SO I had my first UC appointment in the flesh on Friday.
Now that all support has ended the governement has also reinstated the minimum income floor for Self employed claimants... for me this is £1227.55, with my personal circumstances this entitles me to a mahoosive £0.13 per month if I earn exactly this or under.
:confused:
 


Has anyone had this recently?

Apart from being discriminatory against those who don't have/can't afford a smartphone, don't live with anyone they can ask to take a pic and may not have a local paper published, it also doesn't prove the amount of rent you pay. What's wrong with a tenancy agreement showing your rent amount and landlord's name, because they accepted that when I claimed!
 
LeytonCatLady said:


Has anyone had this recently?

Apart from being discriminatory against those who don't have/can't afford a smartphone, don't live with anyone they can ask to take a pic and may not have a local paper published, it also doesn't prove the amount of rent you pay. What's wrong with a tenancy agreement showing your rent amount and landlord's name, because they accepted that when I claimed!
Click to expand...

I only had to show a tenancy agreement. As commented on another thread it’s ridiculous and I couldn’t even do page 4 as there’s no road sign
 
LeytonCatLady said:


Has anyone had this recently?

Apart from being discriminatory against those who don't have/can't afford a smartphone, don't live with anyone they can ask to take a pic and may not have a local paper published, it also doesn't prove the amount of rent you pay. What's wrong with a tenancy agreement showing your rent amount and landlord's name, because they accepted that when I claimed!
Click to expand...


Is that message for real?! It reads like the kind of shit a scammer would send! The only thing missing is the terrible spelling and grammar.
 
I moved into my housemate's old room when he moved out, so I could look after his cat. The room costs an extra £50 per month, so I asked my landlord for an up to date tenancy agreement with the new amount on it. They also wanted a separate proof of address but wouldn't accept my bank statement (and when I rang up, they couldn't explain why that wasn't acceptable when it always has been in the past). The only other things they would accept were a utility bill (it's a shared house, I don't get bills in my name) or a landlord letter. So the landlord wrote a letter confirming "LeytonCatLady lives at this address, please contact me if you need further clarification", which I also uploaded. I received a message in my journal today that said "We cannot adjust your housing costs as you have not provided sufficient evidence. Please report new rent as a change of circumstances. We will continue to pay housing costs based on your original claim." I ALREADY REPORTED IT AS A CHANGE OF FUCKING CIRCUMSTANCES!!! WHAT MORE DO THEY FUCKING WANT??? Sending messages like that with no clarification as to what else they need is really unhelpful, especially on a Saturday when they know fine well I can't phone them until Monday. And I know if I do it as a change of circumstances, they'll refuse to backdate because I didn't "report it earlier" when I PATENTLY FUCKING DID!!! I'm so angry, I just want to kick something.
 
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LeytonCatLady said:
I moved into my housemate's old room when he moved out, so I could look after his cat. The room costs an extra £50 per month, so I asked my landlord for an up to date tenancy agreement with the new amount on it. They also wanted a separate proof of address but wouldn't accept my bank statement (and when I rang up, they couldn't explain why that wasn't acceptable when it always has been in the past). The only other things they would accept were a utility bill (it's a shared house, I don't get bills in my name) or a landlord letter. So the landlord wrote a letter confirming "LeytonCatLady lives at this address, please contact me if you need further clarification", which I also uploaded. I received a message in my journal today that said "We cannot adjust your housing costs as you have not provided sufficient evidence. Please report new rent as a change of circumstances. We will continue to pay housing costs based on your original claim." I ALREADY REPORTED IT AS A CHANGE OF FUCKING CIRCUMSTANCES!!! WHAT MORE DO THEY FUCKING WANT??? Sending messages like that with no clarification as to what else they need is really unhelpful, especially on a Saturday when they know fine well I can't phone them until Monday. And I know if I do it as a change of circumstances, they'll refuse to backdate because I didn't "report it earlier" when I PATENTLY FUCKING DID!!! I'm so angry, I just want to kick something.
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UPDATE: I phoned them today and got it escalated. I had to re-upload as they get deleted automatically after two weeks. I also had to put a note on my journal to say "Please note that the tenancy agreement is made up of three pages" as I suspect the last person just glanced at the first page without bothering to scroll. Anyway, just checked my statement and the amount has been adjusted. I'm glad it's sorted but still pretty pissed off that I should have to tell these idiots the basics of reading. How do these gobshites pass the interview? But yeah, if you need to upload anything that's more than one page, it might be safest to make a note of that in your journal.
 
Think I had to upload my tenancy agreement at least 2 times. The instructions weren’t clear but thankfully the person who asked me to reupload was helpful and told me what was needed.

I consider myself to be overly anal about admin and details and I find dealing with UC to be difficult, feel bad for those who find paperwork tricky as it’s a nightmare.
 
www.bbc.co.uk

Universal Credit: Jobseekers told to widen job search faster or face cut

Those on Universal Credit must look for work outside their chosen field quicker or face sanctions.
www.bbc.co.uk

How dare the DWP suggest that this is to "help" claimants? Bullying people isn't helping them. How can people have the confidence to find work quicker when they're worried sick about losing benefits should their efforts to find work be deemed not good enough? They can't! And I wish somebody would remind the government that the pandemic has caused a fucking recession.
 
Looks like people will have to revive the old "pump up the jobsearch diary with a bunch of filler applications" method. When I was last on UC, before the pandemic, they wanted me to treat job hunting like it was a full time job in itself. Unfortunately this is completely unreasonable to expect of anyone, even in boom times there aren't enough vacancies to justify spending that much time searching for a new job. Whoever came up with that fucking stupid idea of "full-time job hunting" was an out of touch piece of human shit who clearly just wanted to punish "feckless" claimants.

So rather than waste my time, I thought "fuck that", and every week I applied for a whole bunch of jobs just to fill the space. I would send in a CV with a "fill-in-the-blanks" covering letter (or any other means that did not take a great deal of effort) and then just pretend to follow up on it unless it really was a job I was actually interested in. Most of the time the employers never got back to me anyway, although I wonder if they had any issue with being deluged with duff applications like mine. Oh well, not my problem.

Eventually I did manage to secure a permanent job that I was genuinely interested in, but none of it was thanks to the DWP breathing down my neck. They really need to fuck off with this "intensive jobsearch" bullshit, one individual is not going to make the job market more favourable just by beavering away.
 
NoXion said:
Looks like people will have to revive the old "pump up the jobsearch diary with a bunch of filler applications" method. When I was last on UC, before the pandemic, they wanted me to treat job hunting like it was a full time job in itself. Unfortunately this is completely unreasonable to expect of anyone, even in boom times there aren't enough vacancies to justify spending that much time searching for a new job. Whoever came up with that fucking stupid idea of "full-time job hunting" was an out of touch piece of human shit who clearly just wanted to punish "feckless" claimants.

So rather than waste my time, I thought "fuck that", and every week I applied for a whole bunch of jobs just to fill the space. I would send in a CV with a "fill-in-the-blanks" covering letter (or any other means that did not take a great deal of effort) and then just pretend to follow up on it unless it really was a job I was actually interested in. Most of the time the employers never got back to me anyway, although I wonder if they had any issue with being deluged with duff applications like mine. Oh well, not my problem.

Eventually I did manage to secure a permanent job that I was genuinely interested in, but none of it was thanks to the DWP breathing down my neck. They really need to fuck off with this "intensive jobsearch" bullshit, one individual is not going to make the job market more favourable just by beavering away.
Click to expand...
Good point about employers they must get fed up having to sift through rubbish applications that aren't genuine.

It's all about making the system as hostile as possible so that they look tough on benefits and they don't care about the results.
 
BristolEcho said:
Good point about employers they must get fed up having to sift through rubbish applications that aren't genuine.

It's all about making the system as hostile as possible so that they look tough on benefits and they don't care about the results.
Click to expand...

It's all so fucking pointless. I became quite adept at weaving stories to tell my advisor at every meeting, in order to support my mostly-bogus diary. They had neither the time nor the wherewithal to properly cross-examine me and really drill down into the details, and with the duff applications I did actually send in my CV+covering letter, in case the DWP ever followed up with the employers themselves, although I don't know if they ever actually did that. So it wasn't all that hard to confect the appearance of being the busy little jobsearching bee that they seemingly wanted me to be.

So it's not even as if the environment was all that hostile for an inventively lazy person like me, who also doesn't at all feel like "playing fair" with the DWP. I don't think it even fazes anyone who is genuinely taking the piss. This "hostile environment" seems like it is hardest on those people who are too timid and/or rule-abiding to even contemplate puffing up their jobsearch diary.
 
Worked out today that since the self employed UC minimum income floor rule was re-introduced at the end of last year and unless some unexpected contracts turn up I will have lost £850ish from December to march because of my capped payments.
 
NoXion said:
Looks like people will have to revive the old "pump up the jobsearch diary with a bunch of filler applications" method. When I was last on UC, before the pandemic, they wanted me to treat job hunting like it was a full time job in itself. Unfortunately this is completely unreasonable to expect of anyone, even in boom times there aren't enough vacancies to justify spending that much time searching for a new job. Whoever came up with that fucking stupid idea of "full-time job hunting" was an out of touch piece of human shit who clearly just wanted to punish "feckless" claimants.

So rather than waste my time, I thought "fuck that", and every week I applied for a whole bunch of jobs just to fill the space. I would send in a CV with a "fill-in-the-blanks" covering letter (or any other means that did not take a great deal of effort) and then just pretend to follow up on it unless it really was a job I was actually interested in. Most of the time the employers never got back to me anyway, although I wonder if they had any issue with being deluged with duff applications like mine. Oh well, not my problem.

Eventually I did manage to secure a permanent job that I was genuinely interested in, but none of it was thanks to the DWP breathing down my neck. They really need to fuck off with this "intensive jobsearch" bullshit, one individual is not going to make the job market more favourable just by beavering away.
Click to expand...
Son Q got sanctioned for not searching for a job because he had actually found one. When he applied for his current job back in 2015 they told him at the interview that the only reason they didn't offer him the job there and then was because they had to go through the motions of interviewing other candidates even though he was exactly what they wanted. Since he thought it was in the bag he decided he wouldn't bother to keep on searching after all even if he didn't get the job he had only lost a week.
The DWP sanctioned him for two weeks for not job hunting during that week. He got offered the job the day he got the sanction letter. I ended up subbing him until he got paid but you wonder about someone who might be in that position who doesn't have an understanding Dad to fall back on.
 
NoXion said:
It's all so fucking pointless. I became quite adept at weaving stories to tell my advisor at every meeting, in order to support my mostly-bogus diary. They had neither the time nor the wherewithal to properly cross-examine me and really drill down into the details, and with the duff applications I did actually send in my CV+covering letter, in case the DWP ever followed up with the employers themselves, although I don't know if they ever actually did that. So it wasn't all that hard to confect the appearance of being the busy little jobsearching bee that they seemingly wanted me to be.

So it's not even as if the environment was all that hostile for an inventively lazy person like me, who also doesn't at all feel like "playing fair" with the DWP. I don't think it even fazes anyone who is genuinely taking the piss. This "hostile environment" seems like it is hardest on those people who are too timid and/or rule-abiding to even contemplate puffing up their jobsearch diary.
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Yeah, the system basically forces people to lie. Fucking stupid.
 
Idiots have made an appointment for me for next week even though I've told them I'm working full time! They did it about three weeks ago too, although they cancelled that appointment when I reminded them. I sent another message last night saying the same thing, and have woken up to a message saying "As you are still showing as being in the intensive regime, we still need to speak to you. Can you come in to the Jobcentre on a Saturday?" :mad:

I have replied saying I will come in on Saturday 26th as that's a day off and I don't want them marking me as uncooperative in case my job finishes (temporary ongoing) and I do need them after all. But I also sent this following message, so hopefully they'll listen:


"Not tomorrow as I'm working, but I could come in on Saturday 26th as that's a day off. Shall we rebook it for then?


When I come in, I'll show you my payslips as proof I'm working for 37 hours a week. The client I'm contracted to operates 08:00 - 20:00 Mon - Sun, so my shifts are different every week. That's another reason it would be difficult to find another job I could do as required by them, even if I did need to top up my income. I have also worked out that I won't be getting Universal Credit payments from this month, as I'm earning above the threshold. So after working hard all week, I don't feel I should have to spend my leisure time in a Jobcentre explaining why I shouldn't be there! According to this link from Citizens' Advice Bureau, people in my circumstances shouldn't be in the all-activity group anyway.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Check you’re in the right Universal Credit work-related activity group

Make sure your work coach isn't asking you to do too much activity for your Universal Credit claim. Find out how you can change if you're in the wrong group.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Can this possibly be amended? I will of course keep you updated with my availability and let you know if my job does end.


But if I really must come in or otherwise risk a sanction, then yes, Saturday 26 February will be my next available day."
 
LeytonCatLady said:
Idiots have made an appointment for me for next week even though I've told them I'm working full time! They did it about three weeks ago too, although they cancelled that appointment when I reminded them. I sent another message last night saying the same thing, and have woken up to a message saying "As you are still showing as being in the intensive regime, we still need to speak to you. Can you come in to the Jobcentre on a Saturday?" :mad:

I have replied saying I will come in on Saturday 26th as that's a day off and I don't want them marking me as uncooperative in case my job finishes (temporary ongoing) and I do need them after all. But I also sent this following message, so hopefully they'll listen:


"Not tomorrow as I'm working, but I could come in on Saturday 26th as that's a day off. Shall we rebook it for then?


When I come in, I'll show you my payslips as proof I'm working for 37 hours a week. The client I'm contracted to operates 08:00 - 20:00 Mon - Sun, so my shifts are different every week. That's another reason it would be difficult to find another job I could do as required by them, even if I did need to top up my income. I have also worked out that I won't be getting Universal Credit payments from this month, as I'm earning above the threshold. So after working hard all week, I don't feel I should have to spend my leisure time in a Jobcentre explaining why I shouldn't be there! According to this link from Citizens' Advice Bureau, people in my circumstances shouldn't be in the all-activity group anyway.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Check you’re in the right Universal Credit work-related activity group

Make sure your work coach isn't asking you to do too much activity for your Universal Credit claim. Find out how you can change if you're in the wrong group.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Can this possibly be amended? I will of course keep you updated with my availability and let you know if my job does end.


But if I really must come in or otherwise risk a sanction, then yes, Saturday 26 February will be my next available day."
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UPDATE: They changed the appointment to Sat 26 Feb, but given me the earliest appointment, so on top of working all week I then can't enjoy my lie-in. Bastards. I've sent the same message directly to my work coach so she'll see it herself and hopefully realise it's bullshit.
 
LeytonCatLady said:
I've sent a message back saying 26 February is fine, but can they possibly move it to the afternoon, explaining that I'll have been working all week and will need a lie-in. Don't know if they will, but if you don't ask you don't get. :D
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They moved my appointment to the afternoon, but only after I chased up with the contact centre. And the reason I did that was to ask to get it escalated and investigate as to WHY I'm in the intensive regime. It's good I won't have to get up early on my day off but the point is I shouldn't have to go there AT ALL! I've sent a journal message both to the main service centre and to my work coach reiterating that people working full time aren't supposed to be in that group, under their own guidance and to please investigate as to why I'm still in this group and effectively being treated as if I was still unemployed, because I'm getting frustrated that none of them are listening.
 
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