A friend of mine was sent on a 3 day course at Remploy, by the jobcentre (how nice). One of the 3 days coincided with his regular signing on day and he was told he didn't have to sign on because of the conflict with the course. A fortnight ago, he received no payments from the jobcentre. When he phoned up about it he was told that as he hadn't signed on his benefit had been stopped.
After a visit to the jobcentre and having seen the person who sent him on the course, his benefit has been reinstated, but has took over a week and a half to sort out. Meanwhile he still hasn't receive any payments from them. He received a letter yesterday from the council saying his housing and council tax benefit had now stopped as he wasn't signing on. So now he has to go and sort this out as well.
I tell you, The people at the jobcentre couldn't run the proverbial p**s up in a brewery.
I've enquired about that, as it has happened before, and YES, I can see it happening again. They are so quick to stop housing benefit/council tax. Nobody in authority has any idea, they just had an idea, threw it out there, get on with it. So I could be a tea maker for 4 weeks, or slogging away breaking rocks, as the company above hasn't been vetted, or explained to them how the system works, it's supposed to be for 30 hours a week, so does that mean a day off to sign on/attend the training centre? or is your lunch hour taken out of that? I attend tomorrow, so what do I do, attend as a straight interview? Try to explain how the system works? Explain that I'd be working for far less than minimum wage, when I receive less than £60 a week, but it will cost me £25 a week to get there? plus lunch money. I'm just going in blind. They seem to be IT/tech support based, which isn't really my bag, but better than working in a food processing plant..? I feel like I've been left out to dry, from a system that doesn't know what it's doing, and with a cover letter written on my behalf, as posted above, I'm going to have to go in there apologising for the Government..!
John, you state 'how nice' that the dole sent your friend on a training course. That's what they do. People with difficulties are sent on short rehab courses at Remploy, making uPVC windows etc, and have just had their money cut, and loads of places closed down, above them is TNG, which is full of drug fuelled idiots, next is I2I, that has the people that use drugs in the lunch hour, then next is Standguide, that basically are the gestapo of the dole, to double check that you have applied for jobs, then A&L training which are the SS of jobsearch, and will ring up every job applied for, or cold call random places, to insert anyone into any placement. While at the same time, being unable to compose a simple covering letter. And at the same time the DSS are not really giving an answer to sign on at the same time as working, don't work, lose benefit, don't sign on, lose benefit. lose/lose
