THE DWP BALLS-UP

I think I am beginning to understand why the government and the DWP have wasted twice the amount of money running two departments for each of three tiers of benefits.

I am still in one particular limbo I need to be out of and should have been many weeks before now.

That of the current situations with my benefits.

On Thursday I attended the Job Centre and as I walked across the floor I thought I heard the faint sound of my name being called. I turned and my JobCoach was on the far side of the room to where his desk is situated.

I walked over to him and he looked confused and said “Are you meant to be here? I do not remember your name coming up on my list this morning” and I said that I had indeed left my time card at home so could have gotten the time wrong but it was Thursday and we met every Thursday. I told him that our conversation was going to be an interesting one.

He told me to wait and would speak to me after he spoke to another client.

After a wait of around 5 or 10 minutes he called me over. As I sat down he looked at his screen and said “Yeah I can see here they have cancelled the appointment, because your getting Personal Independent Payments”. I told him that I had been called the morning before, or two, and I was told this. I also explained the court paperwork suggesting that PIP had been cancelled, that I had missed an assessment for PIP ust as I had done ESA which was immediately cancelled so thought the same thing would happen and that Claire, the lady who takes your ID's, was informed of all this on the very first meeting and that she checked on her system and it stated I was not getting any benefits at all.

He remembered this and he said “yeah you were right, there has been a major mistake here somewhere and then told me to get a number form downstairs for JSA when I told him that it would not allow me to apply online. The reason being that I was in a Universal credit area.

The funny thing is that the night before I mentioned what had happened on the disability Facebook page for DPAC and I was told quite categorically that I was wrong!

I told them that I was not … that Universal Credit had phoned me and told me four weeks into my UC that they discovered I was still getting PIP and was having my UCC claim cancelled. I also explained that if they tried to claim UC online just a few pages in it asks you if you get PIP and that if you answer 'YES' the application refuses to go any further telling you that you are not eligible.

There was no mistake.

I was at the time feeling tired and run down from all this, which is not good and I have lost my appetite again, but explaining what I did I thought was more than enough? But no and as it got later and I got even more tired there appeared someone else that saw what I had said in my post and told me I was wrong. One person said that “Your wrong, you can claim UC and PIP because PIP is not means-tested!” I told them that I was well aware of this fact and that I had told the lady from UC that called me and she stated It does not matter”.

I have lost count of the times I have found out a fact to do with all this only to be told by members of disability groups that I am wrong. Bloody hell I even had a CAB worker tell me on the phone I was wrong when I told her that my tribunal had no GP nor solicitor on the panel and it was just me and a judge.

It does make me question what in the world all these so-called help groups are bloody well doing?!

Time after time on here I have explained how I have approached help groups previous to starting my blog and not getting anywhere at all, nothing, nada, zip. I have also shown myself approaching help groups since I started my blog and have actually have had more in the way of action but it still came to zero help.

I will be completely honest in that the last half a dozen times I have approached organisations I have asked myself why I would bother. It has even appeared to me that all that they seem to do is help people that cannot understand English fill in forms. In all my visits in the last ten years I have never seen anyone white sitting in the waiting areas and I simply do not know why this is. I cannot be the only white person to be having difficulties in a five mile radius?

But each time I have an excuse to approach them for help I do … because I want to see how long it takes me to actually get help, 12 years so far, and indeed if any single one of them actually helps at all?

Help groups do not actually do anything and campaign groups seem to be clueless to each piece of information I tell them about!

In fact I told CAB three things and in each and every single one of them, in the same phone conversation, they were not only unaware of it but told me that the government was supposed to INFORM THEM of these changes?!

Now either every campaign group and help and advice group out there is a big massive con to get government money or donations to pay them salaries or that all the governments changes they knew were immoral and did not want the campaign groups and help and advice agencies knowing and therefore thwarting their plans?

Just come off the phone to my social worker friend at the appropriate time … as has asked me if I claimed JSA, which I had to do by phone, and I told him that two or three questions in the man asked me if I had a disability, I said 'yes' and my friend laughed and said “Don't tell me … he told you that you can't claim for JSA?!” to which I said 'yes' before he roared with laughter and then when stopped said “This … is … absolutely … RIDICULOUS! Martin … you have got good grounds here to sue them”. I then reminded him that I had contacted the CAB, Mind and Mary Ward Legal about all this.

Yup,, I kid you not and you read that correctly. Chimpanzees could not have set the welfare state up any worse and I am thinking that must have all been drugged up on coke when they came up with these plans?! No bloody wonder we are still paying for two departments for everything two years after the changes were supposed to take place! Oh but remember … they all deserve a pay rise!

After answering yes four times I then had to answer no to having a disability, at least they cannot use the recording against me lol, to stop him putting me through to ESA who cancelled my IB and refused//ignored two application forms I sent in. The one that was IGNORED was sent via recorded delivery too! SO they are fecked there!

Of course YET ANOTHER major balls up is that you can get PIP and JSA at the same time but with Universal Credit, JSA's intended replacement, you cannot.

AND THESE PEOPLE think they are intelligent?! Jesus H. Christ!

Nice that my friend would say that about me having a chance to sue them but as I said … well after my tribunal you certainly could not rely on HMCTS! He said no you would have to go to a 'proper' court and I said that I hoped that they would.

But you have to understand that I have never had any help at all from anyone … quite literally most of my adult life. I keep approaching and asking but I will only ever believe it and have any confidence at all the day that someone actually tells me they are going to help.

What I suppose is very funny, in a twisted way, about all this is that I have helped … a fair few over the years. From little helping hands here and there to very major things saving many, many lives.

Reciprocation is a word that is not in many people's vocabulary within the UK from my own personal experience.

I have to also remember rthat when I go to Mind I must tell the counsellor that I have forgotten once again to put in y repeat prescription, even though I use a computer to do it. This is because I explained again I was seeking help with my memory and when she asked what I explained how I forget things three days in a row. I used the going to Sainsburys for milk scenario and she said “Oh I do that” and I said “what three days in a row?!” and then told her about the time I got off a bus in Enfield Town and did not know where I was for about 30 seconds. That was very … peculiar.

No what I have done is forget to put in my repeat prescription, as I was turned down my request for pills at my last GP appointment as it was too early, and have run out of Propranalol. I now wont get any until Monday so what I did was not take the very last pill. I will take it tomorrow,, Saturday, in the hope that I can miss Sunday without any major withdrawal symptoms. I have not even read the leaflet to see if it does cause withdrawal symptoms. Barely had time to think along with forgetting to do things anyway.

I also did not remember I need to get credit so I can get my Internet back up as I have no Internet at the time of writing. So this should go up tonight, Friday, if I remember?!

So I am stuck indoors right now and bloody well bored out of my mind while wondering what in the hell is going to happen over the next 6 weeks.

There is also the matter of my rent now being late for the second time in three months and I have had no word, though I cannot access my emails currently, from Enfield Council.

Enfield Council have now had three emails and other than an automated acknowledgement email I have had nothing said to me about this. Other than being contacted to say my money was being cancelled from Universal Credit.

There is also the option of the so-called Independent Case Examiners of the DWP who claim to be 'independent' but curiously have their emails going through the DWP's servers. But … I do not trust them one bit. Speaking from experience as well as where their emails go.

I wonder if they remember me ripping shit out of them for doing nothing and for where their emails go? If so I wonder if they are looking at what Hillary Clinton is accused of in the news media and saying to themselves “Oooh that is why that guy ripped us apart and was suspicious of us!” I doubt it.