Reported this morning on the news..... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15801515 How will this work out? does this mean ATOS will be signing long term sick notes for the DWP, as if so its yet another way to boot the vulnerable off ESA such as my hubby. I work and pay my taxes to support the sick and injured. Someone has got this very wrong I can see the tribunals being stretched even further. Totally disgusting and vile behaviour.

Well he's entered a grievance, he contacted the DWP for a fax number and was told they could not give him a number, he told them he believed they were trying to be obstructive in allowing him to make a complaint. So he threatened to take the grievance into his local office and demand it was faxed to Wolverhampton BDC. He was then told someone from Wolverhampton would call him back within an hour to which they did, looks like its finally getting sorted now Wolverhampton gave him a fax number to fax his award notice across, otherwise he said he was informing the tribunal. The DWP and their staff are a joke, complete time wasters who need to crawl back under the stone they came from messing the vulnerable about who shouldn't have been put in this position in the first place.

Well it seems the DWP are not playing fair, hubby has contacted them many times since his appeal was heard and the DWP keep saying they have not recieved the decision, even though he sent in a new sick note after the decision notice was sent by the Adminisrative Support Centre at Birmingham and the sick note has since arrived. He contacted the Administrative Support Centre this morning and then suggested he took his copy of the award notice to his local job centre from to take a copy and amend the records accordingly, however the support centre did say they have had quite a few people contacting them saying the DWP had not got the notices. Seems to be another tactic of the DWP to unsteady the nerves of a vulnerable claimant.

Just to update you all my hubby won his ESA tribunal yesterday, he had already been awarded 12 points and only needed another 3. He had a list of 7 descriptors which he could have been awarded points on however the first descriptor he put to the tribunal which was bending and kneeling he got 6 points without having to rely on the other 6 descriptors. His appointment was at 14.30 and went in at 14.40, from start to finish he was in there 4 minutes (I timed it) and got asked 6 questions, his name and address, what type of property he lived in, who lived with him, where his bathroom and toilet were, if he could walk unaided and how far to which he replied less than 30 meters with a stick, and if he could bend or kneel to pick something up to which he replied he uses a litter picker to pick up small objects. He collected his decision just before 14.50 and were back in the car at 15.10 on our way home, it actually took him longer to get in and out of the building than the whole thing lasted, neither his welfare rights officer or I could believe it. What an absolute disgrace the DWP can put someone who clearly can't work through all this when really there is no need... shame on them... Just shows what a bunch of liars and unprofessionals ATOS are, I put money on it he could have walked out of the tribunal with another 18 - 24 points. My advice is if you clearly are too ill to work you will suceed if you go prepared, be sure of your claim because you will get asked about it, and make a list of the descriptors where you feel you have been short changed. Just waiting for his DLA tribunal date now, however they may back down as his descision for DLA was based on his ESA medical.

You can pay your debts from a personal injury trust this is no problem at all, however what you can't use it for is your day to day living expenses such as mortgage and food. However saying that funds can be transferred from the trust fund, which you can use for expenses. However bearing in mind you aren't allowed to hold more that £6000 in capital in your bank accounts. My hubby got awarded £148,000 from a car accident and that went into a trust fund, from which we hold no more than £5000 in our accounts. So there is ways and means of using the money for purposes to suit you. However don't fall into the 12 months trap where you have 12 months to decide what to do in setting up a trust, as it has been the case in the past that it can be argued you purposely deprived yourself of capital unjustly, I know they are not allowed to do this but it won't stop the DWP trying it on. As for management fees, it depends who sets it up. Some companies charge a yearly management fee, others just charge a larger setup fee but put the money into a bank who has experience managing such trusts for free, ours is held by the Natwest and we pay no yearly fee. But it depends on your own circumstances really and really how much over £6000 you have, the greater the amount over the limit the more of a fight the authorities will put up.

The rep from welfare rights has all the paperwork and the descriptors, my hubby has an appointment with the welfare rights officer the day before to cover the descriptors I think the welfare rights rep managed to get my OH to nearly 30 points well above the requirement. To be honest the DWP has a lot riding on the outcome of this as my OH entered a claim for DLA and they said no to that basing their decision on the ESA medical, so he is waiting for a date for a tribunal date on that, however I think his welfare rights officer was going to ask the DWP to reconsider this should my OH win his ESA. His condition was bad before the surgery he could barely walk without falling over as his left foot dropped due to the compressed nerve, but now the pressure has been released following the surgery his foot has returned to normal but a recent MRI shows scarring on and around the nerve which is causing him a different set of problems and to be honest I don't know what is worse the constant falling over before the surgery or the constant pain following surgery. He will see soon enough anyway but his welfare rights is confident he will prevail.

Hi Guys, My hubby has his ESA tribunal on the 27th October after waiting 14 months to get it heard. Anyone got any advice on what to expect and will there be anyone from the DWP arguing their case, he has got his welfare rights advisor going with him for support. To be honest his back pain and leg pain has worsened considerably since his original appeal following a left sided L4-L5 laminectomy and discectomy, and as a result takes powerful painkillers such a Oxy-codone and tramadol along with pre-gabalin which just turn him into a zombie. He has forwarded a covering letter from his GP who backs up his condition and included his appointment letters from his pain management consultant. Are there any pit falls to look out for as he fears his medication will get the better of him on the day, or would it be worth leaving the pain killers off for a few days prior just to get his head right. Any advice guy would be welcomed.

Me personally I would take copies of the notes and shred the orignals and hand them to the employer in a black bin liner, that way you get to keep a copy for your refernece and the employer gets what they want shreded to pieces.

That is similar to what I have done this afternoon, I have asked questions which require an answer. I have made a note of the answers which were given. Apparently there is a company policy on phones, and as it turns out I haven't broken any of the companies policies as the policy requires the phone to be either stored away in a locker or in a zipped bag on silent. The policy doesn't say it has to be switched off just silent is acceptable. I then asked which days he thought I was late starting, and to my surprise he couldn't remember other than today, however I jogged his memory when I printed out an activity log showing what I was doing on what days including today. To be honest they are just nit picking hoping I will bite in an inappropriate way, which isn't going to happen. I'm waiting for a doctors appointment just to clarify a few issues then I will put in my request for adjustments, as one thing acas did say is the more reasonable a request for adjustment is the more likely if the matter went to an employment tribunal the more likely it would be a judge would agree

I contacted ACAS and the Equality and Human Rights Commission and have had some good advice regarding my diabetes and shoulder surgery and have been advised I would be covered under both the Disability Discrimination Act and Equality Act. Since Tuesday there have been 2 further seperate incidents, yesterday I was told I was late in taking my first call at work, I couldn't do this as there was a problem with the workstation I was at and had to be refered to IT to look at it, I ended up working at a different workstation, and today my phone was in my handbag which was on silent but because my team leader heard it vibrating I got told off for that, when there is other workers in the office who blatantly have their phones on their desks sending text messages and accessing facebook. I feel I am now being singled out, but I am noting all the incidents down in my diary along with any observations I make just in case I have to bring a formal grievance, I have told my teamleader today I want an informal chat with him later about these issues and my suspicion of their repeated bullying and victimisation. I am a member of a union but the union I am a member of has nothing to do with my line of work, however I might contact them and ask for further legal advice and quite possibly representation if things get nasty am I allowed to bring my union in to represent if my line of work is dfferent, to be honest the things which I am being bothered over could happen in any line of work.

Well to be honest I didn't really see this coming in fact it just came out of the blue, I have provided 1 week self signing and 2 weeks sick notes by my GP which clearly states absence due to complication following shoulder surgery. The personnel manager who is saw was truly awful, she kept saying I didn't declare my shoulder problem on the application form to which I replied I didn't feel it was needed as the injury had not bothered me for 3 years and the need for surgery came out of the blue. I said I had no intention of misleading the company as I revealed I have insulin dependant diabetes and have been insulin dependant for most of my life. She said I needed to complete disclosure forms as so questions could be answered by my GP and was told depending on what comes back depends on wether I keep my job, nothing else was said other than the meeting was an informal chat, but upon leaving work this evening the personnel manager has asked me to confirm a set of minutes recorded at the meeting, I certaining wasn't told minutes were being taken as it was I believed an informal chat, and i was never asked if I wanted to be accompanied by a work colleague. Do you think I should sign these minutes and request a copy or refuse to sign and ask for the meeting to be re-heard in front of a representative appointed by me, or is this a big mistake on their part. The problem is I don't want to seem too aggressive at this stage as it may inflame the situation but I want to be prepared and know my rights, I certainly feel like a victim of discrimination as I asked for a telephone consultation with my GP this evening due to the amount of upset and distress this has caused me, my GP has confirmed this evening my diabetes is certainly one of the reasons for my poor recovery of late following the surgery and is the reason for my recent relapse, hence the reason for me feeling discriminated. However to widen the picture 6 weeks ago I asked for flexible working, as sometime between now and Christmas my son is to have major heart surgery to repair his aortic valve, I requested flexible working so me and my husband could split the responsibility in caring for him during his stay in hospital and his following recovery. I'm just beginning to wonder if the flexible working request along with my own health issues are too much for them to bear and they simply want me out before I have completed my first years service. I just need to find out where I stand just in case this gets nasty, as I said earlier I do feel i am being discriminated against in respect of my own ill health and that of my son's.

Hi all I need a bit of advice on this if anyone can help. I have been with my employer for 9 months and until recently things have gone well, I currently suffer from diabetes which I have been open and honest about and declaired this on my application form to my employer. Anyhow 3 years ago I suffered a nasty fall and badly injured my shoulder, things have been okay over the years but 4 months ago I required urgent surgery on my shoulder due to a tear of the rotor cuff. At the time of the surgery I was still on probation however it was agreed prior to my surgery, surgery would have no infuence on my probation and and after my surgery I took 3 weeks off work to recover before returning. I returned to work following my surgery and was made a permanent member of staff, so no problems there until 3 weeks ago, I had a relapse in my recovery following the surgery and had to take a further 3 weeks off due to a complication which I was told my diabetes could be the cause of the problem. Today I have been summoned to the office today after being back at work 2 days only to be told my case is to be sent to Occupational Health and my medical records accessed and depending on what shows up I could be dismissed. My question is can they be allowed to do this, I enjoy my job and work hard. I have never lied to them about my diabetes however the prospect of surgery came out of the blue and didn't know about this. Does diabetes and because this being the reason for my slower recovery afford me protection under the DDA as I have been there less than a year. Someone please help as I love my job to bits and don't want to loose it because of something I have no control over. Kind Regards Nicola

I just seemed to get the impression I am only going to win this case on a technicality not a point of law based on links failures and their blatant ability to flout the order of the court. I'm just not sure how you convince a judge that as a defendant it's upto the claimant to prove their case, it's written in black and white they have to prove good service. Just seems a tall order as an LiP as you will always be looked down upon as knowing nothing or being described like today as an internet lawyer. Sad but true.

Everything went down in the amended defence, the unlawful repo, the DN, and the dodgy assignment. This judge was more of the argument..... you had the finance..... you had the car..... but didn't pay for it for whatever reason.... so now you owe the money.... tried to get across the repo, didn't go down well.... the judge was just concerned with the assignment and if it had been served, I agree it was a bit like smoke and mirrors as the stuff I have read its upto the the claimant to now prove its been served with the LOPA in mind.... but the judge and the claimants solicitor said the CCA now overules the LOPA which I find a bit weird As from what I've read and led to believe is DN's and Termination Notices are covered by the CCA, but assignments fall under the LOPA. This judge and solicotor believed eveything is now covered under the CCA. Confused... I certainly am.... It appears black and white in the Frogmore case what is and isn't acceptable service of an assignment.

Okay been to court this morning and it was adjourned surrounding issues with my amended defence. However while there the judge quite friendly in nature gave a few pointers pointing out that the arguments submitted were dangerous to both parties. And suggested caution. The judge said as she had spent the last hour reading the case she was going to give a little dispute resolution. the judge pointed out that although the assignment is regulated by the LOPA how I received the assignment is irrelevant.. Link could just say they posted it and it would be expected I received it. I said how is that possible under s.196 of the LOPA, but didn,t really give a response other than quoting the CCA overrules it, which I found bizarre. However she pointed out another judge may not see things like she did and pointed out it may be Link at risk. It seems unless you get a clued up judge you will loose and I looked that way today if judgement had gone through. Just of the opinion to negotiate without prejudice to limit my losses unless I can get rock solid case in court that the notice of assignment wasn't correctly served.

I have read the link you posted with reference to Lombard North Central and I'm certain I have read somewhere its was a case in a County Court, if thats the case can it be quoted as case law? Also with reference to the link which you pointed to a skeleton argument, I have used quite alot of what is there in my skeleton argument as my case is quite similar. what they have posted with regard to Lombard North Central has really no relation to LoP 1925 and the delivery of Default Notices and Notices of Assignments as the argument they are trying to put across is these documents were posted but either a useless postman lost them or a young child got hold of them. Any ideas should I scan up their statement.

Just to update on this, Link have sent to me today (28th April) should have been sent 14 days before the hearing on the 4th May. However in my witness statement I stated that I had not received a copy of the Notice of Assignment before proceedings were issued and quoted that in accordance with the LoP 1925 and several bits of case law namely; Holwell Securities Ltd v Hughes Compania Colombiana de Seguros v Pacific Steam Navigation Co Link have countered this with Lombard North Central v Power-Hines [1995] CCLR 24 case how would this effect or counter what I have put across Also they have mentioned Chitty Contracts 29th edition, 19-019 & 19-005 with relation to the assignment , what does this mean any assistance would be great. If required I count scan up their witness statement.

Thanks nicklea for that, to be fair I had stumbled across this thread recently and have taken some parts of the skeleton argument from it as this argument is very similar to mine in respect of the DN and assignment. So as manchesman said I can hand the Claimant their copy of the Skeleton argument at the court.

Just to update everyone, mediation didn't work out so its off to a hearing on the 4th May. I just have to get the remainder of paperwork to the claimant and into court by the 21st April in order to rely upon it. So I have to get any documents I wish to rely upon in by then, I have 2 witness statements from witnesses who saw events regarding the car being taken from private property. Do I have to give the court and the claimant a copy of my skeleton argument or is that something I keep for myself. Also do I have to send in any case law I wish to rely upon into the court or should the judge and claimant be familiar with the case law I present or raise. The other issue is where I can get case law from especially Holwell Securities Ltd v Hughes Compania Colombiana de Seguros v Pacific Steam Navigation Co I got the basics of the Holwell case from Wikipedia overiding the usual postal rule but how do I link this into my argument. I would be grateful guys for a lift on this one.

You could try accessing the settings inside the router and change the ADSL mode to G.DMT, it won't improve your speed infact it will reduce you speed to around 4 - 8 meg but it will stabilize the connection on the line and stop dropouts. However if you have ADSL problems with your current provider they are most likely to exist with a new ADSL provider.

I have to agree with the OP, the faceplate where the D side of the network connects to the faceplate including the test socket belongs to the network operator, the removable lower half which plugs into the test socket belongs to the customer which is where any customer installed extension connect. My hubby worked in telecoms for years. And I sadly worked for Virgin Media Faults when they were known as Telewest many moons ago. Dig your heels in that rear plate isn't a consumer servicable part as well as the wiring and polarity issues what come with it. This sort of explains it http://www.clarity.it/telecoms/nte5.htm I have to say I have no affiliation with the link above, however it does show what you can do and what you can't.

Well it went as expected really, Acenden wanted a 28 day repossesion order but fortunately didn't get it. However we have got a suspended possession order hanging around our neck until the arrears are cleared. However the judge wasn't impressed with the fees which have been added to the arrears figure and sugested I look into this in pursuing my claim with the FOS to get them removed, but hinted slightly litigation could be an option. So to a degree we're happy for now, but not so happy we have a suspended possession order based on an inacurate arrears figure. Big thanks to all who helped especially Ell-enn Nicola...

Thanks Ell-enn will post back tomorrow afternoon with the outcome of whats happened, if things don't go well is it a N161 I have to ask for? Hoping things will go well as we don't yet have a suspended possession order hanging over our head, realistically is that the best out come we could expect or could we ask for the claim to be struck out until such a time the claimant pleads a correct arrears figure or considers the Pre Action Protocols.

Sorry for not getting back sooner had to pop out. This is what was put into the previous witness statements. 10th November 2010 doc.doc 11th November 2010 doc.doc 17th November 2010 doc.doc 28th Feb 2011 doc.doc

We have got the original letter from the FOS dated 20th October 2010 when we first made our complaint, however we did not recieve as response from Acenden until just before christmas. We then followed up our complaint to the FOS in mid January 2011 just after my husbands surgery, we didn't hear anything from the FOS for 4 weeks so we chased them and they told us they had not recieved our complaint so we sent it again mid February. We contacted the FOS last week and have been told they have our complaint and we have been told it is pending with an adjuducator but we have nothing written from them in writing other than the original letter they sent us last year and the detail of complaint we sent them in February.