Thanks for myour replies, I'll get onto it today

Hi all, I'm sorry for the format of this querie but I really have to go out very soon so please excuse me for this Dear Sir /Madam, I’m am writing about the charges on the above Account and to ask you to consider cancelling them, and to explain how these charge came about. In around XXXXXX last year I was out of work and XXXXXXXXXXXX, so I knew I might find it hard coping financially. To avoid any problems I went into the XXXXXX branch of the XXXXX and cancelled all my Direct Debits leaving enough money in to cover the money going out that month, I did this so that I didn‘t go overdrawn because I didn‘t have enough for the D/D‘s. From XXXXX last Year until XXXXXX, when I lost my home, I was paying all my bills monthly by debit card. I was then homeless until XXXXXXXX but my ex gave me my mail when I saw her. I didn’t open my bank statements because I knew how much money was going out of it, namely nothing unless I’d paid it by Debit Card so I saw no point and I had other (to my mind at the time) more important things to worry about, like being homeless, losing everything, problems claiming Benefits and some serious health issues ect. I had no idea that United Utilities had attempted to Debit money from the account, I had after all been paying everything I owed them by Debit Card and had cancelled my D/D’s. I still don’t understand how they can re-instate the D/D after I had cancelled it, when alls said and done I withdrew permission for your bank to give them my money when I cancelled it, I am finding it hard to believe that a third party can tell a bank what to do with money that they have no claim to and the bank will honour it even after any previous permission has been expressly withdrawn. While this has been explained to me I still find it wrong that a bank which is there to provide a service to the Account holder only, willingly allows a third party to re-instate a D/D which the Account holder has cancelled, in other words, has said “don’t give them anymore of my money”. Another point I will make is that the Account was in Credit even after United Utilities re-instated the D/D, you did not honour the already cancelled D/D, the computer said no, I only went overdrawn because of the charges which have been applied due to U/U re-instating the D/D I cancelled which you did not honour, basically I have been charged over £several hunderd quid (I was in Credit), to date, for the computer saying no to a D/D I did not authorise or actually owe. While I have been writing this letter I have come to realise that this is all the fault of U/U, while I was paying over the phone by Debit Card they were attempting to get the money twice by re-instating the D/D, I will be writing to them and asking for an explanation for this, but in the mean time I will ask that you please cancel the charges or at least hold off ruining my credit record until I have had the chance to find out what U/U are going to do about this. I would also like to ask that you do not take anything from my other Account, XXXXXXXXXX and that you allow me to keep using it, I have benefits only paid into this Account and without that money I would soon find myself homeless again and falling into “real” Debt. I have at all times done everything to avoid this situation, it has been explained to me that I should have cancelled the D/D with U/U but I didn’t know this and I was paying them anyway by Debit Card, this can be seen by looking at the payments from my other Account to U/U. This is a work in progress so please forgive the basics, i write what i think then edit it so this is NOT what I'll be sending, it's the red bit that i need help with,,, thanks

I really wish I could help, I take it the claim is just for compo. If so it seems that you have suffered no financial loss, so you'll have to go for stress, hassle, time taken to sort it out and maybe you put off applying for a loan or remortgage or a credit card to help you cope through christmas;) sorry I can't be more help, Bruce

Hi all, sorry for this being off topic but could do with help from the legal eagles out there. This is taken from my thread in the Benefits section,, I maybe getting ahead of myself, but i'm getting my appeal ready and have thought about whether they had all my medical reports, from my GP, Counsellor, or any hospitals i've been admitted to, and if they use them in the assesment, from reading on here it seems that they never do. Anyway I got to thinking that maybe theres something we can do to make sure that they do get and use ALL info relevent to your claim, I remembered reading something that might be helpful on the back of a sick note once (insomnia, i'll read anything, lol). this is a direct quote,, “I agree that the department for works and pensions or a doctor acting on their behalf may get in touch with my doctor so that they may give the department for works and pensions any information which is needed to deal with this claim and any request to look at the claim again”. This is where I may be getting it wrong but that looks like a contract, now I read the last bit as saying that I have the right to make them get and use all the info a GP, Counsellor or hospital has on me because i'm asking them to "look at the claim again". OK, am I seeing this wrong, I don't sleep much so it takes me days to assimilate info, so your opinions are more than welcome Which you then have to sign So i suppose what I'm asking is, am i a complete blithering idiot or is there something in this?

Hi and thanks, yep my doc is a medical doc and not a psyc doc:rolleyes:. I maybe getting ahead of myself, but i'm getting my appeal ready and have thought about whether they had all my medical reports, from my GP, Counsellor, or any hospitals i've been admitted to, and if they use them in the assesment and from reading on here it seems that they never do. Anyway I got to thinking that maybe theres something we can do to make sure that they do get and use ALL info relevent to your claim, I remembered reading something that might be helpful on the back of a sick note once (insomnia, i'll read anything, lol). this is a direct quote,, “I agree that the department for works and pensions or a doctor acting on their behalf may get in touch with my doctor so that they may give the department for works and pensions any information which is needed to deal with this claim and any request to look at the claim again”. This is where I may be getting it wrong but that looks like a contract, now I read the last bit as saying that I have the right to make them get and use all the info a GP, Counsellor or hospital has on me. OK, am I seeing this wrong, I don't sleep much so it takes me days to assimilate info so your opinions are more than welcome;)

Hi Kellyswon, I had the same problem back in 2005, i had an interview at home, recieved letter a few weeks later saying benefit stopped because i was live as man and wife with landlady and they wanted money back from me. I appealed, recieved thier "evidence". It amounted to, I told them that I sometimes cook for both of us. we sometimes go to the pub together our washing goes into washing machine together. we share washing pots ect ect. I sent letter saying yes all this is accurate but so what, i go to the pub with loads of freinds and their are women there sometimes and does this mean i'm having sex with them all,(I wish) and yes we sometimes cook for each other, there is no point making say a casserole for just one person. I just asked them what their "evidence proved, they declined to answer. I went to the appeal, walked in with welfare rights advisor ( get one asap) Lady from DWP there who made the desicion against me, the panel (1 lady magirstrate) asked me if I was having sex with my landlady, i said no, she said thats all she needed to hear and sent me out of the room. i was in there 1.5 minutes. After about 20 minutes the welfare advisor and DWP rep came out, i must say that the lady from the DWP didn't look happy and no wonder, it turns out that the lady on the panel ripped into the rep and told her that if she wasted her time again with such an obviously wrong and unfair decision with absolutely no REAL evidence she would "take action" against her. I have helped a few of my freind in similar circumstances and they've always won, the "evidence" is almost always flimsy at best and can usually be picked apart with some thought and effort, and don't forget that these are judged on the balance of PROBABILITIES and not POSSIBLITIES. Anyway the moral of the story is, 1, get a welfare rights advisor if you haven't already. 2, Have a good read through their "evidence" and pick holes in it, so what if you share the washing, it makes sense to put in a full load, cheaper, same with meals, ect. 3, DON'T worry, be prepared, practice your arguements on freinds, family or anyone who'll listen. 4, I'm sorry but i didn't have time to read all your thread so sorry if i'm repeating things already said or if I've missed something. Good luck Bruce:)

Hi, I just went onto the GMC site, typed in his name and it gave me the initials of his qualifications, I then went on wiki and found out what the abbreviations stood for. In my case he was a medical/surgical doctor and I have mental health issues:rolleyes:.

Hi ibis, I'm applying for DLA just got the forms. thanks anyway:) Just wondering, does anyone know how to find out what qualification the "doctor" has who carried out the "medical"?

Good points made by all, so to clear my name . My doctor was trying to sign me off since may but I wouldn't let him, so I continued with JSA and was actively seeking work, I was going to college to better my self, I felt that it would help me if I faced up to my problems and not let them drag me down, and I thought I was winning until something very very nasty happened last october, so I did let my doctor sign me off in the hope I wouldn't be on the sick for long, but things like this just make everything get worse, I do have self image problems along with other issues, but whats happeneing to hundreds of people out there getting 0 points just make it all the more likely people like me will get worse as a direct result of these so called medical, if I'd got say 10 or 14 points it might not have hit me so hard, but to score 0 just made me wonder if I was just giving in to easily. Thanks God for this site (and others) without it I would have just gone onto JSA, though god knows how I'd have coped on that. Nick I do know that your comment wasn't aimed at me:) and is making a very valid point

here here!!!

just a quick update, been to see welfare rights, I just said atos to him and he gave me everything I need, very helpful. He told me that appeals are taking 8 months at the moment but mine is more likely to be 12 months because of the number of peopkle having to appeal! Shocking. thanks Jimi

Hi tigga, I'm in the same boat but your about a week in front of me. Good luck and I'll keep am eye on this thread so I can get a weeks notice about what to expect;). If I come up with anything I'll let you know. Jimi

Hi all, I'm roxi's ex (lovely girl) and she pointed me to this threads. Ok this is where I'm at, I received a letter yesterday saying I scored 0, with it was the score sheet, you know the one, I rang the ESA and told them that i will be appealing, I asked for the FULL medical report, told them that I found it odd that I was sent to see a medical doctor when I have mental health issues. I'm going to see welfare rights tomorrow, my councellor is doing a letter for me and so is my doctor. I intend to make an issue of the so called assesment, he didn't ask me any questions about my state of mind apart from when I first went in and he most certainly didn't make any notes, he gave me a full medical exam though, he was more bothered to see if I could touch my toes or hold my arms out straight, I do have very slight asthima and he checked out my lungs, I showed him my discharge papers from december when I was admitted for self harming (punching walls), and they also stated that I have anger management problems, I told him that I have no memory of self harming I just lose control and when I gain control the damage is done. My doctor has signed me of for, stress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia, I also told him how bad the insomnia is, my record is ten nights straight without any sleep, I get an average of 5 to 10 hours sleep per week, I'm prescribed antidepersants which have a side effect of making me sleepy, thats why the doctor gives them to me, to help me sleep. I also get a very limited amount of sleeping tablets, their limited so I don't get addicted to them. I told him that I hadn't sleeped for the preceeding 4 nights at the time of the medical, I told him I couldn't handle meeting new people and I have panick attacks quite often, I allways feel as if the whole world is about to come down on my head. I was hit by a car at some traffick lights several months ago because I was half asleep at the time, no real damage to me or the car, All the time I was telling him this he didn't take a single note! He took a very quick look at my hands which were badly bruised and swollen, I told him that they'd been x-rayed 5 time in the preceeding 5 weeks, he spent more time checking my asthima out than he did my hands even though I told him that it only bothers me maybe 3 or 4 times a years. Sorry probably to much info, I'll update when I here more and I'll be having a good read of the forums so I'll not be asking to many dumb question that have been answered else where. thanks:)