Wishface, the system is simply not going to adjust to suit one person - and that's a simple fact. The alternative is to be refused benefits. So, no matter how much you may rant about the unfairness of it all, it ain't going to change. What may change, however, is that your benefits may be stopped - so on the balance of things, if this was happening to me, I know what tune I'd be singing!

It is an emotive issue and it hurts those who are 'penalised' through no fault of their own. eg, I live in a small town and have to travel to sign on - that costs me £5.20 return every two weeks. Those who live in the town where the JC is have an extra £10.40 a month to spend. Do I feel this is very unfair - youbetcha!!! What can I do about it? Sweet fanny adams!! So getting het up about it only harms lil ol moi - and no-one else. Do I feel aggrieved that I paid self-employed tax and stamps for years and years without any benefit - oh heck I do, but then I was my own mistress then and it kept me going from a very unhappy and distressing situation caused by my ex. I survived and supported my family. Unfortunately, if you have to 'hang around' then that is exactly what has to happen. One thing that I find does help me when I start to 'panic' or feel very depressed that I can't even have the courtesy of a response to the jobs I apply for is to step back and look at the appalling deprevation that others suffer - in this country alone, not to mention in poorer nations. And today, helping my son to cope with the fact that he's probably going to be the next 'victim' of the huge sweeping scythe of benefit cuts, has taught me to look at how people coped before there were any benefits. One example - although you may scoff, it's well worth considering. Less than 100 years ago a cousin of my father was born "the wrong side of the blanket" in the workhouse - and yes, they did still exist then and they were far worse than anything we could imagine now. His mother survived, he survived and his children are flourishing to this day. Rather than focus on what is 'inconvenient' now, I'd encourage everyone to step back and take a good look at the wider picture because sooner or later, whether we are able to get to a JC for a convenient appointment is looking like the least of our worries as prices escalate and basic needs will be difficult for many of us to meet. Be grateful for now, try and find a positive slant in all of this and screw the blighters (financiers) who have been a major contributor to the huge problems that so many of us face. *now steps down gracefully from soap box*

Is soooooo not going to ask what services they were advertising!

Also, forgot to say, it is not up to the staff at the JC to get a bus timetable for every possible journey into the centre for the area it covers. Many people still manage to keep their cars whilst on JSA so would not need a bus timetable anyway. It is, unfortunately, your responsibility to explain to the member of staff at the time, who notifies you of the appointment that is booked automatically by the system, that you need a time that is nearer the time of the bus time available. And, presumably, if you have very limited bus times into the JC, the same must be true of the return - so one way or another, I'd assume you have to wait for a bit at one end or the other around the journey?

Have you read Ed999's posts on the issue of the failure to place a deposit in a TDS and other aspects? If not, suggest reading up on those as he's posted a huge amount of helpful info - clearly it's all too common a problem still with the tenant being stuck with the cost of the work to get some kind of recovery.

Wishface - I do understand how demoralising and frustrating it can be - been there wirh myself and seeing a relative who is reg disabled with lifelong condition. However, the system is what it is. The people who work in the JCs are who they are and have to work with that system. You do still have some options to help your own situation, although maybe if you had a friend or mentor to support you getting more help, you'd find it a lot better. Doing things on your own when you feel you're at the bottom of the pile is not easy. But as I said, all we can do is throw suggestions out into the ring and hope that something can click for you. For example, I HAVE had to wait for over an hour because of a mess-up and I simply went to the library and got a couple of books and a mag and read those in the library - ruddy uncomfortable seats too - but it kept me out of the rain and gave me brain something else to think about. There is more help out there for people who have difficulties, either health, financial, or just simply long-term unemployed and seriously struggling to get back into work. All I can say is try and find some support - and just go with the flow when it comes along. Change is scary stuff - but if we can just make the small effort to get on the way to moving out of the rut, it has to be worth while.

What happened to the prolific posting of Foeksporp? Just saw it in me email and did a google - haven't translated it as yet just in case it was too roooood for my delicate sensibilities.

Hi Steven - if you're still up, try to get some rest and come back later today when there will be a lot more helpful folk around. Absolutely no need to throw good money away - wait and see what advice you get here for free and how best to tackle things. Hang in there - and try not to second guess the worse-case scenario.

The first thing you need to do is get another bank account in your own name and switch all your income into that. Then, tackle the joint account. I don't know if there's a better way to go about it, but when I had a lot of problems with my estranged OH refusing to close the joint account down and then running it into debt, I started to make a lot of noise as the bank kept making errors - such as allowing him to go overdrawn when they said they would put a stop to it! Eventually they agreed that the account could be closed with one signatory.

I was not thinking about moi but for others posting and reading sometimes rather distressing/ difficult stuff - and yes I could do that but it would mean not seeing any smilies which can add greatly to the nuance of a post. BUT - many others would not realise that they would need to do this - and then if they want to see smilies again, they have to undo the disable ...................... on, off. on, off and flick them all about!!! (to the tune of the Hokey Cokey, in case that one went awry too!) Martin - it was just a kind of attempt at humour on my part - no need to go multiplying the blighters - they may start breeding if you put too many together and then we could be overrun with 'em!! I shall take it that the 'wizzies' are unable to change how Mr Cool appears. Well, 'twas worth a shot!

Love your sig, BTW!

What was he expecting? That you'd breathe very heavily on the pipes????

Magickat, someone will be along soon to help you plow through all the issues. If you're still around, do a quick search on the forum for the one to do with the legal obligation on the gas safety certificate and who to contact about that asap. Have you taken photos of the state of the place? If not and you can do this, go around and photo eveything possible.

One reason they took someone else on may be harder to find out - ie, they pay less basic and higher commission. That way, if the sales person doesn't sell anything, the company is shelling out less per month and it's supposed to give the SE the incentive to sell sell sell! If they do achieve sales, the SE is happy because they get their money - eventually and the company have a better cash flow situation. Also, is it possible that the commission works on 'shared' scheme whereby the SM gets a slice of the pie on all cars sold? If so, higher commission versus lower salary for the SE means the SM gets a larger slice.

Just to add, if that is your real name in the first post, you may want to ask Site Admin to remove it for you, so that you can keep things relatively private.

Surely this is the nub? Landlord is unable to enter into the tenancy and always was at the point at which you were led to believe the tenancy would be agreed and you paid the appropriate deposit.

If you google for the info, you will find that there is the disgraceful situation whereby a significant proportion of women (mostly single mothers) in prison have been given sentances for not paying the fines for not having a tv licence - so it's tantamount to the same thing. Although it appears the numbers given prison sentances are reducing, it's still an appalling situation. Here's just one site which gives some galling facts: http://www.civilliberty.org.uk/newsdetail.php?newsid=8

Bearing in mind that Gumtree are also owned by eBay, this then becomes an even messier situation. I'd say that this requires emails/letters to your local MPs again and to Chris Grayling, Minister for Employment so that at least all these ads are removed from the DirectGov website the moment they're spotted and reported. Also, as the ads are consipiracy to entice others to help commit fraud , the DWP should be giving as much info to the police to find these criminals and take them down.

Dear Site wizzies Just a thought - but could the smilies which have shades be set up by using something else other than an '8'?? Reason is that so often people use the number 8 for it's own sake but it shows up as an 8) in the text. Now, I know this is no biggie as such, but when folks are trying to make serious points, or they're very distressed because of their situation, it somehow detracts/ gets in the way. Soooooo - could those smilies that pop-up in error be changed to use a different set of key strokes? Yes, I know some folk use the key strokes and don't click on the smiley in question, but they can still find it if necessary, but it's not always possible, let alone easy for those who are trying to use the '8' as a number in their posts to stop it changing to a shades smiley?

That's plain pants - as if the original census wasn't bad enough. It's also very misleading on both those pages - just implies that you WILL take part in either/or the CCS or CQS, without actually saying it's mandatory. If they want entry to people's homes, and the occupier(s) were not happy with that, then surely they can refuse??

One of the hidden, and almost obscene developments of the 'big society' is that of 'partnerships'. So, funding is being/ has been cut from previous (and often successful) programmes and now it's being channelled (correct use of word!!!) through to one level of organisation, who then provide contracts to partnerships to 'deliver' the new programmes. These new partnerships are private companies - with directors and other non-revenue earning staff who just 'rake it in'. There is no accountability - no way of actually challenging how much money goes where and to whom, and because organisations such as the Audit Commission are being closed down, there is no independent body to 'check the acccounts'. So, there is no way to actually measure whether the billions of funds are being applied and used effectively, let alone to show ROI! All about greed, more and more!

Seems that it's leaped up today from the last count of a couple of months ago. A sign of things to come as the recession/ benefit cuts and dept bites even harder? Let's hope all and everyone can still get the right help they need to keep going at least, and even overcome the pooey stuff and rise above it all.

There is nothing to stop her asking the person to remove the photos as they did not realise they were being taken and she's not comfortable with her photo being put up on a public website.

The appointment system is often automated - so it cannot take into consideration the problems with buses. You have to explain at the time of being given the appointment that there is no bus service into the JC at that time and ask for the appt to be re-arranged then. If they won't re-arrange it, then you either have to find a way to get in (and I believe if you get a lift from a friend you may be able to claim mileage - perhaps Flumps will confirm or correct me on that), or else you have to write to the manager concerned, with evidence of the bus service (or lack thereof) and that you have no other way of getting in at that time. If you do have to go in by bus and sit around for three hours, then how about spending one hour in the local library on the computer? It's free if you are a member and if you are not, take some proof of ID and of where you live (eg CT bill) and get signed up. There may also be another organisation within the town that helps those on JSA have access to free internet usage for job searches. Again, your JC will tell you about this. As to the rest, I can only reiterate that you may find it a lot more helpful to be referred to the JC DA because they are not there to give you a diagnosis but are there to assist with finding other areas or organisations who may be able to help. If you want to persuade your GP that you need further assessment (and this can be a problem, not all GPs are willing to refer patients believing that they know best), then use the available resources to help you. There are other organisations out there - but only you can contact them and start the ball rolling to get help. Another one who may be able to help and who will call you if you contact them via their website is the Shaw Trust.

Santander seem to be saying that they're passing the debt to a DCA now - whether they do or not is another matter. Santander are 'bullish' becuase that's the way they are. Lloyds - it's up to you whether you agree an increased payment or tell them they can huff and puff for it - and it's not up to them to consider visiting you. Maybe consider telling them you will not be allowing any personal visitors to your home - all correspondence to be made in writing. Good news about those that have accepted - hope you can get them paid off once and for all very soon. I think, but I'm not sure, it may help you add a bit of leverage if you want to go back to the other lenders and say that xxxx and yyyy have accepted and that as this is the only time that the offer will be available, if they don't want to take it up, then as your circumstances are becoming even more difficult, you may be forced into a situation whereby your payments may have to be reduced. See what others here say - you need to word it so that they realise this is a one-off gesture which expires 'at midnight' when all that will be left is mice and pumpkins.