Ingeus

[G4C389]

Just a question, a girl that I work with went to a private company (not ingeus or a4e) and she said in get old job the private company she attended offered her new boss a cash deal to give her a trial for atleast 3 months. Do ingeus do this because when I started work I was on a 6 week probation and...well didn't end up having a probation review and still work there now, any light thrown on the subject would be great. Thanks

[Chester6]

At my first appointment I was asked if I'd ever been sanctioned, later the same one berated me and belittled me for saying that the buses are terrible, they keep changing advisers and they treat you like you are an immature little kid

[Bakatcha]

Do you want to:

1. find out what infomation they have on you?

2. Find out what they have been saying about you?

3. Cost them time and money?

All the above is available to you at no cost through the miracle of the Data Protection Act 1998 and its provision of a Subject Access Request.

Want to know more? See post #7901 here:

 

 

use our SAR link - SAr is £10

 

dx

Edited December 4, 2012 by Bakatcha

[Bakatcha]

Do you want to:

1. find out what infomation they have on you?

2. Find out what they have been saying about you?

3. Cost them time and money?

All the above is available to you at no cost through the miracle of the Data Protection Act 1998 and its provision of a Subject Access Request.

Want to kow more? See post #7901 here:

 

 

use our SAR link - SAr is £10

dx

SARs made to DWP do not cost £10 - they are free,

[dx100uk]

ok new one on me

 

dx

[Nimitz]

At my first appointment I was asked if I'd ever been sanctioned, later the same one berated me and belittled me for saying that the buses are terrible, they keep changing advisers and they treat you like you are an immature little kid

 

Withdraw your consent. They wont waste time on you with then.

[gil_jnr]

Do you want to:

1. find out what infomation they have on you?

2. Find out what they have been saying about you?

3. Cost them time and money?

All the above is available to you at no cost through the miracle of the Data Protection Act 1998 and its provision of a Subject Access Request.

Want to know more? See post #7901 here:

 

 

use our SAR link - SAr is £10

 

dx

 

I've adapted a Subject Access Request template used for bank charges to make it appplicable to the DWP & WP

 

[Your Name, Address, & NI Number]

 

[Your Jobcentre Address}

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

In accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998)

 

I require you to supply me with all personal data held by the Jobcentre - the Data Controller, and every third-party Data Processor appointed by you including any Work Programme prime contractor, their subcontractors, or any other employment training or similar organisation in any way related to my claim for benefits

 

 

This data is to include, but is not limited to -

 

Records and documents relating to my history of benefit claim/s or National Insurance number.

 

LMS, PRaP or other system documents or records, whether held on paper, digital, or other storage format.

 

Emails, postal correspondences or telephone logs; including those with any third-party to my benefit claim.

 

Records of all Jobcentre, Work Programme provider, or other advisor notes and details of meetings attended.

 

Details of all past, present, or prospective employers contacted in any capacity, and by what means the contact was made, and the reason for contact.

 

You have 40 days in which to comply with this legally enforceable request under The Data Protection Act

 

If there is specific information which you require in order to satisfy yourself as to my identity, please let me know by return. However, please note that the above address is the one which you normally use to communicate my private business to me and which you have hitherto found to be acceptable.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

[signature]

 

Please feel free to adapt the format or content to improve the chances of getting all the information requested, and as Bakatcha pointed out, this can be sent to the DWP Free of charge

 

Make sure you send your letter via recorded delivery and track/print a copy of the recipient's signature via the Royal Mail website as evidence of postage in case you need to threaten them with a court order to disclose.

 

*Edited to include specific mention of PRaP system records in SAR letter*

Edited December 5, 2012 by gil_jnr

[signmaker]

Hi gil-jnr

 

I have received my personal data from Ingeus and JC+ but have not received any copies of e-mails phone logs etc, should I have asked for these specifically or should they have been sent to me when asked for all data held on file?

seems they might be holding some of my data back from me, if I should have been given this info.

[gil_jnr]

Hi gil-jnr

 

I have received my personal data from Ingeus and JC+ but have not received any copies of e-mails phone logs etc, should I have asked for these specifically or should they have been sent to me when asked for all data held on file?

seems they might be holding some of my data back from me, if I should have been given this info.

 

If Ingeus have phoned/emailed/SMS messaged/written to you, there should be a record of it (I was shown on-screen details of phone & SMS communication notes during a WP meeting where the advisor was trying to refute a complaint) If you've sent any correspondence such as withdrawal of consent letters, or provided any documents such as CV, attended any courses along with any results from any tests such as the Basic Literacy & Numeracy, etc, the information should be in the records you have recieved.

 

Could you give an idea of what you managed to get back from Ingeus? Chances are that they won't have sent you everything you asked for and may need a kick up the letterbox..

[Bakatcha]

If Ingeus have phoned/emailed/SMS messaged/written to you, there should be a record of it (I was shown on-screen details of phone & SMS communication notes during a WP meeting where the advisor was trying to refute a complaint) If you've sent any correspondence such as withdrawal of consent letters, or provided any documents such as CV, attended any courses along with any results from any tests such as the Basic Literacy & Numeracy, etc, the information should be in the records you have recieved.

 

Could you give an idea of what you managed to get back from Ingeus? Chances are that they won't have sent you everything you asked for and may need a kick up the letterbox..

gil_jnr is right. Whether out of laziness or malice they tend not to send everything youy ask for. They just tend to do a print out from their system and send that. If you have asked for copies of all records, e-mails, written notes etc. etc, etc, this is what you are entitled to receive

Data is data whether it is electronic or paper based, and the Data Protection Act applies to all data no matter what format it is held in - it could be inscribed on the corpse of a dead pig - it's still data!.

[Nystagmite]

Tomorrow's People are unbelievable:

 

As some may now, I switched from JSA to ESA due to the issues I was having with them. That was July. I received a letter last week notifying me that I am in the support group and am not required to take part in anything. I received a phone call today. Apparently, job centre informed my WP provider that I am in WRAG and that they (WP) are meant to contact me.

 

I was then asked how long I'm in SG for - it doesn't say. WP are now going to contact me in January.

 

They can sod off - it's because of WP that I'm on ESA in the first place.

[jasta11]

Hi all - new recruit here. I found this site yesterday and read the entire thread from start to finish; I agree totally with all the comments as sadly I too am on the Ingeus WP at present (thank God I only have a few months to go out of my 'sentence'..even prisoners get parole for good behaviour but not people on a 2-year WP!)

 

Prior to Ingeus I was with the dreaded A4e but on the advice of a friend who was there before me, I took a placement early on which saved me sitting in a classroom making animals out of paper and sellotape, and doing word search puzzles for three months. I did actually get to make a poster - in crayons naturally - which they put up on the wall. I took a picture of this wall, bedecked with drawings, and showed it to a few people asking 'where do you think this was taken?'. EVERY one said it was obviously taken in a nursery school or juniors. Nobody believed that it was actually an adult training centre. I rest my case.

 

My story is basically the same as most - it's not what Ingeus are doing for me, it's more a case of what they AREN'T doing. In the whole time I've been there they themselves have found me. .wait for it.. 2 jobs to apply for (so much for their 'dedicated vacancy-matching team'! I have 35+ years wide-ranging admin experience so there's plenty of jobs they could be finding for me. I remarked that they weren't doing much for me and the reply was 'Well it's up to you to make the effort, you know' to which I then responded 'In that case why am I even required to come here then?'. No answer.

 

Similar story re advisors attitudes too - first one I had was actually quite pleasant, but still had that 'I know more than you' attitude which most training staff have, while the second advisor I had was totally humourless, very abrupt manner and was hell-bent on securing me a Customer Service job even though this was not on my Jobseekers Agreement and the JC were fine with this. Obviously targets were her main priority, as usual.

 

Total lack of privacy at their offices too - they sit at round tables divided into 4 quadrants like battery hens, so anything you're saying can also be heard by the advisor and client sitting at the same table. Can work to your advantage though as I gave my advisor a right telling-off one day about her attitude and she was more embarassed that her colleague at the same table heard it all

 

As I'm an ex-DWP manager myself, I always constantly remind them that I still see my former colleagues - some of whom are senior managers in the DWP Training Provider Contracts section. Seems to make them treat me a little better..I wonder why

 

Good advice regarding the 'withdraw your consent to data use' point. I will certainly be withdrawing mine if it will result in Ingeus not getting paid. Unless they miraculously find me a dream job (with gorgeous Sandra Bullock as my boss) then they don't deserve anything; they certainly haven't helped me so far.

[Nystagmite]

Prior to Ingeus I was with the dreaded A4e but on the advice of a friend who was there before me, I took a placement early on which saved me sitting in a classroom making animals out of paper and sellotape, and doing word search puzzles for three months. I did actually get to make a poster - in crayons naturally - which they put up on the wall. I took a picture of this wall, bedecked with drawings, and showed it to a few people asking 'where do you think this was taken?'. EVERY one said it was obviously taken in a nursery school or juniors. Nobody believed that it was actually an adult training centre. I rest my case.

 

Bloody hell. I thought these courses were meant to help you. Can't see how this would have helped at all.

[Ktker]

just to see if anyone can shed some light on this?

I moved (following my complaint) to a new Ingeus office which is an extra 5 miles away from my old ingeus office. I was talking to a DWP advisor (one who decides on sanctions) and he told me that because my complaint against old advisor was upheld and that I had to move to another office further away I should be getting money for that! anyone know what he's talking about?

[jasta11]

Bloody hell. I thought these courses were meant to help you. Can't see how this would have helped at all.

 

 

It didn't! At the time, A4e were paid simply for taking people - which resulted in VERY packed classrooms. They had enough 'work' (and I use the term loosely) for about 1 day yet they had to have us there all week for 3 months. To fill in the rest of the time we had quizzes, word searches and the wonderful 'make a giraffe out of paper and sellotape' which, when questioned, was explained as 'team building'; a handy phrase which covered every useless time-filling activity they could think of.

 

I reported one 'tutor' to my ex-DWP colleagues for fraud - she had claimed to have helped clients with their cv and covering letters when in fact I myself had created cv's for some of them, unknown to her. The cv's she was offering were amateurish and littered with spelling mistakes, God knows how she got the job.

 

Some days they simply didn't have anything to offer and they would send clients out to basically walk the streets handing out their cv's to total strangers, while Friday afternoons were 'external job search' days where we went to various agencies, etc. I'm sure this was really just a chance to get everyone out of the building for a few hours as it was so overcrowded.

 

As I said, I took a placement early on so didn't suffer too much of this but I recall being there one day when they suddenly took down all the childish crayon posters and put up more professional ones, along with a general tarting-up of the place to make it look more adult. Turns out they had some big brass coming down for a visit that afternoon, hence their attempt to make the place look like a serious and dedicated training centre. Pathetic.

 

I can't understand how places like this are still going - the DWP sends in undercover people (and the WP know this) yet after a slap on the wrist for any naughtiness, the WP still continues. I sometimes wish I'd stayed in the DWP and had the power..the WP would soon learn what 'zero tolerance' was!

 

On a lighter note, a letter arrived this very morning saying that I've passed my Employability program course, which Ingeus set up for me. I am extremely happy - I was worried that the 35 years experience I already had wasn't counting for much. I'm sure the extra 4 days I spent on this course will make all the difference

[Bakatcha]

I've passed my Employability program course, which Ingeus set up for me. I am extremely happy - I was worried that the 35 years experience I already had wasn't counting for much. I'm sure the extra 4 days I spent on this course will make all the difference

Well done! I bet that was really hard. Now don't forget to put this in a prominent position on your CV - It should be enough to ensure that you never get a job offer.

[RebeccaPidgeon]

It didn't! At the time, A4e were paid simply for taking people - which resulted in VERY packed classrooms. They had enough 'work' (and I use the term loosely) for about 1 day yet they had to have us there all week for 3 months. To fill in the rest of the time we had quizzes, word searches and the wonderful 'make a giraffe out of paper and sellotape' which, when questioned, was explained as 'team building'; a handy phrase which covered every useless time-filling activity they could think of.

 

I reported one 'tutor' to my ex-DWP colleagues for fraud - she had claimed to have helped clients with their cv and covering letters when in fact I myself had created cv's for some of them, unknown to her. The cv's she was offering were amateurish and littered with spelling mistakes, God knows how she got the job.

 

Some days they simply didn't have anything to offer and they would send clients out to basically walk the streets handing out their cv's to total strangers, while Friday afternoons were 'external job search' days where we went to various agencies, etc. I'm sure this was really just a chance to get everyone out of the building for a few hours as it was so overcrowded.

 

As I said, I took a placement early on so didn't suffer too much of this but I recall being there one day when they suddenly took down all the childish crayon posters and put up more professional ones, along with a general tarting-up of the place to make it look more adult. Turns out they had some big brass coming down for a visit that afternoon, hence their attempt to make the place look like a serious and dedicated training centre. Pathetic.

 

I can't understand how places like this are still going - the DWP sends in undercover people (and the WP know this) yet after a slap on the wrist for any naughtiness, the WP still continues. I sometimes wish I'd stayed in the DWP and had the power..the WP would soon learn what 'zero tolerance' was!

 

On a lighter note, a letter arrived this very morning saying that I've passed my Employability program course, which Ingeus set up for me. I am extremely happy - I was worried that the 35 years experience I already had wasn't counting for much. I'm sure the extra 4 days I spent on this course will make all the difference

Lets not be offensive to Emma Harrisons Company, A4E, or others of its ilk - such as Working Links. After all, the taxpayer had to support Emma Harrison in a lifestyle to which she was accustomed, not only paying a paltry £8.4 Million bonus, but also a reported £20Million which Emma Harrison received through charging her company rent for using her "Family Mansion".

[jasta11]

..not forgetting the 2 million they made from selling the paper giraffes to Toys R Us. At the time I wondered why they asked us to stick 'Made in Britain under fair labour conditions' on each one..

[Masso]

Hi everyone,

 

I've not been on this forum for sometime...

 

Back in March of this year i withdrew my consent with Ingeus, I started a job which only lasted a few days. I had a few problems and needed to leave etc. I was sanctioned for leaving a job voluntarily, i won my appeal due to the circumstances and legalities.

 

I was then referred back to Ingeus, i then re-signed the consent forms (silly me) only because i wanted to be referred to a sub-contractor for 18 weeks and Ingeus were still making me come in 2-3 times per week.

 

Whilst i was with the sub-contractor i got a job offer as a Christmas casual (Royal Mail). This was my 18th week with the sub-contractor who wanted to claim a job outcome, I was then referred back to Ingeus who told me that the Sub-contractor had claimed the job outcome....

 

After further investigation i found out that Ingeus stole the job outcome from the Sub-contractor and were fighting over the brownie points...

 

I tried to claim travel but they were both telling porkies and saying the other claimed the outcome. I withdrew my consent when i signed off and i sent the job centre a copy, and explained my situation to them.

 

Am i the only person to re-sign the consent letters? hehehehe, I won't be signing them ever again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nystagmite]

Squabbling over brownie points? How childish.

[gil_jnr]

Squabbling over brownie points? How childish.

 

Perhaps an ideal opportunity to hit two birds with one SAR, I mean stone. I bet there must be all sorts of email communications between them as they fight for the profits they intend to make from you, that you could get a hold of under the Data Protection Act

[Chester6]

Squabbling over brownie points? How childish.

 

It's Ingeus - what do you expect?

[jasta11]

Yup, sounds about right. The one slight pleasure we can take is in knowing that their staff are terrified of losing their own jobs and are fighting for every scrap of income they can get..by any means they can. 'Rats in a sewer' is a nice mental image that springs to mind

 

On a more positive note, while at Ingeus I was farmed-out to another provider - Learn Direct - for 18 weeks to do a basic Employability course and also a Level 2 Business Admin course. Being the hardened cynic I am, I naturally expected Learn Direct to be on a par with Ingeus but how wrong I was! It was a relaxed and informal place with very nice staff indeed and I can honestly say I hadn't the slightest problem with anything during my time there - I was treated with total respect and good humour by everyone and it made a world of difference after dealing with the likes of BTCV, A4e and Ingeus.

 

I'm quick to complain about the bad providers but I'm equally happy to praise the good ones..I just hadn't met any until now! It's nice to know that there are some decently-run providers out there who treat people as humans. If I'd got a job while at Learn Direct I'd have made damn sure they got any credit - and payment - for it, rather than Ingeus.

 

Just a pity I couldn't have done my whole 2 years at Learn Direct rather than with Ingeus.

Edited December 10, 2012 by jasta11

[Masso]

My previous Advisor at Ingeus used to check my posts on here, which is why I've not been on here in a while. He confronted me regarding a post on here a while back...

 

I referred to the work program as a "prison camp", this didn't go down very well with him. I have a new Advisor now who has barely left school, he used to harass me in a cantankerous way, and forced me to complete tasks over and over again.

 

I'm now working at Royal Mail over the Christmas period sorting all the mail, I'm loving it! It's nice to escape my 2 year sentence on annual leave. The funny thing is i took my withdrawal of consent letter to work and popped it in the pigeon hole myself! hahaha

 

I'm not looking forward to going back to Ingeus next year, they are a bunch of morons who continue to make unilateral decisions to hit targets. I cant believe my Advisor wanted me to attend over the Christmas period, yet I'm F'in working!

[estellyn]

My previous Advisor at Ingeus used to check my posts on here, which is why I've not been on here in a while. He confronted me regarding a post on here a while back...

 

I referred to the work program as a "prison camp", this didn't go down very well with him. I have a new Advisor now who has barely left school, he used to harass me in a cantankerous way, and forced me to complete tasks over and over again.

 

I'm now working at Royal Mail over the Christmas period sorting all the mail, I'm loving it! It's nice to escape my 2 year sentence on annual leave. The funny thing is i took my withdrawal of consent letter to work and popped it in the pigeon hole myself! hahaha

 

I'm not looking forward to going back to Ingeus next year, they are a bunch of morons who continue to make unilateral decisions to hit targets. I cant believe my Advisor wanted me to attend over the Christmas period, yet I'm F'in working!

 

How did the adviser know it was you on here?