Sanctioned by JSA..no notice

[bristolmary]

Hi all

 

I'm getting JSA and am supposed to be on the work programme with Learn Direct.

 

I was due to start with them before towards the end of last year but I secured a long term temp job so didnt have to go. That job has now ended and I'm back to signing on. I got told that I would have to go back on the Work Programme.

 

I suddenly got two letters in quick succession saying that I'd failed to attend my Work Programme interviews and had to explain myself. Basically I live in village where we all have the same post code, there is a nunber 5 High St and I'm number 5 XX High Street so I never received anything and can only assume it was sent to the wrong address. I've always attended every interview the jobcentre has requested I attend, I'm applying for over 15/20 jobs a fortnight so it's not like I'm a shirker who isnt looking for work! I sent them the forms back and yesterday I should have been paid my JSA and my bank account is empty. I've not received any notification of not being paid and if they're not going to pay me I'm going to have to go and stay at my dads breaking their rules!

 

So I have no money £10 left on my electric meter and no money. Sat for 25 mins on the phone this am trying to get through to find out what is happening but of course they're all on strike!

 

I guess I try them again later today/tomorrow, but where do I stand? I can't go for no money for a month, I'd end up with no electric, no shower and no food.

 

Any advice welcome x

[Mr.P]

The first thing to do is to ask for a copy of the WP08 submitted by the Work Programme provider along with all supporting documentation - This will provide information on which to lodge an appeal, but it doesn't help your financial situation today. You can also apply for hardship payments from the DWP, but I'm not up to date on the rules and procedures for that.

 

If your local council are also on strike today, contact them first thing tomorrow and submit a nil income declaration - This should enable them to continue paying housing and council tax benefits without any break. They may also be able to offer advice on food banks, etc.

 

One more thing to do - Contact your Royal Mail Local Delivery Office (the nearest Post Office should be able to tell you where it is). Each delivery round has a book recording what Royal Mail call "hazards". This could be vicious dogs, dangerous access to properties, or ambiguous house numbers. Ask if they have any notes regarding your address, and if not, I'd suggest informing them that there may be a problem. If there is an unreported issue, the Postman will be alerted to it and perhaps able to do something about it.

 

Also worth checking with the residents at No. 5 to see if they have had any post addressed to yourself - If they have, perhaps they might write a short letter to confirm that.

[learndirect]

Hibristolmary

 

All decisions relatingto benefit sanctions are made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) soyou will need to keep trying to contact them / the Jobcentre to find out whyyou have not received your money. If you could send us your name and details ofthe work programme and location we can check our records to see where anyletters were sent to. We will be happy to advise DWP/the Jobcentre of when andwhere we have sent any letters to so they have all the facts available toassess your situation.

Unfortunatelythe forum will not let us include the email address you need to send thedetails to as this is our first post but here are our social media detailsshould you be able to get in touch with us that way or give us a call on 0800101 901.

Twitter:@learndirect

Facebook:facebook.com/learndirect

 

Kind Regards

 

learndirect

[bristolmary]

Well just spoke to the dellightful job centre people on the phone.

 

I've been sanctioned until 19th September for missing 2 appointments I knew nothing about!

 

Learn Direct are apparently writing to me about appointments but i'm not getting the letters. I told the job centre this, twice in letters and once face to face at the actual job centre. But they've ignored it all and left me with no money in bank account. I've got no electric in about 3 days, zero in my bank account. To claim hardship I've got to get to my job centre which is about 20 miles away with no petrol...

 

What chance have I now of getting to job interviews with no money and no petrol?

 

May as well just end it all, no money no chance of getting to job interviews, going to fall further into debt, cant even get to sign on.

 

thanks Learn Direct, I hope you're happy

[learndirect]

We are very sorry to hear aboutyour situation. Whilst any decisions about benefits are the sole responsibilityof the DWP we want to make sure that the DWP / your job centre have all therelevant facts so they can make informed decisions. To enable us to do this weneed to know your name, where you live, where your job centre is, and ideallythe name and contact details of the person you have spoken to at your jobcentre. Also have you been given a contact name for anybody at learndirect?Please call 0800 101 901 and quote reference number CRN1717330 and provide theinformation above and we can then let the DWP know precisely where and when wehave sent letters to

[bristolmary]

I can't call you as I'm stuck with one phone waiting for the appeals person to call me back. I've been given an email address on twitter which I assume is also you starting sccst which I am about to reply to. I'm certainly not going to stick my personal details up on this forum for all to see!

[Lapsed Workaholic]

Bristolmary,

 

It looks like the representative of Learn Direct who is responding to your post here is genuinely trying to be helpful; might even be a first.

 

You are not being asked to post any personal details on here. You are being given contact numbers where you can express your grievance and state your case. You are basically being offered the chance of having fast-track attention given to your case.

 

You might also make copies of what the Learn Direct representative here is saying and present them at the Learn Direct premises and Jobcentre that you attend locally.

[bristolmary]

i've emailed LD and they're looking into it from their side however they can only help in relation to the letters, sadly the decision lies with the 'people' at the dwp. I can't call anyone as I need to leave the phone available for the appeals people to ring back.

 

Laura at LD is being great and helping as much as she can, just hope the DWP are as helpful (miracles can happen right?!)

[Lapsed Workaholic]

It would appear that the LD people are trying to confirm if the letters in question have been sent out and if so where they could possibly have been delivered to.

 

The Decision Makers at DWP, if they are doing their job right, will be awaiting the same confirmation, probably why they haven't been in touch yet. If it is confirmed that you were right and LD made the mistake then they will, hopefully, inform DWP asap and any sanction applied will be quashed forthwith.

 

Let us hope and hold out for a miracle.

[Tj rodgers]

It would appear that the LD people are trying to confirm if the letters in question have been sent out and if so where they could possibly have been delivered to.

Ho

 

The Decision Makers at DWP, if they are doing their job right, will be awaiting the same confirmation, probably why they haven't been in touch yet. If it is confirmed that you were right and LD made the mistake then they will, hopefully, inform DWP asap and any sanction applied will be quashed forthwith.

 

Let us hope and hold out for a miracle.

How would they know for sure if she got the Letters or not if they are only sent via Royal Mail there will be no record of them unless its been sent recorded delivery which they wouldnt do

[Lapsed Workaholic]

Learn Direct would doubtless have retained a copy of the letter. The address would be on the letterhead and if a mistake was made in copying the address might it not show up?

 

 

Rural sorting offices and postmen might be able to recollect what was delivered and to whom better than say a postman with large suburban or city patches to cover.