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Post by philbadfactor on Oct 20, 2022 8:44:05 GMT
Having read all of that I reckon you'll be ok mate. In the case of some Police Forces they are institutionally bad, and it's not just "one bad apple" often times it's a culture. However in the case of Jobcentres it can be "one bad apple". We've all met them, but also very decent people as well.
Cheers for the updates they are what this forum should be all about. It helps other people to see what's going on "on the ground".
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Post by gordo on Oct 20, 2022 20:01:08 GMT
Just to note, that 50 meters is about 150 to 160 feet. For a comparison, 50 feet is almost the nave width of St.Paul's Cathedral,London, and Westminster Cathedral has a 60 feet wide nave.
Many folks get confused between meter distance and feet, and I can imagine some saying they can just about manage the 50 meter bit, thinking its 50 feet, but actually, they've just given DWP a much further distance they can go, instead, having confused meters with feet, and so DWP get the wrong information, and mistakes happen over that one simple miscalculation between the metric and imperial measurements. I think that is especially so, when it comes to 100 meters (300 and a bit feet) and for 150 meters, and so on. However, I am quite sure DWP cannot be unaware of that confusion. So they should always have feet distance in brackets on these forms or explain difference over phone, etc.
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Oct 21, 2022 12:13:04 GMT
Thanks philbadfactor and gordo,
And I think you are right that things will be okay also I think that my work coach is trying to frighten me into going to the face to face with FEDCAP but according to the jobcentre manager it's not even on the cards but we will have to wait n see I guess,
Also in this country we interchange between metric and imperial on a regular basis even though we are supposed to be metric only which is why I agree with you that they should explain the difference between feet and meters on the forms and during the phone assessment,
Because the older generation who were taught imperial at school would understand that more than the metric system unless they had worked in an industry where they had to learn the metric system when it came in,
Anyway will update more when I know more.
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Nov 1, 2022 16:16:19 GMT
Hi Everyone, Well I had a chat with the guy from FEDCAP and he read out an email from the jobcentre saying it is them that want me to go to the face to face appointment, but I said to him I'm not able to make that distance as it would be to painful on my back and legs, and he said unless the jobcentre agree to a change of circumstance then I will have to come in for a face to face appointment, so he said that I need to ask my work coach to agree to the change of circumstance when I speak to him on the 02/10, so that's what I'm doing tomorrow after I've had my ECG and blood taken for my diabetic check up,
Will update the group after I've spoken to him tomorrow afternoon also still haven't heard about a tribunal hearing yet but I think the will either be just before Xmas or just in the new year,
On a personal note we've managed at last to get a date for my mother-in-laws funeral it's Tuesday of next week which is a relief at last, still hasn't eased my stress levels though and now to add to everything else I may have a damaged heart which I'm getting checked tomorrow morning and going from there.
Update: Just spoke to my work coach and basically he said that they will not do a change of circumstances and I have no choice but to go into the FEDCAP offices, even though I told them what the guy from FEDCAP said about they are happy for me to do everything over the phone,
I just had a thought that maybe they are trying to get me to go into the offices to prove to the tribunal courts that I'm capably of getting about and therefore should still be found fit for work, or am I reading to much into this what does everyone else think.
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Nov 14, 2022 15:05:24 GMT
Hi everyone not sure what's going on with the people from FEDCAP but haven't heard anything from them for over a month now and it's supposed to be every fortnight that I chat to them, anyway I'm supposed to be chatting with my work coach tomorrow but we will see if that even happens as well,
On a personal note my mother-in-laws funeral was ruined by my brother-in-law and sister-in-law they both tried starting a fight with me and my wife but it didn't work and it made them look childish and petty minded in the eyes of the rest of the family, we are also struggling to find a house clearance company that we can afford as we have been quoted over two grand by several of them to clear the bungalow,
Anyway will update tomorrow on what my work coach has to say about FEDCAP and why I haven't heard from them that's if he knows what's going on.
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Nov 16, 2022 19:59:06 GMT
Hi everyone I spoke to my work couch today and all he said was "have you heard about your mandatory reconsideration yet" and I said no he was like fine speak to you in two weeks time and he was gone, not sure what's going on but I think I've been removed from the FEDCAP scheme until my tribunal hearing or my work couch is thinking that I'm still waiting to hear about my mandatory reconsideration which he already knows that I'd had that,
And he knows I'm waiting to hear when my tribunal hearing is and like I said I'm really confused as to what's going on.
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Post by philbadfactor on Nov 17, 2022 15:35:15 GMT
Best go with the flow for the moment mate. I just heard the tories budget and he was going on about getting more people to see a so called work coach. bloody ridiculous name for a bullshit job. work coach. sounds like a bus taking people to a factory.
Also I thought house clearance companies were meant to pay YOU for all the sellable gear they take away ?
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Nov 17, 2022 23:53:47 GMT
Hi mate yeah I'm gonna just go with it for the moment and see what happens further down the line, and yeah I thought that to about house clearance companies but apparently not one of them came out to the bungalow and we said to him that we were interested in just getting a lump sum for the whole property, he turned around and said oh you expect me to pay you for this rubbish, he then said if you have any gold or silver jewellery I'll take it of your hands for a small fee, we said nope ain't got anything like that, (we have just not for him) anyway he then turned around and said just walk away and let the housing association empty the place which he then said he will probably get the job as he does nearly all the house clearance jobs when people just abandon a housing association property,
Anyway we are clearing it ourselves and we have found a charity that will take the bulky Items as me and the wife would rather donate them to a charity than let that man and his company clear the place for the housing association, we are selling a few of the small things as that we can do from our own house anyway hopefully we can hand the keys back soon as both me and the wife have had enough as it's becoming a chore to deal with it all, And will update about the jobcentre FEDCAP and tribunal when and if I hear from any of them.
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Nov 28, 2022 17:25:35 GMT
Hi everyone,
Well that was an interesting phone call I had last week it was from a manager at the FEDCAP offices in Oxford he said that the guy I normally talk to has been off sick for nearly 2 months now so he was just doing a quick catch up with his list of clients, he said that I still have to go into the office for a face to face unless I don't want to then it will be over the phone again,
So I asked for over the phone again and he said no problem, anyway he asked me if I had applied for any jobs and I said no not at the moment as I'm waiting for a tribunal hearing, he said no problem you don't need to do anything until after your tribunal hearing which I have heard through a support group on Facebook can take up to 15 months to get a hearing date as that was the concise answer from everyone who commented on my post about it,
They also said that the hearing doesn't really happen anymore what they told me was you walk in the panel introduce themselves and ask you to confirm your name, they then offer you the choice to have a full hearing with questions being asked and evidence presented and then a decision made from all that, or the chance to accept any offer the panel give you which could be either LCW or LCWRA with back dated payment without any hearing,
Most in the group accepted the offer and never had the hearing which is probably what I will do, I think they are doing it like this because of the backlog and they are just trying to get through as fast as possible, what does everyone in here think could that be the reason or not.
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Post by philbadfactor on Nov 29, 2022 10:01:29 GMT
Hi oldrocker, cheers for these updates. I've not heard the terms LCW and LCWRA before. WRA I assume means work related activity ? I think you are on the money about backlogs being the reason. Many, many are suffering from Long Covid now and are first time health benefits claimants. Those of us on legacy benefits such as ESA should really be more or less left alone now with all these new applicants coming through. This forums a bit quiet these days. just me and gordo posting most often. We'll have to think of a way of livening it up a bit . Did you get the bungalow sorted by the way ?
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Nov 29, 2022 20:07:09 GMT
Hi Philbadfactor no problem about doing these updates as I hope it's useful someway to others on here, and yes this forum is very quite these days unlike the old one that seemed to be very active, anyway the LCW and LCWRA stand for Limited Capability for Work and Limited Capability for Work-Related Activities,
If you get LCW nothing really changes apart from they don't force you to look for work they just help you get ready to go back to work, but if you get LCWRA you get an increase in your UC claim and it's usually backdated to when you first put the claim in, also you don't have to do anything to find work you don't even have to get ready to look for work and if you are on a legacy benefit like ESA they are supposed to move you directly over to LCWRA,
And the bungalow is almost done we just have a tumble dryer and washing machine left to sell, so if anyone in here are in Oxfordshire looking for one let me know and we can do a deal as we just want them gone now.
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Dec 21, 2022 10:26:17 GMT
Hi everyone just a quick update,
Well the reason I haven't heard from FEDCAP for such a long time is that the person who was the person I talked to at said place has been off ill with an undiagnosed illness for the past 2 months, so I have a new person I talk to at FEDCAP and they told me that what my previous contact said about it being voluntary was a lie and that I have to engage with them or it will be seen as not working with FEDCAP or the scheme, so she said that she will put me on several different courses in the new year and I have to attend them and they can be anywhere in the country,
So to me it looks like the jobcentre are doing everything they can to prove to the tribunal when it happens that I'm fit to work and should be kept in the bracket that I'm in, but what gets me is my new contact at FEDCAP told me that she has 2 other clients who like me are waiting to hear about a tribunal hearing and they have been told by her that they don't have to do anything until after their hearings depending on which way the panel rules, yet I do have to do all these courses and fully engage with the scheme it just doesn't make sense,
On another note my phone appointment with my work coach from the jobcentre for December was cancelled and rescheduled for Febuary 13th 2023 seems a rather strange thing to do maybe they are thinking my tribunal hearing will be done and sorted by then but I could be wrong, And on a personal note the mother-in-laws bungalow is empty the keys have been handed back everything apart from the corner sofa and a couple of exercise equipment have been sold and the DWP bereavement payment payed for nearly the entire funeral bill, so we only have just over a thousand left to pay which is good,
Anyway that's where I'm at with FEDCAP and the DWP will let you know if anything changes,
And finally hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and that 2023 is a much better year for everyone.
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Post by philbadfactor on Dec 23, 2022 11:33:02 GMT
Cheers for the update. Inconsistent is the word that springs to mind with this fedcap business. I've been on all these schemes in the past and it always seemed to me like they were little companys that were taking public money for doing very little and caring even less. I can remember meeting some good people who worked for these firms but some were just careerists and some damn right disrespectful, but it was ever thus.
RE: the terminology that confused me; I've just got a letter saying I'm still in the work related activity group which pays £77pw plus £30.60 as the LCWRA. But also I now appear to be getting an extra £17.75 which is stated as "extra money because of the disability income guarantee" which I've never heard of before. I though they'd placed me in the "support" group if there is still such a thing.
Good to know you got the funeral and property sorted out anyway.
I would like to know what these courses are as well when they let you know !
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oldrocker
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Post by oldrocker on Dec 27, 2022 14:47:09 GMT
Totally agree with you philbadfactor about these companies just taking the money and not caring, I remember many years ago a scheme I was on that was supposed to help you get back into work in reality they did f-all to help but kept taking the credit whenever anyone left to start work, which is what happened with me I found a job of my own back but they told the jobcentre that it was because of them that I got the job when they had nothing to do with it at all,
Also I remember how nasty the head of the scheme was especially to one of the other people on the scheme, little story time for you one day we were all in this classroom there was about 120 of us crammed into a room that in reality would only have about 50, one of the other clients as they are called complained to the person taking the group about how cramp it was so she went and got the manager and he complained to her about how cramped it was and wouldn't it be better to split us into two separate groups, the manager then started to really belittle him calling him a crybaby and that he couldn't be a real man because he was complaining about everything, she then started doing the littlest fiddle gesture and laughing in his face, of course he complained about her behaviour but nothing changed we were still crammed in the room each day for nearly a fortnight and she stayed in charge of the scheme I was glad to get a job and leave it,
Oh right didn't know they had changed the terminology but glad you are receiving extra money though,
And thanks about the funeral even though it went to shit due to the wife's older brother and sister trying to start a fight with me and the wife but we didn't bite so they looked like five year old's on a playground, but the Housing Association have sent us a rent payment for nearly a thousand pounds they have charged us for three months rent even though they said we would get a month free and they are expecting us to pay it in full by January the 15th otherwise they will take legal action against us, also they are going to charge us if they need to repair something in the bungalow which they shouldn't,
Anyway will let you know what these courses are when I get told them myself.
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Post by gordo on Dec 27, 2022 18:58:06 GMT
Hi Old Rocker. Happy Christmas to you and family. Not impressed with this new person you have at the FedCap thing. This sounds like a real nasty person just throwing their weight about. They can't send you on a course "anywhere in the country". That is simply an impossibility. A person just can't be expected to travel hundreds of miles away like that. Especially a person with disabilities and health concerns. I would be complaining both to FedCap, and the DWP, about that person. Whether it makes any difference is another matter, tho, but they hate being complained about! As to rents, etc, I would be questioning them on why they are not allowing the months free rent, and also, how they expect you to pay that amount of money by the time they demand. But it doesn't sound like a half decent organization, to me.
Anyhow, hope something okay turns up.
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