Social security

[bryadelle]

hi all.

I am writing a dissertation on state benefits and the benfit agencies and was wondering if people out there would be willing to share some experiences of the DHS department be it good or bad that they have encountered. No slander please, however i would be extremely keen for any unusual experiences that you may have encountered. i need to get a general overview of the publics opinions. thank you for your help.

[dotjhawkes]

Firstly I believe you should check which department you are talking about, I don;t think there is a DHS anymore, also, if you just ask for experiences, then it will end up anecdotal, which proves nothing about your ability to handle data or research. What about looking at the complexities of the workings of the Benefits Agency today, with the straight forward workings of the same facility 20 years ago, the anecdotes you glean from members here would then be contextualised and you would be able to offer a comparison and highlight the improvements, anomalies or failings of the current system with a much more informed mind.

[bryadelle]

Thank you for your reply,i understand totally where you are coming from and value your advise, however i am actually looking for personal experiences within the social security department and peoples reactions to the response they receive within that department.

This is more psychology based than anything else and therefore your suggestion would not be appropriate in this instance. sorry if i gave the wrong impression. In retrospect i did word my question rather poorly. Thanks.

[Le Chat]

My husband was recently made redundant amd had to go to the job centre to 'sign on' for the first time in his life. He said that the young man who interviewed him was merely asking questions from a form and had no original thought of his own. For example, Mr. Le Chat showed him his very extensive CV and remarked that he had 3 interviews lined up for the following week. Furthur into the 'conversation' the young man asked my husband if he had ever thought about writing a CV and had he been looking for any jobs!!

Fortunately, Mr Le Chat is now in employment again but his impression of those who work in the job centre is very low!!

[bryadelle]

Thank you for your reply le chat. It is stories like that that i am looking for. Glad Mr.Le chat managed to find work. All the best.

[tigga]

I have only been unemployed twice in 14 years, the first occasion being after 5 years working and contributing to N.I. I went and signed on as seeking work, waited about 4 weeks before i recieved my �40 per week and then after another 2 weeks, the interregation began - I had to take copies of letters i had sent to apply for jobs and fill in forms detailing what steps i had taken to search for employment, this was a totally soul destroying experience as i genuinely didnt want to be out of work.

Luckily during this period, the 'New Deal' was brought in, this was a far better service, i was given an advisor on a one-to-one basis who was wonderful, she spoke to me for ages and helped me to compile c.v's and application letters detailing useful points and qualities that i myself had overlooked. Needless to say, i was soon back in employment, and very happy with the 'New Deal' service.

The second time, i became unemployed due to redundancy and was too old for the New deal (i think its for 18 to 24 year olds) so i didnt even bother with the DHSS, partly through being more experienced and more 'employable' but mainly due to the fact that i had some redundancy pay and the treatment from DHSS was not worth �40 a week.

Good luck with your work.

[bryadelle]

Thank you Tigga and all the best to you too.

[Merthyr Imp]

Just to say that 'DHSS', 'DSS' or even 'Benefits Agency' don't exist any more (since 2 or 3 years ago).

It's now Jobcentre Plus, which is part of the DWP (Department for Work & Pensions). Also part of the DWP is the Pension Service and other bodies. All of these used to come under DSS but in recent years governments in their wisdom have decided to mess - er, reorganise things. It's almost impossible for an ordinary person to keep up to date with these reorganisations and renamings - but at least nobody talks about being on National Assistance any more!

[thikasabrik]

About 10 yrs ago Mr Briks brother was self employed and paid his National Insurance as a lump sum annually. The amount was always the same, give or take a few pounds. This one particular year, they sent him a bill for double the amount. He posted them a cheque for what he knew he owed and asked them to investigate. He then was involved in a bad accident and was unable to work for 10 months due to his injuries. His wife had just had a baby and they had no income so he went to the DSS and was told he couldn't claim anything cos he owed N.I. They lost everything, including their house. A year later the NI dept admitted he was right and he didn't owe any N.I. but by then it was too late. The DSS still refused to give him a penny saying they didn't backdate claims.It took the family years to get back on their feet again, but they're doing OK now.

[lyndunnpoet]

I was a single parent in work, working from 7 in the morning till 3 the following morning being a very busy chef. Im female by the way my partner deid in a car crash so I was the bread winner. I worked and worked to make ends meet. I was so ill in the end I went to the job centre to seek advice. They told me I was lossing money by working and they advised me to stop working and take time out, they said it didn't matter about working anyway I was a parent and the state would look after me. This was the kind of attitude I got from the job centre and social security at the time. So I went home and let them look after me. After working so hard I had a break down. I recieved no help. The system stinks.

All I wanted to do was work an honest days work and see my child everyday. This was not the case my child was brought to my place of work for 5 mins on a saturday just so I could see her. I became ill with a complete break down.

I was put on seroxat by a dr nearly 10 years ago I have not been able to work since.

I was let down by the system and passed over everytime I wanted to go out to work. I was told always you will not make money your means test states you will lose money, stay at home.

Dr gave me a drug that turned out to be one of the most dangerous drugs on the market and caused me a complete break down.

I am now a recovering alcoholic.