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Fantasy » alt.fan.pratchett » [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system
| [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #280380] |
Mi, 07 Juni 2006 12:14 |
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<rant> Ah the vagaries of efficiency and cost cutting in putting all
benefits related sections together in one building so that they may
better co-ordinate their actions - and then dumping everything from the
surrounding areas on the one office whilst not increasing the workforce
enough to manage it all. Throw in computer systems that aren't up to
the task, databases that share so little information and what there is
has to be duplicated or lost when a client swaps from benefit to benefit
and to top it all throw in the odd person who can't or won't understand
plain spoken English, or written for that matter, who blithely sits on
things until you provide proof of receipt of something you don't and
never can get 8-( Gaaaarrrrgghh makes me want to pull my hair out
sometimes. You'd think it be simple to change from Income Support to
Job Seekers Allowance (or vice versa) with no or little break in
payments after all it's all in the same building and they use the same
computer systems and after all they are making big noises on going after
people who are claiming benefits they're not entitled to. But no,
because of these "improvements" you have a break of 4-5 weeks, if your
lucky, because of an idiot that is extended and your - rightful
entitlement - is binned, whilst meanwhile you are left with bills to pay
and no way to pay them, are in danger of losing your home because you
can't even pay the token amount on the mortgage and no way to buy food
etc. for you and your kids whilst you search for a job, that you can't
turn up to interviews for because you can't pay any transport costs nor
clean your clothing and if you do manage to make it to an interview you
get told you are over qualified for the post or the company has suddenly
changed it's job specs and you are no longer eligible for the post
8-(( Meanwhile the benefit cheats are pulling in thousands a month and
are not really targeted unless they fall into set groupings like
illegals or organised gangs. It almost makes you wonder if the reason
that a parent doesn't tell the benefits office about changes in
circumstances is because of this, putting it off and putting it off
until they have enough money saved to be able to survive whilst the
office gets it's act in gear, which when the time comes to do it they
don't bother because it's easier to just keep on claiming. </rant>
Sorry needed to get THAT off my chest, I feel much better now :-)
Steve
---
Willing to work for food and laundry facilities + enough to pay bills,
ideal job - Staff member of Laundromat with integrated cafe.
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #280741 ] |
Do, 08 Juni 2006 17:41 |
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Steve Rogers wrote:
> It almost makes you wonder if the reason
> that a parent doesn't tell the benefits office about changes in
> circumstances is because of this, putting it off and putting it off
> until they have enough money saved to be able to survive whilst the
> office gets it's act in gear, which when the time comes to do it they
> don't bother because it's easier to just keep on claiming. </rant>
>
> Sorry needed to get THAT off my chest, I feel much better now :-)
>
> Steve
> ---
I've been led to believe that this is certainly true in the states.
Also, because benefits are rarely enough to actually live on, educated
guesses are that illegally supplementing the benefits runs at right
around 100%.
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #280763 ] |
Do, 08 Juni 2006 18:27 |
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"peachy ashie passion" <exquisitepeach [at] hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:LyXhg.13885$523.3867 [at] trnddc07...
> Steve Rogers wrote:
>
>> It almost makes you wonder if the reason that a parent doesn't tell
>> the benefits office about changes in circumstances is because of
>> this, putting it off and putting it off until they have enough money
>> saved to be able to survive whilst the office gets it's act in gear,
>> which when the time comes to do it they don't bother because it's
>> easier to just keep on claiming. </rant>
>>
>> Sorry needed to get THAT off my chest, I feel much better now :-)
>>
>> Steve
>> ---
>
>
> I've been led to believe that this is certainly true in the states.
> Also, because benefits are rarely enough to actually live on, educated
> guesses are that illegally supplementing the benefits runs at right
> around 100%.
I can well believe it.
Steve
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #289506 ] |
Di, 20 Juni 2006 22:24 |
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On Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:27:12 -0400, Steve Rogers wrote:
> "peachy ashie passion" <exquisitepeach [at] hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:LyXhg.13885$523.3867 [at] trnddc07...
>> Steve Rogers wrote:
>>
>>> It almost makes you wonder if the reason that a parent doesn't tell
>>> the benefits office about changes in circumstances is because of this,
>>> putting it off and putting it off until they have enough money saved
>>> to be able to survive whilst the office gets it's act in gear, which
>>> when the time comes to do it they don't bother because it's easier to
>>> just keep on claiming. </rant>
>>>
>>> Sorry needed to get THAT off my chest, I feel much better now :-)
>>>
>>> Steve
>>> ---
>>
>>
>> I've been led to believe that this is certainly true in the states.
>> Also, because benefits are rarely enough to actually live on, educated
>> guesses are that illegally supplementing the benefits runs at right
>> around 100%.
>
> I can well believe it.
>
> Steve
My SO had been studying accountancy for 6 months, when $BUZZWORD informed
her that, since she was not activeley seeking employment during that
time, she would have her 'benefits' curtailed. An alternative, however,
was found. She now receives 'Austudy', around A$150 per fortnight less.
The difference? comes from my income. Thanks John...
C:\>
--
Why do George Bush and John Howard share so unique a world view? Because
both of them have their heads up Bush's a**e
I'm working on the time thing - posted 2006.06.20.16.23
ibvtug-xnzcss [at] bcghfarg.pbz.nh
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #289511 ] |
Di, 20 Juni 2006 09:36 |
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On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:24:04 -0400, Elder1 <root [at] localhost.localdomain>
wrote:
>My SO had been studying accountancy for 6 months, when $BUZZWORD informed
>her that, since she was not activeley seeking employment during that
>time, she would have her 'benefits' curtailed. An alternative, however,
>was found. She now receives 'Austudy', around A$150 per fortnight less.
>The difference? comes from my income. Thanks John...
As someone who's worked for the DSS and then Centrelink, I should also
point out that during the time I did admin support for one of the
debt-recovery teams, I learned that under assorted Australian benefit
laws, it was entirely possibly to report your income, earnings and
circumstances 100% accurately and _still_ get slugged with a
multi-thousand-dollar debt, assorted nastygrams, and black marks on your
government file.
This was caused by the fact that part of the process of claiming assorted
benefits involved a calculation based on what you were GOING to earn in
the current tax year.
Think about that for a moment. People were asked to write down what they
were going to make in the upcoming year, including any and all changes due
to unforseeable circumstances.
Of course, if your guess turned out to have been too high (thus reducing
your benefit), that was just tough luck. But if you'd guessed too low (for
example, if you'd been unemployed all year and then suddenly got a job, or
were working casually and received more hours or a raise), you'd been OMG
OVERPAID GIVE THE MONEY BACK YOU SCHEMING BASTARD.
So you'd get single mums who had been trying to support one or more kids
for a year on the basic pension, all the while attempting to find work so
the kids wouldn't have to eat wallpaper paste this week. Finally, they get
a job! And the government response? "Great! You now owe us twenty grand."
A real incentive to rejoin the workforce, there.
I'd often tell people who managed to land a working income to just sign a
form saying they didn't want the pension any more, rather than to declare
their income and have it auto-cancelled and an automatic debt raised. At
least then they had a frickin' chance to either avoid the debt completely
(investigations of people no longer on the government teat were rare
compared to those still being paid), or at least get their financial feet
underneath them, some of the worse debts paid off and a couple of meals
into the kids before the hammer fell.
Gah. Working for a broken system can be one of the most depressing jobs in
the world. Sure, there's the occasional opportunity to help people make
the most of it, but all too often my social conscience just wanted to leak
out my ears and run screaming for the exit.
-SteveD
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #289529 ] |
Di, 20 Juni 2006 14:53 |
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On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:24:04 -0400, Elder1 wrote:
> My SO had been studying accountancy for 6 months,
I got this *after* the response to it *puzzled look*
OK own up.. who broke the temporal wotsit? ;)
--
Kind regards,
Julian Hall
"I'm only on the planet because I missed the bus home"
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #289588 ] |
Di, 20 Juni 2006 23:21 |
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CeltiKaos <lists [at] munged4usenet.removethatbitohandthisbit.kaotic.co.uk>
wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:24:04 -0400, Elder1 wrote:
>
> > My SO had been studying accountancy for 6 months,
>
> I got this *after* the response to it *puzzled look*
>
> OK own up.. who broke the temporal wotsit? ;)
Usenet did. That's why we quote.
Richard
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #289838 ] |
Fr, 23 Juni 2006 05:47 |
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On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:53:25 -0400, a collection of particles arranged in
such a way as to form a person that we would recognise as CeltiKaos,
influenced tha intarweb to propagate the following:
> On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:24:04 -0400, Elder1 wrote:
>
>> My SO had been studying accountancy for 6 months,
>
> I got this *after* the response to it *puzzled look*
>
> OK own up.. who broke the temporal wotsit? ;)
Me, I'm afraid. Please tell me it's fixed. Art gave a much deserved
serving of clue and I hope It worked.
C:\>
--
"Where do want to go today?" "I'm thinking http://gentoo.org"
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #289847 ] |
Do, 22 Juni 2006 16:08 |
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In article <pan.2006.06.22.23.47.46.39956.311 [at] localhost.localdomain>,
Elder1 says...
> On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:53:25 -0400, a collection of particles arranged in
> such a way as to form a person that we would recognise as CeltiKaos,
> influenced tha intarweb to propagate the following:
>
> > On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:24:04 -0400, Elder1 wrote:
> >
> >> My SO had been studying accountancy for 6 months,
> >
> > I got this *after* the response to it *puzzled look*
> >
> > OK own up.. who broke the temporal wotsit? ;)
> Me, I'm afraid. Please tell me it's fixed. Art gave a much deserved
> serving of clue and I hope It worked.
> C:\>
Alas, you still live in the future.
--
PleegWat
Remove caps to reply
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #289860 ] |
Do, 22 Juni 2006 18:08 |
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On Thu, 2006-06-22 at 23:47 -0400, Elder1 wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:53:25 -0400, a collection of particles arranged in
> such a way as to form a person that we would recognise as CeltiKaos,
> influenced tha intarweb to propagate the following:
>
> > On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:24:04 -0400, Elder1 wrote:
> >
> >> My SO had been studying accountancy for 6 months,
> >
> > I got this *after* the response to it *puzzled look*
> >
> > OK own up.. who broke the temporal wotsit? ;)
> Me, I'm afraid. Please tell me it's fixed. Art gave a much deserved
> serving of clue and I hope It worked.
Unfortunately, no. What does "date" say? (Both as your user and as
root). You may have a TZ variable set somewhere, which overrides the
system time:
grep TZ /etc/* /etc/*/* ~/.*
You may also have to set your BIOS time to GMT, if it changes every time
you reboot.
Regards,
--
*Art
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| Re: [I] Rant at the UK Benefits system [message #290041 ] |
Fr, 23 Juni 2006 16:23 |
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Arthur Hagen posted:
....
> You may have a TZ variable set
Hey, leave me strictly out of this ;-)
--
Ciao
Thomas =:-)
<www.kochkinder.de>
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