I've just taken a call from a local Job Centre. Apparently, they don't want to see me.
Well, the number was withheld, so I'll have to do further checks. To explain to non UK readers - a Job Centre is place you go for help in finding employment, and where, if your unemployed, you're required to go to 'sign on' to receive employment benefits, should you need them. A condition of receiving those benefits is that you have to show evidence that you're actively seeking work.
To that end, they provide a great deal of help to enable you to find employment. After awhile, should you continue to claim employment benefits, you're required to attend, with others, a kind of intensive job seeking course. If you fail to attend, or you remain unemployed, you have to go on some basic skills courses. Meanwhile, you're regularly interviewed by Job Centre staff to find out what measures you've taken to find work. Fail to meet any of those criteria, and you can find any benefits reduced, or stopped.
There are advisor's to help anyone with a disability find work too. So far, so good.
One teeny-weeny problem. I haven't claimed employment benefits since I was a teenager - and I'm in my fifties now - so we're talking over 30 years ago. I've never been inside a Job Centre. My experience of unemployment and employment benefits (I think it's called Jobseekers Allowance) is second hand.
I asked the terribly nice young lady to explain how she got hold of my name and telephone number, and she couldn't - I was simply on the list of people who she was asked to phone to tell not to attend. From that she inferred, that at some point I'd been asked to attend for an interview, and that wasn't required any more. She asked if I'd received any correspondence, which I hadn't. She concluded by telling me that I wouldn't be bothered again.
Which is nice.
My first feeling was that it was some kind of scam to get personal details, but I wasn't asked to confirm my name, date of birth, or address, nor was I asked for any financial details.
So I'm flummoxed. If anyone has any idea's?
4 comments:
mmmm, sounds a bit iffy to me, me and hubby were on job seekers last year and they hardly ever phoned us up unless they were returning a phone call from us and even then we only spoke to someone whose voice we knew. I think you can get a number for the main call centre from the internet somewhere and perhaps telephone them to make sure it was a genuine call...
Josie x
Thanks Josie - I suspect your right.
I think I'll leave it over the weekend, see if any postage arrives. Then I'll ask 'er indoors to give them a tinkle. I hate phones with a passion!
Yo Wheelie mate - long time no read.
It may not be iffy, though I can understand that the way it was presented to you may come across like that.
The lady you spoke to was being completely honest. She was just working her way through a list of people who don't need to come in. She didn't necessarily know why she had to phone, just that she had to.
Put simply, everything is interlinked now. Tax, DWP, Carers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Jobseekers, Income Support, Child Support, ect, ect.
When it works, it works well. It maintains a continuity of information, allows quicker response to claims and gets help to those who need it, and the level of help needed to right people.
The network also protects genuine customers against fraud, protects tax payers like us from fraudulent activity who would otherwise have a reduced entitlement because the money your entitled to would be constrained within budget to cover the loss.
Occasionaly, the lack of activity, or too much activity on an 'account' is flagged - untouched by human hand as a 'possible'. In your case, I would suggest the former. No, or very little change in circumstances. Obviously, we can't comment on individual circumstances.
This is only a guess, but I would suggest that you and yours have claimed a benefit for a long time, faithfully informed DWP of any change in circumstances, and may even have been checked for fraud and come up clean - there's some nasty buggers who would accuse their dog if they could :)
Why JC Plus? Another informed guess.
If you and/or yours have ever claimed Incapacity Benefit, there's a drive to get their long term unemployed partners into work. I notice from previous posts you get DLA. Have you switched in the past from carer to cared for? If so, you may have been flagged as a carer, then they would see you are on middle or high rate DLA, and illegible. Therefore, they'd let you know.
No need to answer - I know what a privacy freak you are, I'm surprised you even blog! :)
Hope that helps.
Thank you KevKev. Appreciated.
I am aware how UKGOV records are cross linked and why.
Didn't get the impression from the young lady we might have been fraud checked - but I would hope that we would be now and again anyway - my DLA is effectively 'until further notice' and has been for some time.
I accept that there's some vindictive, even jealous people "out there". Not a problem :) I accept that if you're on a long term benefit, some dimwit is going to get "iffy", which may lead to a check.
It's now over a week later, and no correspondence. All enquiries have drawn a blank.
I can only assume that someone was on an information acquiring exercise, for whatever purpose. I'm not worried, just curious. I've a lot of safeguards in place against being defrauded.
Off to blog...
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