Latest moan from you and me - 2016

To a point I agree,silu, but the aggressive defensive attitude of the "sharp end" of the DWP Staff is counter productive as it only increases the tension and distress of the those legitimate claimants while also making them feel guilty for claiming.
DWP staff are under pressure to reject as many claims as possible during times of austerity and that is obvious to claimants when "walls" and barriers are deliberately erected to grind claimants down.
I have had contact, during my work, with DWP staff who were told to, by their Supervisors and Managers to treat, and indeed regarded as told, claimants, no matter how legitimate, as "Enemies of the State" . Indeed it was my pleasure to take action against a DWP individual who when questioned about his rejection of a claim to assist a Widowed lady and her 3 children said "They can live on the streets as far as I'm concerned".
Don't get me wrong, I have the utmost sympathy for those DWP staff who every day have to try to deal with claimants fairly, humanely, and with respect, while dealing with people who they know to be "professionals" and using the system to claim funds beyond their rights. But there is a great deal of actual contempt and even hatred by a number of DWP staff of claimants and the job that they are in. They seem to have forgotten that, or perhaps fear, that one day it could be them claiming.
I've been lucky during my working life in that in the first two years I was made redundant 3 times in 2 years but always went straight into another job. Having said that, I made a mental pact with myself that I would always resign from a company while negotiating to join another company or job offer. I also always refused a company car so that I could keep my own independence of transport so that should I leave a company I didn't have to find another car. So I've never claimed for anything from the State but I have many friends who lost jobs during the years and found it degrading and distressing having to deal with contemptuous, hard faced, DWP staff while frantically searching for a job. There has to be a better way to deal genuine claimants than exists at the moment.

 

Not sure about the suit but that looks like an early version of a BSA Meteor on his shoulder!

 

I used to work across the square from the DSS and knew a lot of them. Some were lovely people and others were the opposite. As I used to have occasional meetings with the senior officers they always wanted to know which of the staff I had received bad reports about. (Yes, @"M" I know I've finished a sentence with a preposition ).

Fortunately the senior officers were good people and were gradually retraining their staff - until they got a new boss who was an ogre! He was so bad that a report was sent to the government department from an organisation to which I belonged ( @"M" got it right that time ). I don't know what happened to him but he only lasted 10 months.

 

I have just a couple of minor moans - totally unrelated. Nothing really important but just annoying.

The first was an order to Parkers, due for delivery on Tuesday through their couriers, Hermes. They very kindly gave us the tracking details so we were able to follow the delivery through the depot and out to their agents. Hermes even sent us regular emails with update links.

So these were 'with your local depot', 'out for delivery' and 'delay due to address access' . I could only translate that as meaning they couldn't find us. First thing Wednesday morning there was another 'out for delivery' but late afternoon was another 'delay etc.'

We phoned Parkers (they were still there at 6.55 p.m.) and they looked up their records when we gave them the post code that Hermes were trying to deliver to. Parkers said that they had sent our correct address and post code to Hermes (read it back over the phone) but that Hermes were trying to deliver to a business address in London . He apologised and but said that he would give instructions, again, for it to be delivered today. First thing this morning there was an email from Parkers apologising, again, for the mix up and stating that the deliver should be on its way.

We ended up with the same tracking emails from Hermes who were still trying to deliver to somewhere in London. We phoned Parkers and they said that Hermes were returning the package to them as they were unable to deliver it! Parkers are now saying that they will send the order out again and we shall receive it after Christmas. It's no real problem as it's only bulbs but the inefficiency is annoying.

The other problem was with my car. One of my car keys was becoming erratic with regard to locking and unlocking the car (electronic key fob) and I deduced that it was the fact that the battery was going (have had the car 8.5 years). I also phoned my local garage, who are excellent, and he said that it was almost certainly that battery but that he didn't keep them in stock. He suggested that I pop into Halfords for the battery, get a new one for each key fob, and if Halfords won't fit them then to pop in and he would do it.

So, when out shopping I went to Halfords. They were not busy and I gave them my two fobs and asked them for batteries. In a fairly disinterested voice the (non) assistant asked me if I knew the serial number of the batteries - which, of course, I didn't. He said that they don't keep any catalogue of which car fobs their batteries are for, and then he just turned away and chatted to the assistant next to him.

I went out to my car, looked up the handbook and went back inside to tell him the battery number. He said "we don't do those" and turned away. Silly me . Why should I expect a business that supplies parts for cars to actually have the part I wanted

I walked next door to Maplins (they do electrical equipment) told them the number of the battery and the assistant immediately said "hold on a moment" and was back within a minute with the correct batteries. They said that they don't fit them so I dropped into my local garage and they did them immediately - no charge.

 

No doubt the poor guy has already had to live with it all from School age and having his name shouted out while in class or a queue. When in the RAF I met a Group Captain "Bar-Steward] if you get my drift., [he wasn't one], and some airmen I worked with were named Clutterbuck, Crapper, Nutter, Shufflebottom, and a friend of mine calls his long suffering girl friend "Mrs Bracegirdle"