Benefit sanction. Advice please???

[worriedmnetter]

Posted this in chat but no replies so far:

Hi I'm a long time lurker but this is my first post so please be gentle

I received a letter from dwp yesterday saying I failed to attend a work programme appointment last month, the reason I didn't attend is because the appointment was on the same day that I had to sign on. I sign on in a different town so there's no way I could have been in 2 places at once.

I phoned the work programme to rearrange and they said someone would get back to me but nobody did, I then phoned them again the day before my appointment with them to make sure they knew that I couldn't attend on that that day. After I received the letter yesterday I phoned the work programme and they said that nobody had made a note of me phoning them to let them know so I have no proof that I did it.

The letter says that my benefit could be stopped for 4 weeks if I don't have a valid reason for not letting the work programme know that I wasn't going to attend.

I have a 10 year old DS and I'm worried sick about having no money for 4 weeks. Does anybody have any advice?

Thanks for reading!

Can you get a copy of your phone bill, showing at least you called them twice?

Its no use this time, but in the future, its always worth making a note of the time, date and name of the people you you speak to when calling companies etc.

It was my mums phoned that I used, she's on pay as you go and it only saves the last 10 numbers that she's called.

I spoke to the job centre and they told me in future to make notes of the time and people that I speak to in future as there's been loads of complaints about this sort of thing happening.

Not sure if child benefit and tax credits will be stopped as well? I'm screwed with only losing my jsa money, if I lose them as well I don't know what I'm going to do Either way I'm due to be paid this Friday so I'll have wait and see.

Thank you for replying!

Don't just wait and see - contact the job centre and find out in advance what will happen, that way you have time to either try and sort it out or make alternative arrangements!

You should keep child benefit, as its not means tested (well, for the last few weeks those earning ££££ have had it reduced or stopped, but from what you've said, I'm assuming your not in a household with someone earning over £50k!)

Don't know about the others. Sorry. Hope its good news on Fri

No definitely not earning over £50k (I wish I was!)
I've been round all my local businesses practically begging for a job Hopefully I'll be worrying over nothing but as the job centre told me today the work programme are ridiculously strict about appointments