16th March, 2022.
Right …
I was due a phone call, yesterday: from a representative of the Job Centre, to “discuss my health journey on Universal Credit.”
Job Centre: or Department of Work and Pensions. I’m not sure which runs the body that’s supposed to call.
Notice I say due.
The call never happened.
Oh, at least, I didn’t get the call while I was in: I did a little shopping, yesterday, and half expected it to come then.
I got home, and was in for the rest of the day.
So the Service Centre’s representative had a long time to make contact.
Just like my Work Coach, my Job Centre case worker: who phoned exactly when she was due to.
The rep? Didn’t call while I was in.
It was frustrating enough that I phoned the DWP’s enquiry line*, to see what was happening.
At roughly 16:30.
What the Enquiries chap did?
Firstly, was to check my details and ask the inevitable security questions.
Secondly, was confirm my my landline.
Which I repeated a couple of times, so he could be sure of the number.
He was then able to tell me that they’d apparently called: and left a message on my answer phone service.
I’ve got issues, here.
Granted, I may have missed the call, when I went shopping: or they may have phoned when I was on the phone with my work coach or the Enquiries line. The Enquiries chap also told me they could have dialled the wrong number.
It didn’t occur to me to ask Enquiries when they phoned: which could’ve been useful to know.
But … ?
He told me they left a message.
One problem with that? I have a pay-as-you-go landline: I only pay for the calls I make, and nothing else.
I don’t pay for the answerphone service: as I can’t afford it.
So? The Service Department may have left a message: but it’s not one I’m going to receive, or be able to access.
Another? They didn’t leave a parallel message on my online, Job Centre, journal: which is how they let me know they’d be calling†.
That is sometimes the best way for the Job Centre to contact me.
My only course of action?
Was to do what I did.
Tell the Enquiries people I couldn’t and didn’t get the message, make sure they know what my landline number is, and make sure this was logged on the system, and — ha! — flagged up for the Service Centre.
And repeat all this to my Work Coach: so she could do the same, if possible.
And — ye gods! — make sure this was logged in my online, DWP/Job Centre journal.
I guess it’s now wait and see.
~≈☎️≈~
