MY experience of the NEW improved DHSS system

Recently I was made redundant and found myself claiming benefit. I have since then found a job and are back in the land of the tax payer again.. However, I thought I would share my experiences with you on what I found with reference to the NEW and Improved systems implemented by our wonderful government.


After my period of gardening leave, I went down to visit my local DHSS to find out who to register. From now on I shall call it the Job centre.

It was a monday morning at 10.30 so I thought that I had given the wonderful people who worked there plenty of time to have woke up, had 10 cups of coffee and be ready to start work.

When I got there the place was shut, No signs on the door, just locked. People were outside looking through the windows and nobody knew what was going on. So after about 10 minutes we walked back into town.

As we walked to town we passed a brand new Job Centre Plus building, which appeared to have been converted from a previous council building. On trying to enter via the electric doors a sign on the door said CLOSED, due to office move/ Training.

An excellent start.

So I went home and decided to go back the following week. Which on arrival the following monday I found that it was closed again as the staff were on strike.

So yet again I went home, this was now starting to get me down. So I went in again at the end of that week only to have a leaflet pushed into my had and ordered out of the building. Apparently this new system means I have to phone initially instead of going down in person.

So I went home and phoned the number. I was put through to Coventry, so they could process my claim. Which only happens to be 40 miles away from my home, but I guess that isnt a problem. So we started a conversation and after 25 minutes ish, she told me that I needed to make an appionted to continue the claim with the Stoke office, which is about 30 miles from where I live in the other direction. I we agrred on a time and day they would call me back to take more details. The time was between 8.30 in the monring and 1pm.

So three days later I got the call and luckly for me it was quite early. I answered more questions, and this conversion went on for two hours in total as the lady had to phone me back three times to allow the computer system to update the page before we could continue.

At the end of the conversion she told me that I would get a copy of what info had been entered onto the computer, which I needed to sign and then take down to my local job centre on the date the letter detailed.

So after a few more days the letter came and I went to visted my local Job centre to meet my adviser/ helper.

During my initial meeting at the Job centre we went through my application, to correct any errors that had been made. I had well over ten, even my Name was spelt wrong on some of the documents. Unfortunatly most of the errors could not be corrected as the people at the job centre did not have authority to correct it, and the computer system they used didnt allow them to update all the screens. Eventually I corrected manually all the errors, signing each alteration before I would sign the document.

I was then allocated a time to come and sign on the following week. While discussing my working options the lady was quite amazed that I had already had three interviews and had another two to come, before the end of that week.

So the following week I went and signed on for the first and last time, as the day after signing on I started my new job.

So in summary.......

- Nice new office
- Nice new desks, chairs, computers, plants
- On all visits more staffs than unemployed people
- Staff standing around doing nothing, talking and drinking coffee.
- A computer system that cannot be updated if the wrong information had been enter by another office/ department
- Numerous phone numbers need to be phoned to check benifits etc....

So they call this improvement, I can now see where my taxes are going, and why the governemtn can claim unemployment is falling. Yes it might be, because all the muppets are working down the DHSS drinking coffee and standing around talking

Now isnt that a productive use of our taxes. I would like to here from other UK people about your experience of the new system. Hopefully this is only an isolated case. But my guess is its not.