This is a lulu.

Client went to brothers over christmas after being told by JC+ that didnt have to sign. Came back to be told should have signed, no benefit, tuff. Going to appeal and in papers there is a JC+ computor record of telephone call to client when he didnt sign on asking him to contact jobcentre.

Client has no phone, no mobile, zilch

Information commissioner or should we just don a black cap

Try to persuade the Chair to ask JCP what number they used to ring him on? Do you often have POs in your neck of the woods: it would be interesting if so. Not that the poor sods often have the whole file anyway, but you might get an amusing little adjournment if they haven't.

Alternatively of course you argue that if the mucked this up they could muck anything up and their evidence isn't worth the paper it isn't printed on...but you were going to do that anyway.

Absolutely. Fun and games on this one. Interested in your reference to POs. Now in a very dim corner of my memory I think that stands for Presenting Officer. Nope-haven' seen one for an age. Might insist on one being there for this case though. Especially when we tell them a complaint going to Info Commissioner that DWP are falsifying customer records.

So much for data protection.

Just a guess here.

You say that the JCP rang the client asking him to contact them; this implies they left an answer message. If the client had a phone when they first claimed and noted it on the claim form this will be on the JCP computer system. If he has since got rid of it they would still have the number on the system.