Thank you to all at rightsnet and the many contributors to the site ...

Well, after thirteen years, three months and one week at Citizens Advice Maidstone, ten years and seven months of which have been as the CLS welfare benefits caseworker, I am leaving the bureau on the 31st of this month and I just wanted to say that not only has everybody at Citizens Advice Maidstone given me great support during that time but that at times it has felt that I would not have been able to do my job without the answers given to my many questions posted on rightsnet by so many fellow likeminded folk who use this incredible resource.

Too many of you to thank personally but a special thank you goes to Ariadne, who departed these shores recently and Nevip (Paul), both of whom always seemed to come up with an answer or another way to look at my particular clients problem when all appeared lost.

Am I sad to be leaving ? Yes, because I actually love working in an advisory capacity and fighting for the underdog, but sadly also no because due to all the cuts to welfare and the unfairness of the majority of them I am becoming more and more despondant as the weeks and months roll by.  I read a post on here earlier and I picked up on the fact that there are a lot of contributors to rightsnet who seem to feel the same way.  I hope I’m wrong but I do feel that after the great Tax Credits and Jobcentre Plus administrative fiascos in 2003 and 2005 (please correct me if I’ve got the years wrong but my brains a bit foggy at the moment, but if I have then answers in a post to the usual website ?) things are going to go seriously Pete Tong ?

Anyway, without further adieu I shall bid you all a final, “enjoy the rest of your week and thanks once more for all of your thoughts and replies, all very useful” ...

Pete - man :)

thanks very much for your valuable contributions to rightsnet over the years pete, and wishing you all the best for whatever you’re up to in the future…

cheers ros

Hi Pete

I’m sincerely touched by the name check and I am glad to have been of help, no matter how small.  I’m saddened to see yet another good adviser bow out of the game and hope that you can come back some time in the future.  Good luck wherever you find yourself, keep on keeping on and keep the faith.

Regards
Paul

Oh, and I forgot to say thank you to the local JCP escalation team at Maidstone Job Centre who have also made this job possible when impossibility appeared to rule the day, a very big shout out to Dean, Mike, Charles, Margaret, Sarah and Emma, and other members of the team I may have regrettably missed out ...

... If ever you come across these folk from JCP you will find them reasonable, rational, a damn good ear to have a rant to about JCP’s failings, and above all else just decent nice folk.

and that’s that, on the way out could someone turn the lights off ?