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Telephone calls to DWP -on hold waiting time increasing again
On hold for 61 minutes the other day and I then had to put phone down!!
Abandoned calls don’t count towards wait time so the reality is far worse than the DWP publish.
And when they do pick up…..
The adviser/operative has no knowledge of the benefit system and cannot satisfactorily answer your query, necessitating a call back…........OR
The adviser/operative doesn’t understand implicit consent and refuses to speak to you, necessitating another bloody phonecall.
Slightly desperate phone call from one of the homelessness officers who had been on hold for 60 minutes, told he would be put through to ESA new claims and was catapulted straight back to the start of the process. He’d rung the MP whose caseworker agreed they have the magic number but said welfare rights (us) also have magic numbers and declined to intervene.
I tried the most recent escalation number we have for Sunderland ESA new claims and it rang, and rang, and rang and rang. Apparently in an empty waste land. I think my headset may now have grown organically into my head - I’ll be a bit like the gas mask Empty Child from Dr Who. The Empty Welfare Rights Officer…
just been on hold for 1hour & 6 minutes this afternoon before they answered,
The waiting times to get through to ESA on the National phone number is disgraceful. One of my team, waited 1hr 30 mins last week before getting through. No level of customer service or explanation from the DWP why.
I have currently been on hold for 50 mins. Glad I love classic music, specifically Antonio Vivaldi, his Four Seasons and the first 30 seconds of the Spring movement…..I can’t get enough of it!
I have currently been on hold for 50 mins. Glad I love classic music, specifically Antonio Vivaldi, his Four Seasons and the first 30 seconds of the Spring movement…..I can’t get enough of it!
it won’t last. 12 years and counting!
43 minutes here and I’m going to have to go to Tribunal soon.
This is farcical!
Advised a client to close JSA claim and to go back on appeal rate until tribunal.
He’s been trying 2 days to get thru to sort this
Ludicrous
Makes tax credits look efficient, and I never thought I’d ever say that ;)
They don’t answer letters at all.
This could be a rework of an old Adam Ant number
Don’t write, don’t answer, what do you do?
Don’t write, don’t answer, what do you do?
Subtle innuends follow
There must be something inside
This is getting beyond a joke with ESA. On hold over an hour the other day- glad this has been raised. Adviser’s need up to date escalation numbers for DWP department’s- that don’t change.
I have sent this thread into the stakeholders forum and asked them to respond and also to produce an updated list of escalation numbers - will update when hear…
...in which case let me add another experience.
Call 1 - answered surprisingly quickly. Told me that you can only be paid assessment rate ESA while appealing ‘when you’ve actually got a date for the appeal’, then hung up on me when I advised customer not present, and I intended to use something called implicit consent.
Call 2 - waiting time of 59 minutes (a new record for me, and I simply wouldn’t have bothered hanging on if it didn’t need sorting out). Happily, spoke to someone who had some idea about rules, and he did his very best - which of course was basically promising a callback.
It’s making it virtually impossible to have any meaningful contact. As if I needed to point that out.
I don’t know what other people think but I’m not sure an escalation route is needed; more an intermediaries service.
I’m sat on hold now chasing arrears of SDP for someone; they’ve put the premium into place but haven’t backdated to the commencement of PIP; more expense saving skullduggery no doubt.
It’s not something that would need escalating but at the same time it won’t get sorted unless I intervene and, if I were to write in, it’d be months before we saw any resolution and I’d probably end up ringing to check whether they’ve received the letter anyway so much is going missing at the minute.
It’s not something that needs escalating but it’s something that needs doing. Dealing with a vulnerable caseload I do a lot of this; they won’t follow stuff up themselves, I have to do it.
I was hoping for one of those “surpisingly quick” answers Robbo mentions above; at least within 40 minutes, but I’ve got a meeting to go to soon so I’ll probably have to give up.
I don’t know what other people think but I’m not sure an escalation route is needed; more an intermediaries service.
I’m sat on hold now chasing arrears of SDP for someone; they’ve put the premium into place but haven’t backdated to the commencement of PIP; more expense saving skullduggery no doubt.
It’s not something that would need escalating but at the same time it won’t get sorted unless I intervene and, if I were to write in, it’d be months before we saw any resolution and I’d probably end up ringing to check whether they’ve received the letter anyway so much is going missing at the minute.
It’s not something that needs escalating but it’s something that needs doing. Dealing with a vulnerable caseload I do a lot of this; they won’t follow stuff up themselves, I have to do it.
I was hoping for one of those “surpisingly quick” answers Robbo mentions above; at least within 40 minutes, but I’ve got a meeting to go to soon so I’ll probably have to give up.
For what it is worth Dan, I’ve never had any ‘push-back’ from the staff at the processing centres I deal with (mostly Clydebank/Stratford) when using the escalation numbers for clients whose benefit problem is fairly straightforward but who are vulnerable due to MH and need a swift resolution from that perspective. Obviously I try and ration the calls as if they become bombarded with everything there is the risk that the escalation numbers become more restricted.
They don’t answer letters at all.
You have to phone up to tell them you’ve sent a letter…
At least that was how it was explained to me when I phoned last week to query if an IS10 I had sent had been received. Yes, they did get it five weeks ago but it’s still sitting unactioned in a scanned mail folder, where it would have remained indefinitely pending anyone phoning.
Now that I’ve phoned, they’ll forward it to the processing centre.
I don’t know what other people think but I’m not sure an escalation route is needed; more an intermediaries service.
I’m sat on hold now chasing arrears of SDP for someone; they’ve put the premium into place but haven’t backdated to the commencement of PIP; more expense saving skullduggery no doubt.
It’s not something that would need escalating but at the same time it won’t get sorted unless I intervene and, if I were to write in, it’d be months before we saw any resolution and I’d probably end up ringing to check whether they’ve received the letter anyway so much is going missing at the minute.
It’s not something that needs escalating but it’s something that needs doing. Dealing with a vulnerable caseload I do a lot of this; they won’t follow stuff up themselves, I have to do it.
I was hoping for one of those “surpisingly quick” answers Robbo mentions above; at least within 40 minutes, but I’ve got a meeting to go to soon so I’ll probably have to give up.
For what it is worth Dan, I’ve never had any ‘push-back’ from the staff at the processing centres I deal with (mostly Clydebank/Stratford) when using the escalation numbers for clients whose benefit problem is fairly straightforward but who are vulnerable due to MH and need a swift resolution from that perspective. Obviously I try and ration the calls as if they become bombarded with everything there is the risk that the escalation numbers become more restricted.
Rather than take this too far off topic I shall start another thread