A warning about phone appointments

FeistyPigeon · September 14

Hi Scopies,

It's been far far too long and I'm really sorry I haven't been in touch for ages, I've been in a dispute with UC (which I've won and will tell you all about in another post as soon as I can), but I hope you've all been going along ok…

I wanted to give you all a warning about something that happened to me today, when I was due to have a phone call on the claim review (the one where they check up on your bank statements). Forewarned is forearmed as they say, and what they did might become common practice for all I know.

So anyway, they were going to phone me at 12am this morning. I waited by the phone a good 10 mins before and was still waiting 12.20pm. No call to either my landline or my mobile. They hadn't sent me any message saying the time had changed, so i thought something must had happened, I couldn't wait forever like a lemon (could a pigeon actually become a lemon??) I left the phone and went to another room to log into my UC journal to find out what had happened.

Blow me down they decided to ring me while I was logging in. They phoned my landline as I have a speakerphone and it's easier with the tremors, but I still had the mobile with me. Ok so off I flew to the landline, not easy when you've bust wings. The phone rang 5 times then cut off. EEEK! In a panic I logged into the jounal, and this is what I found, a nice big fat notice slapped on saying I'd failed the appointment:

The consequences of "failure" are always spelt out of course, and include closing your account. Stress levels were sky-high. I added a journal message immediately, explaining what had happened. Luckily they accepted it + I now have a new appointment. I say "luckily" because if the interviewer had disputed the time she'd phoned, there'd have been a whole lot of trouble.

There was no explanation why they were late, no warning they would be before I had the appointment, and there was no attempt to ring my mobile when I didn't answer the landline. So I've been left wondering, was it just she wanted to get off to lunch? Was it indifferent callousness? Or is it a policy they're adopting to strike people off the benefits bill? Makes you think…

Whatever, my advice is, if you find yourself in a similar situation, give them at least 30 mins to call you.

Must fly folks, will be back soon xx

Rosie_Scope · September 14

Hey @FeistyPigeon, that sounds so stressful, thanks for sharing the warning! I think waiting for about 30 mins to an hour after the appointment time is probably a good idea. It does sometimes seem that they want you to sit by the phone all day waiting!

Glad you could get a new appointment sorted ☺️

FeistyPigeon · September 15

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1149245#Comment_1149245

Good to hear from you Rosie : ) But wow do you think we should really wait a whole hour after the appointed time? Maybe you're right. But one reason I logged in when I did is that I was afraid they couldn't get through on the phone - they call that a failure too! We've been having digital phone connections laid down around here, a few months back they couldn't connect to me because of it and said I'd "failed" to keep the appointment. Because I got back to them immediately on the journal, they booked another one. But if I'd waited an hour I bet they wouldn't have. It's tricky…

They shouldn't fail either of these situations at all, which makes me wonder if it's not a policy ploy to reduce claimant numbers, I suspect brought in under Stride or Kendall…

Thinking about it, I think it's best to wait for the whole appointment time, eg if it's for half an hour, wait for half an hour, but if it's just for 10 mins, wait for the 10 mins. If no-one rings at the end of that time, get onto the journal at once and ask why not. The problem is, once you get given a "failure", a message comes up saying you need to explain why very quickly. If you leave it much later than the appointment is due to end, they could argue you have no proof you were waiting. If you contact them immediately after the appointment is due to end, that argument is less valid.

Rachel_Scope · September 15

I don't think it's fair to have to wait so long after your appointment but you can't trust that they will call on time unfortunately. The system definitely isn't designed to be fair! I'm glad they accepted what you said but I imagine it was incredibly worrying to see that on your journal.

FeistyPigeon · September 15

Yes it's incredibly stressful, you think they'll close your account and cut your support off, no food, no heating etc.

The other thing to watch out for is you have to answer quickly when they phone, they'll hang up after a few rings, they won't wait around for you to reach it. Even when they know we're disabled and can't move quickly. This and the fact that different departments seem to operate the same way, makes me think there's real policy behind all this, directed by the top. This is after all, one simple way they can justify cutting people off the benefits bill : ((

FeistyPigeon · September 15

Yes its incredibly stressful, you think they're going to cut your benefits off, and you won't be able to pay for food, heating etc.

Another thing to watch is when they do phone, they only let it ring a few times before they hang up. They don't take into account that you might not be able to move quickly to reach the phone. This and the fact that different departments appear to have the same strategy, makes me think this is UC policy, directed from the top. It is after all, one simple if brutal way to catch people out and cut the benefits bill.

FeistyPigeon · September 19

PS I've discussed this this my representative at Citizens Advice and they rather have the same suspicion as me that the delays to phone appointments and short ringing times are indeed intentional. I was in fact surprised by how open Citizens Advice were with me about their thoughts on this.

A warning about phone appointments

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