It's been a little challenging since my last blog.
I had been waiting for an email back from the housing services lady and I sent a chaser email on Thursday morning, copied to a general inbox. With nothing heard I headed out just before midday. Only now did I receive an email reply asking if I had been to see the outreach officer in the local job centre. I queried this, given I had supplied all the documents requested. She insisted and said we would be thrown out of the hotel if I didn't.
Of course nothing is simple, the outreach officer had just left for her lunch break and wouldn't be back until two. As I walked into the old town, ending up at the quayside I had an enlightening phone conversation with one of the lovely ladies on this site that bouyed my mood - thank you.
I was in the old town to photograph an event that started that lunchtime and quickly paid a visit to each venue before heading back to the job centre. I actually saw the lady just after 2.30 and she didn't know why I was there! It took a phone call to the housing officer to find out I had to sign a form, and that was that - I thought.
Today, Friday, midday, I received a call from the housing officer saying that I had not told her I was self-employed, a sole trader. It was, of course on the forms and on their records but I was told nothing would be done unless I supplied audited accounts. As I'm not required to have my accounts audited this could be a problem, apparently I should have been given a form when I was at the job centre the day before. This is definitely a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing.
I was due a call back within the hour but that time came and went. Finally I got an email at 2.15 enclosing a bundle of forms that have to be returned by Tuesday, at least I have a few days to do that, assuming I can find all the paperwork.
Earlier today I had been back to the apartment and retrieved most of my female wardrobe, my home server and the TV. Not much but the agent only spared me 30 mins again today, we're trying to arrange a van, several pairs of hands, and access to the flat for 4 hours or so.
The Doctor's secretary phoned me, the letter confirming my medical condition(s) will be ready this afternoon. It's 4pm local so I'm heading there now to collect it. It's the start of a holiday weekend so all services, agencies and government are closed until Tuesday.
Shiraz
Comments
If it weren't for bad luck...
you wouldn't have any at all!
What a mess! I thought my state was SNAFU, but what you are going through is amazing, awful and horrible.
Yet, all I can do is commiserate, and my commiserator is old and dull.
Although I do not look forward to this tale of woe, I'm happy that you are still with us and plugging along. The only thing that will help is a positive attitude, and, in spite of your present difficulties, you seem to be holding up. I can only hope that things will get better for you.
Red MacDonald
chin up
I hope you can get stuff sorted - i'm guessing it wasn't entirely unexpected so you were at least partly mentally prepared. I really hope you can find some long term solution for your daughter as much as yourself.
Take care
Mads
Madeline Anafrid Bell
oh dear!
The hoops they make you jump through when you have to rely on government forms and public services workers to get things sorted. Hang on in there it will all fall in to place eventually. I sympathize with the reaction to your self employed position, most agencies seem to think it equates to a crime and that all your millions are offshore somewhere.
I understand
I lost my job 6 years and 16 days ago due to a medical condition I didn't even know I had. My wife and I tried for 9 months and twenty three days to get some government assistance to try and keep from losing our house (a twenty one room Victorian mansion that was our life's dream that we had put 20 years of money and sweat into restoring). I borrowed and begged from my wonderful family, who went above and beyond to try and help, but finally after endless forms and phone calls and sitting in some bureaucrat's office we gave up and sold it. My wife still cries over it.
Anyway 6 lousy days after signing papers to sell it for about a quarter of what I could have gotten in 2008 for it (this was right after the housing bubble burst here) some damn bureaucrat called and said if we'd only sent in one more set of forms I could have gotten Obama's bailout and kept my home. Now we live in a one bedroom 3-room apt. over my sister's garage.
I'm very sorry for your troubles and if there is a moral in this damn mess, it's don't give up. Keep filling out those forms. I wish you better luck than I had.
Waterdog