Well, first experience of dealing with the new centralised team in Stirling so far has been entirely negative:
1. Client gets letter advising of retrospective non entitlement to IS from his local BDC (I assume this is an attempt at a supersession). Client appeals and I then become involved.
2. I phone the local BDC to try and clarify reasons and evidence for non entitlement.
3. Local BDC staff are very helpful but say the decision has been made by a DM in the fraud decision making team at Stirling and they don't know the reasons in any detail or have any of the evidence. They contact the Stirling DM and ask her to contact me.
4. The Stirling DM refuses to phone me and tells the local BDC that I am not nominated as a rep (even though written consent has been provided and the local BDC accept this).
5. Local BDC give me the Stirling DM's fax number.
6. Over next few days, I twice fax a copy of the client's consent together with a request for her to ring me to discuss. I also fax some additional evidence which I think may be helpful and client also rings the local BDC to confirm that he is happy for them to talk to me.
7. Still no reply, So I track down the phone number for the external relations manager at Stirling BDC on the JCP website. Ring this. Phone is answered by a helpful man who just happens to be in the wrong office. He agrees to talk to the DM and ask her to phone me.
8. 24 hours later,still no call. I ring the helpful man again (using the wrong number in the wrong office which I found) and he agrees to talk to the DM again. He says I ought be dealing with the local BDC. I explain again how I have tried this and they don't know the reasons for the decision or the evidence used and hence why I need to talk to someone who is dealing with it, that I have faxed written consent, etc.
9. Stirling DM rings and leaves a curt message on my voicemail, does not give either her name (which I know anyway because the local BDC told me!) or phone number and says she can't talk to me and that I should await sight of the appeal papers
10. I ring the helpful man again...and on it goes until I decide to escalate matters to the highest level within JCP..tbc
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