They really just don’t know what they are doing

Do you remember me mentioning a letter I got saying how the government might owe me money? Its here if you don’t.

I didn’t hear anything,  so I finally bit the bullet and phoned them. They literally had no idea what I was talking about, but promised to ring me back with information on Monday.

A few issues with this, I don’t talk to anyone on the phone on Mondays. I don’t deal with paperwork on Mondays. I was not happy, so I did what I usually do and ignored the phone. The lady was persistant, and rang 3 different times, till I eventually picked it up.

It was an interesting conversation going something like this.

Lady: Did you receive at one point any different benefits

Me: Yes, yes we did
Lady: Who is we?

Me: Me, my partner and my son

Lady: We don’t have a partner on your claim, how long have you been with him?

Me: *in my head* Oh fucking hell, what has gone wrong this time

Me: *to the lady* I have been with him longer than I have been claiming this benefit.

Lady: Oh, I have no idea what has happened.

 

This turned into a very stressful conversation, because as a single parent, I would be getting more money and I could see the pound signs building up on how much I might actually owe them. Even though I have proof that on everything I claim, it is me, my partner and my son and I always say my partner earns a little more than he should do, because it is not worth the hassle of an overpayment.

She did find out what was going on, and could actually prove it had nothing to do with me, they had just been choosing to ignore my partner for close to 2 years, so any money owed she wiped, but it did mean I didn’t get the overage I was apparently due.

Basically this was a pointless exercise, other than to stress me out.