Afternoon Dave'n'All at SayNo *(the greatest website on the net haha!)
I just had to come and tell you all this... Even tho Im a little reluctant to let you know 'which' jobcentre this happened at, I feel the need to share my experience with you all.
I followed (Dave) your advice with the adding new number at end of previous before-changed numbers, and found my local branch of JCP on 01424 42500 6 (After all the previous tries got me thru to the FAX machine.)
Iv been online, and on the phone, since 930am this morning trying to get thru to Income Support after receiving a letter from the DLA about changes to my benifit amounts... Needed them urgently, incase they tried to say I hadnt informed them, or I get overpaid or whateer other excuses they spring to mind... For love nor money could I get thru to anyone. That's even after coming on here...
In the end I 'randomly picked' on one of the numbers in the JCP DWP listings, and thought "To heck, why not." Never realised what might happen; but managed to get through to a really lovely person, who after me telling them my Postcode rang me with an 0845 number to get thru to my local JCP. One Id already found and decided against, Indeed Im with others on this site that refuse to ring the 0845s at all. If I cant find the number here, they dont get my call.
As it turns out, and this is apparently available to EVERY JCP OUT THERE,
the person kindly used THEIR phone, put me on a three way call, rang the 0845 number for my local JCP,
then PUT ME on the phone thru to them...
And apparently it will work, because HE rang me... something else they are all able to do. Maybe if more of us got onto them and asked for a call back, they'd find it was working against them rather than for them to have the 08 numbers, and may change them back again...
One thing that really peevs me beyond the
'ripping-out-of-my-hair-and-tearing-my-limbs-off is the JCP staff that say that THEY ONLY have these numbers to use as well.
You're not going to tell me that if they are running late for work, or are sick one day, that they are going to have to go thru the rigmarole of calling their 0845 number
and waiting half hour for an answer at £1per minute.. cos I dont believe it. Not for a minute.. It really enrages me.