Capita playing with me

I'm not suggesting you 'fake' a meltdown. I was suggesting that your problem seems to be that you prepare to 'play their game' then they change the rules at the last minute.

If you don't let them cancel on you (by not taking their call) and turn up as arranged then I'm suggesting that they would likely make time for you.

The 'meltdown in the office' was speculation that, based on what you've previously said in terms of how stressful you find this whole process, a meltdown would be a likely outcome of making the effort of getting to your appointment and then being told they wouldn't see you.

I have no wish for you (or anyone) to suffer a meltdown - I was simply theorising that as a potential result and suggesting that it might mean they would find time to deal with you as the negative impact on them should such a story reach the press is likely something they'd wish to avoid.

Best of luck

Fair point. Who knows who to trust these days? 

How are you feeling now? 

I haven't *asked* you to trust me have I?

Just a thought. If you trust nobody, why should I or anyone trust you?

I bet you read the Mail, Sun or Express and I'll put money on the fact that you don't actually know people who pretend to be ill either, but hey, those lying rags have told people for years about 'nasty foreigners coming her getting free houses and all the jobs, while claiming benefits'  and 'benefit scroungers' claiming billions of *your* money, and it's *much* easier to believe the lies than find out the facts and real  statistics isn't it?
As it happens, I trust nobody and believe nothing I'm told. I do research, look at facts and figures and data. Like for instance. Benefit fraud is a fraction of a tiny percentage of the whole welfare bill. That welfare bill, classes the old age pension as a 'benefit' in order to make it seem larger than it is, and get people angry.
Tax evasion costs the country several times more, than benefit fraud does, but there are 6 times as many benefit fraud inspectors, than tax evasion inspectors. Why is that do you think?
Why is a Tory government, made up of wealthy people, not clamping down on wealthy people who evade paying taxes, while getting their media chums like Lord Rothermere (daily Mail), to tell poorer people that other poor people are stealing their money? 
It's called a distraction technique. Like the banker with 10 cookies, looking and seeing the worker with 1 cookie, and telling him "Watch out for the benefit scrounger beside you, he's about to steal that cookie you worked for" and when the worker looks, the banker swipes the cookie, stuff it in his mouth and eats it quickly, wipes the crumbs away, and when the worker notices his cookie is missing, the banker says "see, I *told* you it'd be stolen"

I understand you dont want them in your house, I hate people in my home, as you say it's your safe place. I'm sorry theyve messed you about so much. It makes me angry that genuine people suffer but I know of people fake illness and claim without issue! It makes no sense, its like they make life hard for the 'easy targets' and let the mouthy fake ones do as they please

It's not withheld but I'm not sure what turning up and having a meltdown will achieve. I can't summon up a meltdown when I'm not stressed or upset, it's not an act or anything. I don't *want* to play with them. I'd prefer not to have any dealings with them at all, but since I am forced to play their game, I will ensure that when I *do* eventually get to see them, I'll ensure that they don't lie, or if they do, I have it on audio tape for when I take it to appeal.

If the number they call you from is not withheld, make a note of it and then don't answer it if you get a call from in in the 24hrs prior to your appointment.

Turn up, if they tell you it was cancelled just tell them you weren't aware.

If they say they can't see you I imagine a meltdown in the office will likely 'miraculously' mean someone becomes free...

The above probably sounds bad but I think reflects you 'playing them at their own game'... and puts control back in your hands.

I hope you can appeal, Robert. Yes, the rents are out of control. In the food bank that seems the biggest problem, along with delays in Universal Credit. 

Getting employment isn’t easy as we need employers who can accommodate us. They are rare. So it does seem the benefit cap is a huge problem indeed, along with uncontrolled rent, meaning having to apply for money to cover rent from sources meant for other purposes. Sorry. I’m rather naive in many respects. 

If you appeal and get support maybe that’ll work? 

I too was homeless once. Luckily I am devious, cautious and inventive. I bought a cheap caravan and persuaded a farmer to let me stick it in his field and live in it. Then I persuaded a builder to let me rent the house he'd just renovated while he tried to sell it. Decades worth of plotting and persuading means I now own a little hovel, but it's mine and *I* choose who comes to call. I don't like people. 

I guess only understanding one's *own* situation and being blind to others is part of the curse of living with autism.
You *are* blessed if you have secure social housing. I don't. I have my own place. I tried renting once and couldn't cope with the fact that someone else was able to dictate my life and control me.
I also happen to live very very rural, which again, I need as I crave seclusion. But that also means there is no public transport. I'm not even sure I could cope with public transport and having to be close to a load of strangers, with no means of escape from loud noise, talking, kids yelling ect.
Frankly, if the entire world's population disappeared overnight, I would feel nothing but a sense of relief.

And I have used food banks twice.

Rent is too high according to housing office,  but letting company I rent from says mine is cheapest they've got. 

Other cheaper places are awful dumps and many landlords will not touch universal credit tenants .

My PIP has been rejected,  I received zero points.

So benefits are too low to live on.  So advice is usually get a job.  But my work and health history is so bad, I get constantly turned away and I have been told on several occasions that I'm unemployable. 

And I use ear plugs, headphones and hope each day goes well. I was homeless in the past, so I count my blessings. 

I am autistic. I have minor physical disability. I use buses. As I admitted to Robert, I am blessed with social housing 1 bed flat. I am ugly as a troll, but assure you I am human. Sorry if I am too blunt, but I am genuinely puzzled. 

Sorry Robert. I forgot about high rents not being covered by benefits due to the cap. High rents maybe are the root of most evils? I see you need the money to get you out of debt. I admit I am blessed to have social housing, and accept it is hard to get these days. I do hope you get through the PIP maze okay. 

Budget and economise with no income? What we spend our money on? Oh you know, fripperies like electricity, heating in winter, food, clothing, transport, insurance, mortgages.
Luckily there's not enough spare to buy copies of the Mail/Express/Sun such as you obviously read.
PIP stands for Personal Independence Payment. It enables people to live independently. For example, owning a car, vital as a 'safe place' if you suffer panic attacks, or get overwhelmed and need to get away from sensory overload rapidly.
I suspect you are not autistic, not disabled at all, and are probably a troll.

Well, I applied for PIP because it was part of the action plan developed for me by my local money advise service to try to get me out of debt.

Universal credit and housing benefit does not cover my rent because of the benefit Cap.

Finding paid employment of any kind is very difficult because of my autism and behaviour difficulties. 

So PIP would my my life just that less poverty stricken.

To be honest, I cannot work out what people who are not working nor severely physically disabled spend their PIP money on. I know several will get annoyed at me, but to be honest the money isn’t worth the stress and hassle for me. I would rather budget and economise. I am not in need of buying in care, transport and disability aids, which it is meant to be used for. If it makes me suicidal fighting the system, well sod them. I will just manage on less. I will not slit my wrists etc just for financial gain. 

If it’s that upsetting, find a different way around it. 

In this day and age loads of working people use food banks. Nobody is exempt from hardship or the threat of it. Some don’t have a home at all. So if PIP is that traumatic, it plainly is not worth it. Not unless you need it for severe physical disability (my friend had a severely incapacitating stroke for instance) or to help you keep in work. 

Now shoot me down. 

NAS63666 said:

Basically the government has waged war on disabled people, given the contract to ATOS and Capita, who gt paid for each person they can kick off benefits, and bonuses to the assessors who aren't really 'medical professionals' inasmuch they can't diagnose or even understand things like autism or any other serious issue.
I don't believe they read any of the forms you have to fill in, chuck doctor's letters into the bin without reading and the whole farce is designed to get people off benefits.
Nobody seems to mention that the whole thing actually costs more than they save and yet it continues, so the lie of it being to save benefit money, is brought to light. So if it's *not* about saving money, what *is* it about?

Yes - I'm pretty sure you're right.    It's really quite nasty.

They did exactly the same to me - cancelled an afternoon appointment on the morning - even though I have lots of health problems and making the journey to the centre requires me to starve myself for the previous day and I have to be up early in the morning to stabilise my body and I have to take tons of meds to guarantee I can function for the day (which causes a major hiccup for the next few days) - cancelling really screws my body up.    My wife tore them off a strip and they magically managed to find someone to do the appointment.

They did the same for the previous review - which they rebooked for 08:45 - knowing my body problems - 12 miles away forcing me to travel through London rush hour traffic (which took almost 2 hours).

This is all in my notes so, like you, I think it's deliberate - just to mess with you - so are likely not to attend the next appointment.

I have never dealt with such a dishonest, lying, underhanded company in my life.