———- Forwarded message ———-
From:
Erik Ribsskog <eribsskog@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 16, 2012 at 6:03 PM
Subject: Complaint
To: DWP ICE gateway team <ice@dwp.gsi.gov.uk>
Cc: mail.gva@efta.int
Hi,
I've had a small web-shop, for a couple of years now.
I've updated the Jobcentre about it the whole time.
Last spring, Mark at the Jobcentre, Williamsson Sq., Liverpool, said the web-shop was a 'hobby'.
Some time later, I ended up on the Work Programme.
Ingeus in Sunderland, (where I lived some months, last year), told me to buy a Double Entry Ledger, for the web-shop.
Ingeus in Liverpool, sent me to speak with Ralph, from Elect, who told me they had no founds for marketing, for my web-shop.
I've now started self-publishing some books, and at my sign-on-meeting at the Jobcentre, in Aintree, two weeks ago, I explained about some royalties I've got from the books.
I was told this was a part-time-job, and got some forms.
Some days ago I was frustrated when filling out the forms.
Because I now have two small business.
The web-shop and the books.
Where as I only had one form.
I wrote a complaint about that the Jobcentre have been inconsistent, since they call the web-shop a 'hobby', and the books a part-time-job.
Today, at the Jobcentre, in Aintree, they got me to write a form, for the web-shop(!), (but not for the books).
I still find this confusing.
Now the web-shop, (who has been at around the same size, (a turnover of £20-£100 a month, for a couple of years), is a part-time-job, it seems.
Why this change all the time?
Last year the web-shop was a hobby.
Now it's a business, it seems.
Was this to get me put on the Work Programme?
(Which seems a bit un-conventional to me, with business-coaches instead of business-advisors, etc).
So my complaints are:
1.
Jobcentre Plus have changed the label on my web-shop from 'hobby' to 'part-time-job', from last year to this year, (and have possibly wrongly put me on the Work Programme it seems to me).
2.
The Jobcentre in Aintree told me today that Ingeus have lots of founds, for businesses.
Still, Ralph from Elect, (who Ingeus sent me to), told me, (on a meeting at Ingeus), that there no founds for marketing, for my web-shop.
This doesn't add up, I think.
Hope you have the chance to look at this!
Yours sincerely,
Erik Ribsskog
PS.
I send an update to EFTA, since I'm from Norway and have started updating them a bit, about the problems with my web-shop.