Emily - I can not agree with you more.
Britains 'systems' are shookingly bad and so tied up in bloody red tape it is enough to make a sane person want to kill somebody!
It takes so much effort to sort out the simplest of matters. So many people you have to talk to, the forms you have to fill in? Good grief - You lot in England count yourself lucky! When you get your forms, the big, long, book length ones (and I am talking simple stuff here, child benefit!!) thank the stars your only getting the English version, we also get the lot in Welsh and the thud when they drop on your mat? Dear God....
We have local elections here, I had my voting card through. I would not waste the ink in a pen! There is not one single person worthy of a 'x' on that form. Not one.
I am tempted to post it back with 'your having a laugh, right?' written in thick black marker...
The CAB will be the most effective people to go to, although there will be a wait when your there, for advise on any benefits, as for anything else, well, they will sure know where to send you for help if they can't help themselves.
The actual Dept of Work and Pensions will not tell you accurately all you can be claiming, it's almost as if their job is to not pay you everything they should rather than pay you. It's totally baffling. I think they bank on people getting frustrated and fed up and wanting to give up which is why they make it all so difficult.
The fact you can get a crisis loan and quickly is not readily known and it should be, it really should be these days especially... People loosing their homes when they could get this payment to help for that month? It's shocking.
I had better wrap this up now else I will be bashing every Government department known to man!
Don't even get me going on the tax office!
I am off for more coffee!
Tina - let us know how you get on.