Carol is 53. She often worked as a carer doing 12-hour shifts, six days a week, with long travel either side, and with gaps in employment. She has been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for about two years. When she fell sick, she phoned the job centre to rearrange her appointment. They told her that would be fine. When she next went to sign on, she found that she had received no money. She was told she had been sanctioned for six weeks because of the missed appointment. She is now on antidepressants and blood pressure medication as a result of the stress. She had no money for food or fuel and was referred to a food bank. Carol appealed against the sanction but lost, as there was no record made of her phone call. She provided the name of the woman she had spoken to, but they were not able to find her as she no longer worked there. They ruled that as Carol could not ‘prove’ her version of events, the sanction would stand.