Claiming Jobseekers Allowance while awaiting the outcome of an Employment and Support Allowance assessment, Mark was sanctioned twice for not turning up to job centre appointments. He says, “Over six weeks, I made about 60 phone calls trying to sort out the appeals and the ESA [claim]. On almost every phone call I’d be told something different. They would tell me my money would be a week, then I phoned up and they said no they shouldn’t have told you that. With the last phone call the woman said, no it doesn’t happen like that, it takes another two weeks. She was so rude I just hung up and collapsed on the floor. Tears were running down my face. I actually said out loud the word suicide to my flatmate, to my family and to complete strangers. I hit rock bottom.”