WITH reference to "Redundancy 'pay' leaves a nasty taste" (Letters, March 8), I agree with your correspondent that "something is terribly wrong."

Having been made redundant at the age of 63 last year, I found that even following 47 years full employment and tax payment, I, too, received very little help from the system. The procedures were difficult to navigate and extremely intrusive.

Eventually, after using up all my holiday and statutory notice pay -- the latter paid at statutory minimum, well below my previous rate -- I eventually qualified to 'sign on' as a job-seeker, some 14 weeks after leaving employment.

I had already tried to find another job during this period. Few, if any, employers wanted to recruit from older members of the workforce, regardless of qualification or experience.

The few opportunities on offer were for short-term or part-time work where the applicant was expected to provide a high level of skill or extensive experience for the national minimum wage.

Once I became a job-seeker, I had to submit to a fortnightly interrogation, but found no improvement in the quality of jobs on offer. The cost of transport and postage needed to apply for and attend interviews had to be found from my £52 allowance. Few replied and many vacancies did not exist when I got there.

I applied for help with council tax, not once, but three times. I eventually gave up after a demand to explain several transactions from my bank account, dated well before my redundancy.

I appreciate the need to stamp out benefit fraud, but people in the position of your previous correspondent and myself are being used as an 'easy mark' by the authorities.

Surely, it is not beyond the wit of these 'professionals' to sort out the genuine applicant with a long and continuous work record from that of the habitual malingerer.

The state already has access to all our records. The last thing that is needed at a time of stress is repetitive form filling and interrogation by unsympathetic officials.

I eventually decided to apply for my company pension, dropped out of the loop and helped to reduce the unemployment statistics.

Although now on reduced pension, I am only marginally better off than when I was as a job seeker, but I have at least retained my dignity.

Name and address received