Cost of living payment 2023 NIL awards

Rosie429

Good morning everyone. Im posting this to see if there are any others out there who are in a similar situation to me who can perhaps give me some clarification on the 2023 cost of living payment.                                                                                                                                       I have read the guidance from the DWPs website which states that universal credit claimants will be eligible for the cost of living payment if they were entitled to a payment for an assessment period ending between the 26th January and the 25th of February. My assessment period starts on the 20th and ends on the 19th of the next month with my payment date being the 26th of the month.                                                                                               For my assessment period of 20th January to 19th of February i received a NIL award due to a sanction i received for breaking the rules of my claimant commitment by missing an appointment with my work coach which disqualifies me from the payment.                            But the guidance also says you may still be eligible for the payment if you received a nil award but received a hardship payment as a result of the sanction. I did receive a hardship payment as a result of the sanction but i could not apply for a hardship payment until the 26th February as that is the date i was supposed to receive my allowance for the assessment period 20th January to 19th February.                                                                      The 26th happened to be a Sunday so i applied for a hardship payment on the Monday and received it the day after on the 28th February. I am unsure weather or not i will receive the payment as this is 3 days after the qualifying period ended. Or does this not matter as long as the hardship was the result of a sanction?                                                                         Im slightly confused. Is anyone else in a similar situation? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou!

poppy123456

Unfortunately I can’t give any advice because I’ve not heard of any stories where someone has received it in this situation. 

That’s quite a harsh sanction to reduce your UC to zero. Have you received any UC since then? 

Rosie429

Hello poppy, thanks for the reply. It was of my own making as i did not rebook and attend my appointment for a few weeks which meant i got a really large sanction which carried over to march which meant i only received a £20 in march too but luckily i did receive my full allowance in april.                                                                                          Which is all completely fair as i did not do as i agreed to in my claimant commitment by attending my appointments. But i do think its harsh to also deny people of the COLP just when they need it the most. Its almost like a double punishment.                                                                                                                                                                                             Thank god i have an amazing friends and family around me who can help me out until i get back on my feet and back in to work but what about others in the same situation who have no one to turn to?                                                                                         But hey what can you do.                                                                                                                                                                   I will update you on my situation and weather or not i receive the support.

2oldcodgers

Rosie429 said:

Hello poppy, thanks for the reply. It was of my own making as i did not rebook and attend my appointment for a few weeks which meant i got a really large sanction which carried over to march which meant i only received a £20 in march too but luckily i did receive my full allowance in april.                                                                                          Which is all completely fair as i did not do as i agreed to in my claimant commitment by attending my appointments. But i do think its harsh to also deny people of the COLP just when they need it the most. Its almost like a double punishment.                                                                                                                                                                                             Thank god i have an amazing friends and family around me who can help me out until i get back on my feet and back in to work but what about others in the same situation who have no one to turn to?                                                                                         But hey what can you do.                                                                                                                                                                   I will update you on my situation and weather or not i receive the support.

The position you are in is of your own making - the rules around a failure are quite harsh and it's something that I do not agree with.
We are back on this same situation of the rules being applied despite the fact that in your case there are strong mitigating circumstances at play.
All rules be they for the DWP,  HMRC etc are black and white BUT, a Decision Maker does have some room to decide how harsh they should be applied given the mitigation put before them.
Seems that the individual in your case has had a bad night. Did you not submit a statement of mitigation.
In my time with the Service many times I bent the rules without breaking them if the particular circumstances warranted it.

Rosie429

Hello 2oldcodgers, thanks for the comment. No i have not, im going to wait until the 17th may to see weather or not i receive the payment and if not then i will have to get in touch to see if i qualify for the payment as the guidance is very unclear using the phrase "may be eligible".                                                               All people want is clarification, yes or no. If im not eligible then i wont submit a statement of mitigation, it is what it is.                   Also thankyou for your service to this great country.

2oldcodgers

Rosie429 said:

Hello 2oldcodgers, thanks for the comment. No i have not, im going to wait until the 17th may to see weather or not i receive the payment and if not then i will have to get in touch to see if i qualify for the payment as the guidance is very unclear using the phrase "may be eligible".                                                               All people want is clarification, yes or no. If im not eligible then i wont submit a statement of mitigation, it is what it is.                   Also thankyou for your service to this great country.

The statement should have been sent with an appeal when you were first told about the sanction. 

Rosie429

Yes but i don't wan't to appeal the sanction. I broke the rules of my claimant commitment by not attending my appointment without letting my work coach know that i wasn't going to be able to attend. And i did not rebook and attend this appointment for at least two weeks. So i was rightly punished with a sanction on my allowance.                                                                                                                                   However i do have my reasons for not attending, even my close family have suggested i see a doctor about my mental health, my mental health was the reason i lost my most recent job. But i feel a better option for me would be to get back into work and then see if my mental health improves which im sure it will. Im the type of person who tends to try to deal with these things on my own despite what anyone says. But my work coach told me i need a doctors note for this to be an acceptable reason for missing my appointments, which is fair enough. So like i say it is what it is, I just hope they don't punish me again by denying me the COLP.

2oldcodgers

Rosie429 said:

Yes but i don't wan't to appeal the sanction. I broke the rules of my claimant commitment by not attending my appointment without letting my work coach know that i wasn't going to be able to attend. And i did not rebook and attend this appointment for at least two weeks. So i was rightly punished with a sanction on my allowance.                                                                                                                                   

So you agree that you should have been punished?
You are doing a disservice both to yourself as well as other claimants by simply putting up with this situation knowing that you have good mitigating reasons but don't want to air them with the DWP.

Rosie429

I disagree, i was just hoping someone give me some clarification on weather not i will receive the COLP or if there is anyone out there in a similar situation thats has received the payment so i can start to plan my finances, and i thought this post might help others in a similar situation. I agree i should of been sanctioned as i do not have a doctors note therefore do not have good mitigating reasons. So yes i agree i should of been punished with a sanction, however i do think it's harsh to punish people again three months down the line by denying them the COLP in their most vital time of need. I was just looking for some clarification and since you asked why i didn't appeal i thought it would be helpful to explain my reasons for not doing so. I did not itend to do a disservice or disrespect anyone and i apologize if it came off that way.