New claim or mandatory reconsideration?

tulsamarney

Hello,

I have been receiving LCWRA payments since March and I recently moved in with my partner so we made a joint claim. They have miscalculated my partners savings and so they've closed the claim and said I'm not entitled to anything. We have calculated everything over and over and this is definitely a mistake on their part. We are going to ask for a mandatory reconsideration but on the email I got sent it says the quickest way to see if in eligible again is to make a new claim. If I make a new claim with these details then will I have to be reassessed for LCWRA? I really want to avoid it if possible as it's such a hassle and takes a huge toll. I'm just wondering what the best thing for me to do is. I have to pay rent, council tax, bills, buy food etc and so my money is decreasing constantly. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I thought payments were made a month in arrears so shouldn't I still receive my normal payment as I've only just started living with him and I was due my payment on the 20th. I'm really panicking and if anyone can give some clarity before I make all these phone calls and go through this hassle, I'd really appreciate it :-)

poppy123456

If you or your partner have capital of more than £16,000 then entitlement to all means tested benefits will end. Capital is any money that either of you have, whether it's at home, in a bank account, ISA and any property that you own but don't live in.

Yes, UC is paid 1 month in arrears but entitlement to UC is based on the last day of your assessment period. If payment was due to 20th of the month this means your assessment periods dates are 14th to 13th of every month. If you moved in with your partner between 14th Sept and 13th October then entitlement to UC on 20th October would have been based on your joint circumstances. UC does not work as part of a month.

Rather than start a new claim I think you should request the Mandatory Reconsideration on the claim that closed.

tulsamarney

Thank you for your reply. It makes it a lot clearer about the arrears payment. I moved in on the 11th October so I just missed the deadline. It's left me with about £50 in my account so I wish I'd have timed that better. His capital does not total more than £16,000, we checked everything and we never would have applied if we didn't think we were eligible. It's such a shock and has left me with no money and he cannot support both of us. I will take your advice and request a mandatory reconsideration as it seems like the man looking over the evidence vastly miscalculated it. He has over £6,000 in savings so I knew we wouldn't be eligible for the highest amount of help but he doesn't have £16,000. It's left me struggling but I am hoping to print out all the evidence and then ring them today/tomorrow.

poppy123456

For every £250 or part thereof over £6,000 there's a £4.35/month deduction in your UC.

tulsamarney

Hi, I have rang universal credit twice to ask for a mandatory reconsideration and no one has replied. In another week my rent will be taken and after that I'll be really struggling financially. I will give them until then to reply before I potentially make a new claim as I feel there is no other way. My question is: if I make a new claim then will I have to provide fit notes etc or will they take my previous LCWRA decision into account, it was decided this year. I am trying to speed things up but doing all the right things, I've contacted citizens advice as well but I'm wondering if a new claim would take into account my previous benefits? Any help would be appreciated:-)

poppy123456

As you've requested the MR a decision on that can take up to 12 weeks. Your UC claim has closed so you won't have access to a journal, which means they'll need to send you a letter with the MR decision in the post.

I don't think starting a new claim is the answer here because they could come to the same conclusion as before.

How have they managed to calculate your capital incorrectly?

tulsamarney

Okay thank you. I have no idea, I wasn't there when they made the decision. My partner went and took our information as he had to verify his identity and the man said we had over £17,000, we have just over £14,000 so it's a total shock. We knew about the £16,000 limit so we never would have applied if we had over. The savings are all my partners apart from £1,000 which is all the money I have so it's left us in a state because I was relying on that money. I wish I had of been there but my partner has never had anything to do with universal credit so he just accepted the sum must have been right and left.

tulsamarney

Will I know if they're going to look at it again/ request new evidence? No one has told me that they will, they've just said that a case manager should get back to me by 6pm.

poppy123456

As you've requested the MR then this means the decision will be looked at again by a different decision maker. If more information is needed they will contact you.

tulsamarney

Thank you for your help :-)