I don’t even know where to begin but any help would be so very appreciated
Comments
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No wonder you are struggling. You are currently being underpaid by £1632.64 a month, presumably since the start of your claim 4 years ago.
Your work coach is acting outside of their remit, and I agree with Poppy and Kimmy's advice here – you should definitely complain.
Each individual error on your claim needs to be reviewed by a decision maker, and you will need to ask for your work coach or case manager to refer it. Add a separate message to your journal under "About a Payment" for each of these errors.
- Your UC should have included LCWRA from the start of your claim.
This would add an additional £416.19 a month. More importantly, it would mean you are not subject to work search requirements, sanctions, or the benefit cap. Add a note to your journal saying:
"Under regulation 19, I believe my support group status under ESA should have been transitioned to UC and applied from the start of my claim. Could this please be looked at as a priority, as I have been incorrectly subject to sanctions and the benefit cap? If you are unable to make this change, can you please refer it to a decision maker to review as soon as possible?" - Your PIP and your daughter's DLA should not be deducted from your claim.
PIP and DLA are both ignored as income for income-related benefits such as UC. The only way these are being deducted is if, at some point, you reported them as income. Add a note to your journal saying:
"I have been made aware that the deductions for "other income" are incorrect. The amounts deducted are for my PIP and my daughter's DLA, which have been deducted since XX (add date here). These should be ignored as income. If you disagree, could you please refer the matter to a decision maker?" - You have been incorrectly benefit-capped.
As you receive PIP, you should not be subject to the benefit cap. I understand that this is a small amount on your current statements, but when they make the decision regarding the "other income," the amount will increase, so this is important to address. You should also not be benefit-capped due to receiving LCWRA, but until a decision is made on that, it is better to focus on the PIP aspect. Add a note to your journal saying:
"I have just noticed that I have been incorrectly benefit-capped since XXX (add date here). As I receive PIP, the benefit cap should not apply to me. Could this please be fixed as soon as possible, as I am missing money that I am entitled to?" - They have not awarded the disabled child element.
As Poppy mentions, the "2-child-cap" applies to the child element, not the disabled child element. As your daughter receives the higher rate care DLA, this an additional £487.58 on top of your current UC. You can have this added yourself.
To do this, log into your account and go to:
Report a change > Children and other people who live with you > Make a change
It will prompt you to re-add your children. When you get to the child receiving DLA, be sure to mark that she receives this and enter the date the DLA started being paid. Once submitted, you will receive a notice that the change happened outside of an assessment period; do not worry about this, as it is automatic. After you submit the change, add a note to your journal saying:
"Dear Decision Maker, I first notified UC of my daughter receiving DLA on XXX (add date here) and was told that, because she is my third child, I was not entitled to the extra disability element. I have queried this with UC since but received the same response. I believe this is incorrect, and I hope you can see from the notes on my account that I reported this change promptly." The backdating of this element will be sent to a decision maker, and adding the note to your journal will provide them with the reason why.To reiterate, you are currently being underpaid by £1632.64 a month.
5 - Your UC should have included LCWRA from the start of your claim.
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I’m honestly a bit scared to post it because I have to meet her on Tuesday and she is never very nice to me I don’t want to make her meaner, is it urgent or can I post it on Tuesday after my meeting? Or is that weirder or going to cause a problem? I don’t understand it all completely and if I post it before and she asks questions I won’t know what to say
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This really is dreadful! You shouldn't have to feel this way especially because of someone at your Job centre treating you this way. All the more reason to put in a complaint about them. They can't simply get away with something like this.
You are missing out on a significant amount of money each month and being sanctioned, which isn't right.
If you prefer to wait then you can do that but the sooner you put that message, the sooner it's all sorted.
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I had not even factored the sanctions in to the missing money, thank you Poppy and I agree with your comments completely.
Mandyletts, it is terrible you are being made to feel that way. Your work coach should not treat you any differently and I would strongly urge you to put in a complaint alongside the other actions. Once you get this escalated to a decision manager they will be able to get much of this sorted for you, and if awarded LCWRA correctly, you will not need to meet with your work coach again.1 -
Hey @mandyletts, I've highlighted the two posts above from Poppy and Kimmy because I do think these are two actions you should probably undertake. You have been failed here by the DWP, a formal complaint should be made. I would also contact your MP and let them know the difficulties you've been put through over this. They can really help out when it comes to dealing with the DWP.
And let us know what happens and how it goes.
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Thank you for answering JimmScope I’m glad I didn’t do emiles advice now, I will try to make the complaint this evening, does anyone but emile have suggestion what I should say?
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May I ask what's wrong with Emiliee's advice? She has exceptionally good benefits knowledge and I couldn't put it in a better way than she has in her comment. There's nothing further I could add to what has already been advised.
For this reason I would be guided by the advice she's given you with what you should say on your journal.
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All of you said about complaint but the Scope person Jimm said to do only Kimmy and your advice so I thought maybe they were saying the other advice from emile was bad
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All the advice has been very good 🙂
I recommended a formal complaint only because writing on your Journal hasn't helped so far.
I think Emilee has done brilliant wording whether you decide to do Journal entries or use the formal complaint link.
Good luck and please keep us updated if you can 😊
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Ok thank you sorry I got confused I'm going to wait until after my appointment tomorrow as I will be even more scared to face her otherwise then I will do the complaint and journal posting after it
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, you have explained every single detail perfectly & concisely.
I was just about to say you can’t be sanctioned or expected to be available for work if you are a cater for your daughter & should be receiving an extra £195 in ur UC for being a cater even if you get caters allowance for herI have recently been forced to change from IS, to UC and am now receiving full housing benefit as I to am a carer for my disabled adult son. Whereas I have been paying almost £20 per week non dependent charge towards my rent for him for the last 10yrs so am now wondering should I EVER have been charged a non dependent amount for my disabled son? Can anyone please help if you’ve been in a similar situation or have a knowledge of how it works please I would be grateful & so appreciative.
Many thanks 👍🤞0 -
sorry I meant’Carer’ but have just read it back & every time it’s printed’cater’ 😂
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I answered on your other thread 🙂
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please, if you don’t like ur UC worker just ask for someone else. You should never have to feel anxious to ask a question or speak ur mind & if you do feel like that because of ur worker then they aren’t the right fit for you.
I’ve only been on UC myself since September & would definitely ask for someone else if you aren’t comfortable honestly.
Good Luck with everything. x0 -
Please see the advice on your other thread about the deduction in your housing benefit, which was correct.
For Mandyletts, with the carers element, their UC should include the LCWRA element because they transferred from ESA Support Group in 2020. This means they would not be able to receive carers element at the same time as this because the same person can't receive both elements at the same time. This is why it wasn't advised for them to claim carers element.
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it's awful this is happening to people I dont understand why they did this system at all it is so bad for people thank you for your message I hope you get yours fixed
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Poppy and kimmy and emile and scope, I went to my work search today and it was awful but I tried to say about lcwra and support group to her and she said that it doesnt matter because they're getting rid of it next year and everyone will have to work, is that true? Is there any point in saying about it at all to them if they are getting rid of it?
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They’re not getting rid of LCWRA or Support Group. Changes are planned but what they will be no one knows yet.
Your work coach is totally wrong to have this sort of attitude with you, it’s disgusting!
There is every point in moving forward with this because you’ve been considerably underpaid for a considerable length of time. You’ve been sanctioned, when you shouldn’t have and also affected by the benefit cap.
For all of those reasons I’d advise you to put in a complaint about your work coach and put a message onto your journal, covering the things that Emiliee advised.
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- I agree with Poppy.
1. You are being bullied and is talking nonsense to put you off: no wonder you feel so awful. She has not addressed the facts.
- 2. Emilie’s letter is an ideal way of submitting for formal consideration of the facts. It will force a consideration of the facts. The worst case is they say no to all ( they won’t) and will probably be repaid a serious sum of money you are owed for your family. Your coach cannot get worse.
3. For a complaint about your coach. Write down what happened in the meeting: the facts over what was said and arguments you presented. If you can note earlier bad meetings with Dates and Times. Think about what you want: change of coach and consideration of Emilie’s points to amend and repay past underpayments.
4. Do not delay putting in your case for underpayment even if you find complaining about your coach too hard.
5. You may find an MPs support helpful too.
In similar situation (not benefits) I felt much better.
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