Wrongfully applied notional income tribunal and outcome...

UnhappyChappy101

So, this process has been unbelievably vague and ive had no clarity from UC themselves sooo im seeking help from anyone whos been through something similar, Sep of last year my partner was added to my claim (student). She was later told there was reasonable expectation to apply for student finance and she was going to be treated as if it was income (she couldnt, window had already closed). After a mandatory reconsideration, it was upheld and ended up needing to be put to tribunal with the final date for submission being Dec. UC submitted nothing and it went to a judge's decision with a directions notice given to UC on April 13th ordering assessment periods with the reduction to be amended and my payments to be made whole again (under 25 and I'm LCWRA so the drop was from £950 to £67 a month while this situation was ongoing). It's now then end of June and my first payment correction has happened but not as a result of the implementation of the decision, simply because the student loan period has ended, im seeking clarity on whether i need to escalate for this correction. (i have spammed the journal for clarity and been told its with the decision makers since the DN was issued) There was also a message in my journal which said the deadline for this was in December! anyone with any information which might help, I truly appreciate it and will attempt to respond with any more information needed. Thank you!

Rachel_Scope

Hi @UnhappyChappy101 and welcome to the community. This isn't something I'm familiar with and it seems quite complex so I wouldn't want to give any wrong information. Have you thought about speaking to a trained benefits adviser? You can find one here https://advicefinder.turn2us.org.uk/

Hopefully one of our members might have some experience with this and be able to provide some insight. Sorry I wasn't able to be more helpful.

justsaying2025

Hi, so my understanding is that the tribunal will have sent over the directions/ruling re your case and this has then generated an agent to-do for the decision maker (DM) team which is currently awaiting action. Re journal message about December I wonder if that's Dec 2025 not 2026 as there's not usually any due date on the DM ones.

You could ring the helpline and asked them to chase the decision (send a 'handover') given the time elapsed - you might also register a complaint online

Make a complaint about JSA or UC - DWP

Personally I'd keep the complaint clear & concise i.e. turnaround time/resolution following a tribunal decision and that may very well get things moving and the work actioned.

I'm actually really surprised you won as even when people don't take the maintenance loan it's calculated as notional income anyway - for obvious reasons. In fact the more I think about it I have no idea how you won that, interesting. Strange that DWP/UC didn't submit anything as this is clear policy for student income. I'm sure you know this but obviously if your partner is still in education they will (next term) definitely take the student income into account, regardless of whether you avail yourself of the loan or not hence notional income.

Good luck.

Emilee

Hello @UnhappyChappy101,

I agree with @justsaying2025. I'm very surprised that you won, and I wonder whether the delay is because the DWP is challenging the decision. Are you certain the tribunal's decision was in your favour? I don't mean that in a condescending way, it's just that the wording of decision letters can sometimes be ambiguous.

Your partner would have been able to apply for student finance and a maintenance loan for up to nine months after the course started, so the notional income rules would still apply.

I'd be genuinely interested to see how this is resolved, as it could potentially open the door to future challenges against notional income decisions.

UnhappyChappy101

I feel there may need to be some further clarification, the reason we won we due to the standard of "reasonable steps" to achieve student income not being applicable as she was made to join my claim post the period of application for student finance and could not have foreseen the need for the loan as I was capable of supporting myself and likewise for her. I spent many weeks researching the legal tests that support notional income and none of them were met in my case nor were the rules being applied in a fair and legally correct manner, due to this and the evidence I submitted (DWP submitted nothing at all even with an extension in the evidence gathering period) the judge saw fit to give them one more deadline to submit anything for tribunal and again they did not comply, the case was then decided summarily in our favour. The directions notice I received was clear that they had no right to appeal (prolonging a just outcome as a pattern had been shown for noncompliance). I am of the opinion that the timing of my partner joining my claim and it not being legally reasonable for her to anticipate being told to join my claim therefore needing the loan was the key component if not the deciding factor in winning.

UnhappyChappy101

Also the student funding issue post the course starting doesn't apply where funding is taken for the course itself, ie. tuition fee grants. which she had applied and received prior to joining the claim.