Received a letter that i am unsure about.

melissahicking2019

Hello again.

For any of you who know me i have been battling with DWP and PIP for a friend of mine and i have also had to deal with my own claim as well,

After a assessment for The Disability component of the UNIVERSAL CREDIT benefit i received many letters.

The reason for my question is the latest letter i received.


I will provide an image instead of typing it all out to you.
But basically , after i was awarded the sick component of UC i was then told i would be backdated.
And last week i received i received a letter stating that they owe me £1008 but then it goes on to say that we have taken this amount from the money you owe us. 

Then it states,

This means that the balance outstanding is now £725

We now owe you and we will pay you this money as soon as we can.
We have not offset this money from the Social fund or the UC advance debts , the recovery for these benefits will continue from your benefit.


So im stumped.

Do i get a payment of £725 or do i still owe £725.

Its the way the letter explains it that has got me confused.

Could somebody  Please have a look at the letter (Details Removed for security) and explain to me my position. Because i cant make out if im being awarded £725 or being told i still owe £725.

Thank you all Again.

Melissa.

poppy123456

Hi,

I read it as you still owe them £775 and they have taken the whole of the backdated money to pay off some of the debt.

melissahicking2019

The link not working.

But that's what i was thinking too because the letter states.

we owe you benefit  arrears of £1008 AND WE  HAVE TAKEN THIS AMOUNT AWAY FROM THE MONEY YOU OWE US"

so i presumed that they where taking away the £1008. from the  £1008

Thanks  poppy.

melissahicking2019

Also im unsure as to what debts i owe,

How do i go about getting a list of all the debt i owe and what for ect,

Does anybody know where or who i speak to about getting this info sent to me.

Thanks again.

Adrian_Scope

I can certainly understand your confusion @melissahicking2019. I read it differently to @poppy123456 which highlights how unclear it is! Without knowing more about how much your UC advance/loans and any debts with them are, it's difficult to advise. 

In the first paragraph they say they have used the money they owe you pay what you owe them. Do you know if you've had any overpayment debts (usually tax credits or payments benefits made after the claim for UC started)?

They also state they have not used it to offset your advance and social fund loans, so if they have paid off any of your outstanding debts with this backpayment, it doesn't include those. 

I read it as: They owe you £1008.60 and after they've paid off your debts (not including advance or social fund loans) there is £725.64 left which they owe to you.

Your best bet is giving them a call or reply on your journal asking to clarify. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon!

Adrian_Scope

Hi again @melissahicking2019, sorry I must have been typing my response when you replied as I missed your later questions.

On your UC statement it should have a number near any deductions for the Debt Management team. It's separate to UC and they should have details of all the money you owe.

On your UC homepage there is also an 'advances' section which should show you how much is left to pay off of your advance and any social fund advances/loans. 

melissahicking2019

ok, that's a great help, thanks i will look into it.