ESA - Service charges - claiming overspend

spb1612

I claim estate management service charges for my house for the upkeep of common areas.

I submit the figures to DWP annually when I receive the estimated charges bill in advance.

At the end of each year, I received the actual spend and there is always an overspend with year-end adjustment totalling about £80 a year, I never claimed this until recently, I used to pay it from my own pocket.

I wrote to the DWP about these charges in January and called them several times to chase it up, I sent a reminder letter in mid-March, but DWP say they will call me, but they never called me.

What can I do to claim this money?

woodbine

Afraid the only answer is to keep calling until you speak to someone who knows what they are doing.
Call as soon as they open when it's less busy and you don't have to hang on for an hour.

mikehughescq

Use the [email protected] email address. It means your post goes via Whitehall; is guaranteed to arrive at the right place and will be monitored from Whitehall. How quickly then they answer will depend on how far back you're asking for and how the pandemic has impacted that specific team.

Calling DWP is not calling DWP. It is calling a call centre, often out-sourced, and often without access to full DWP systems. Waste of your time and energy.