Report of Change, discussion made now get high rate but they wont say about the 8 month back payment

Gaz2000
Gaz2000 Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected
Hi everyone, 

Just joined so my apologies i go on a bit. 

I have been awarded both parts of pip for years now,  then 8 months ago there was a big change in my circumstances.  So i reported it to pip,  gave all the evidence and had the assessment,  i was awarded the higher rate so i called them and they haven't said anything about the back money,  accept first they are adding it up.  Then two days later I called back and they said there isnt anything on there about the back payment can i hold the line. When they come back, they said its in an account to see if i owe them  any money and if not they will give it to me. She said she dont know how much it is or how long it will take for them to do that. I don't understand it,  this as been going on for nearly 9 months now,  she said that my next payment is the new higher rate payment. Can someone please help with a bit of advise please. 

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    edited August 2022
    If you owe DWP money from a debt, regardless of how long that was then they can recover the money you owe them from the money they owe you. It will be down to debt management at DWP to decide what happens next. If you don't owe them anything then yes you will receive what is owed to you.
    There are no timescales how long this will take. You said it's taken 9 months but when exactly was the decision made on the change of circumstances?
  • Gaz2000
    Gaz2000 Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected
    If you owe DWP money from a debt, regardless of how long that was then they can recover the money you owe them from the money they owe you. It will be down to debt management at DWP to decide what happens next. If you don't owe them anything then yes you will receive what is owed to you.
    There are no timescales how long this will take. You said it's taken 9 months but when exactly was the decision made on the change of circumstances?
    Thank you for your reply,  first it started in November 2021. But i had the assessment then they made their decision just over 3 weeks ago now. 
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    You will have to wait for the arrears until Debt Management have checked whether you owe anything to DWP.
  • Gaz2000
    Gaz2000 Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected
    @poppy123456 what i don't understand is that know one even knows about the back payment until i say. Then thats when they see when i reported the change, so that's when they always say hold the line they need to talk to someone. When they come back they have given me 2 different reasons on what they are doing. I worry about every little thing,  so i think they are doing it for another reason 
  • Gaz2000
    Gaz2000 Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected
    calcotti said:
    You will have to wait for the arrears until Debt Management have checked whether you owe anything to DWP.
    Thank you for your response,  it just feels that they don't even know about the back payment. Because how long i have been waiting is a lot longer than the time it says it does on dwp website 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    edited August 2022
    You've been waiting 3 weeks for the money they owe you. Perfectly normal to wait this long if they think you owe DWP some money.
    The time it's taken for a decision is perfectly normal due to huge backlogs. They've been concentrating on new claims for quite sometime. Reviews and change of circumstances have been slow and 10 months + isn't unusual.
    Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do until debt management have checked everything. Once this is done you will be contacted.
  • Gaz2000
    Gaz2000 Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected
    You've been waiting 3 weeks for the money they owe you. Perfectly normal to wait this long if they think you owe DWP some money.
    The time it's taken for a decision is perfectly normal due to huge backlogs. They've been concentrating on new claims for quite sometime. Reviews and change of circumstances have been slow and 10 months + isn't unusual.
    Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do until debt management have checked everything. Once this is done you will be contacted.
    Thank you for the reply!
    I dont owe dwp any money,  they just confuse me.  Because the decision maker called me once he had made it to ask me how long i have been waiting and said thats it,  then i called back a few days later and they didnt know any thing about the back payment then said oh they are just working out how much back dated money they owe and told me how much i will be getting every 4 weeks now,. So i left it as that for a few days then called back and they didnt know about the back payment again and took me off hold and then they come out with they are checking if i owe money,  which i do not. When i was first awarded pip i got the  ack payment before i even knew that i had been awarded pip. It just seems everytime i call knlw one knows about the back payment and when they take me off hold after looking into it,  they keep saying something different then the last person I spoke to i just dont get it. Became it works out to a lot of money
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    All you can do is try to contact DWP debt management.

    Debt Management team

    Telephone: 0800 916 0647
    Textphone: 0800 916 0651
    Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 916 0647
    Monday to Friday, 8am to 7.30pm

    British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet .
    Monday to Friday, 8am to 7.30pm


  • Gaz2000
    Gaz2000 Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected
    All you can do is try to contact DWP debt management.

    Debt Management team

    Telephone: 0800 916 0647
    Textphone: 0800 916 0651
    Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 916 0647
    Monday to Friday, 8am to 7.30pm

    British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet .
    Monday to Friday, 8am to 7.30pm


    Thank you for that bit of advice and phone numbers!
    Because i called them and they said that they have not heard anything from pip. So pip are lying again,  so i called pip back and they said that they sent a email a couple of weeks ago to them,  they said that they haven't got anything from them and it doesn't work like that all they receive from pip is loads of numbers and if i did owe anything they would take it out of the payment. But they haven't received anything,  so they said call them back and let them know this. I am just getting pushed back and forwards,  i just dont understand why,  it is driving me insane more then i am to begin with. The debt people even said that if i did owe any money all i have to do is say no i dont want use to take it in one go and they wont. This is just a very bad system that isnt working. I have been living on £268 a month for over a year now, so when they said i am getting a refund for the back payment my friend lent me some to get me through and now it looks like i dont want to pay him back. Even the debt management said to make a complaint and talk to the citizens advice because they are messing me around for some reason. I just don't know what to do, because they just keep pushing me back and forth which isnt helping me at all. I am so stressed i just don't know where to turn, i cant leave the house to go to their office and it really is getting me down. I dont have any family i have 1 friend because i had to move here because of my illness 🤷‍♂️
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    Gaz2000 said:.. I am just getting pushed back and forwards,  i just dont understand why,  it is driving me insane more then i am to begin with. ..
    Sadly that is not untypical when dealing with Debt Management.
  • Gaz2000
    Gaz2000 Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected
    If you owe DWP money from a debt, regardless of how long that was then they can recover the money you owe them from the money they owe you. It will be down to debt management at DWP to decide what happens next. If you don't owe them anything then yes you will receive what is owed to you.
    There are no timescales how long this will take. You said it's taken 9 months but when exactly was the decision made on the change of circumstances?
    Hi Poppy,

    It has been a few weeks now,  and i called debt management and pip haven't even been in touch with them. They even said to me that the way pip are saying things are done isnt right. Pip said they sent an email asking if i do owe anything,  they said it doesn't work like that,  all they get is a screen with numbers on it and they work it out. Not like pip said they send them an email asking do i owe any money,  that was 1 thing they said was happening. Add that to 3 other things they said where the back payment is,  its just all wrong and the debt management department have nothing from pip about me so i dont know why they are saying all these different things are happening when they are not doing anything the debt management department said. Because I do not owe any money and the so called emails they said they sent they haven't received any. They said talk to citizens advice and put a complaint in because they are just saying anything just to shut me up. This is what they bank on,  people just listen to them, but i haven't got that luxury to just wait it really is getting me down and driving me insane. 
  • Alex_Alumni
    Alex_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,538 Championing
    Hello @Gaz2000 I'm really sorry to read about what's been happening, and that you're getting pushed from pillar to post. There's nothing more frustrating than not knowing what's happening, especially when it concerns something so vital as your PIP award. 
    i cant leave the house to go to their office and it really is getting me down.
    Can I ask if you've got enough support to get everything you might need at home, like food and medication? I can understand why it's getting you down, given it's another barrier to getting things sorted. 

    Have you spoken to your GP about how all this is making you feel. It's important to talk about the impact this is having on your mental health, so thank you for explaining. I'd encourage you to reach out for support where you can. 

    It might be helpful to look into searching for some professional advice, perhaps using Advice Local to see what your next steps might be, and even if you could get some advocacy support. 

    Keep us in the loop with how things go if you can, and I hope you're able to get some clarity soon :)  

    Alex
  • janer1967
    janer1967 Online Community Member Posts: 21,922 Championing
    Unfortunately when you call dwp you are talking to call centre operators who often don't have a clue what is happening they read from scripts and if your file hadnt been updated by anyone they won't see what's happening 

    They will tell you anything to end the query and it may not be correct 

    Every time you call you speak to someone different and they give different reply causing the confusion

    Either stop calling so much to avoid this and wait a few weeks or ask to speak to your case manager request they call you back if not available