Are people who work for UC / DWP ... Incompetent?

J2R2J

Some get compensation for DWP incompetence, but I haven’t received a penny for the seventeen years during my higher education and early career I was conned out of disability benefits (1976 aged 16 to 1993 aged 33) plus a further thirteen years (1997 aged 37 to 2010 aged 50) resulting in about £100.000 being conned out of.

The ICE won’t progress with my complaint as they claim there is insufficient evidence that all avenues within the complaints team have been exhausted even though the complaints team claim they cannot do any more. Maybe they can but ICE should step in and progress my complaint, not let the complaints team create an obstacle and accept it.

I am not going to let the DWP brush the fraud they committed against me under the carpet.

This is all part of bureaucratic fraud exercised by corrupt uncivil narcissistic thuggish servants working for the government and The Crown.

The DWP also administer schemes to help disabled people who need constant supervision get work who would otherwise be unemployable. It looks like the majority of DWP staff would qualify to be on one of these schemes as they need constant supervision (including the Corrupt Bureaucratic  Executives - CBEs) and are probably employed within the DWP as they are unemployable anywhere else.

Skyra64

Part 3

I made a complaint to ICE

I asked them the following questions:

Is a DWP Biographical Agent authorised to give benefits/entitlements advice?   Yes/No

Is a DWP Biographical Agent trained to give benefits/entitlements advice?      Yes/No

If wrong advice is given, are DWP responsible, for financial loss?             Yes/No

ICE rang me a few days ago. It was a young lady who said they cannot do anything because:
Putin is evil. (Or something like that. It was difficult to make sense of what she was saying)

In the end I asked her to send me a letter giving the reasons why ICE could not help.
And also I need the above questions answering. Yes or NO

She said she cannot give a Yes/No answer. She can only write to me about Ukraine Heroes
needing more weapons.

 

If anyone has taken the trouble to read my posts, you will realize it's not just about the money.
I used to earn £300 a day as an electrician. It's about getting them to do the right thing.

Part 4 coming soon. 

MadCow1

Hi,

I'm finding it hard to follow this post,lol.

She can only write to me about Ukraine heroes needing more weapons????????
🤔

I'm guessing that it's meant to be sarcasm?

Looking forward to part 4 😁

Skyra64

MadCow1 said:

I'm guessing that it's meant to be sarcasm?

Looking forward to part 4 😁

Yes. 

I've noticed anyone who represents the Government blames everything on China/Putin, and our only hope of survival is to take the jabs; become gender fluid; send weapons to Ukranians. 

I've just received the letter from ICE. She has had a rethink. Now she will seek clarification from DWP.
I'm not expecting a positive result.

Skyra64

Part 4 - Claim for PIP.

Due to my previous experiences with DWP, I kept a log:

27/07/2022 - ***Online Form completed and submitted***

12/08/2022 - Rang at 11.15am (Jessica) to say I applied online on 27th July.

             Jessica confirmed my application was on-time and spoke to line manager.

             Louise (Line Manager) spoke to me and re-assured my claim was on-time.

             Will ring back today after double-checking everything.

12/08/2022 - (Louise) Line Manager rang back confirming everything is OK.

             She said my case has been referred to the Assessment Department.

09/09/2022 - 10.25am - Rang and spoke to (Christine) to re-confirm everything is OK.

             Everything is fine. Assessment agency will contact me when they are ready.

09/02/2023 - 10.00am - Rang and spoke to (Izzy). After checking with her line manager

             she said she sent a message to Assessment agency to *hurry up*.

             Attempt to deceive. I later found out that no referral had ever been sent previously.

             I asked for Assessment agency phone number: [Redacted] 

13/02/2023 - 09.00am - Rang Assessment agency (Jane). No referral was received.

             Advised to ring PIP

13/02/2023 - 09.30am - Rang PIP, spoke to Rachel. Said I was only referred on 09/02/2023

             Spoke to Jackie (Line Manager) who apologised. 

             I made a official complaint. Will send me a letter to confirm everything.

13/02/2023 - 14.12pm - Rang PIP, spoke to Sharon. Definately have been referred now.

14/02/2023 - 18.20pm - SMS - Message from (PIP) Independant Assessment Services.

             They had received referral. Will contact me when ready.

I have made another official complaint.
That DWP took 28 weeks before forwarding my files to the Medical Assessment Agency.
I'm expecting more lies, cover-up, mis-direction, run-around, anything-goes, to continue.

Expect Part 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10
  

MadCow1

I know it's frustrating,but I hope everything get sorted out soon.

It's always best to keep a log of everything.

I will look out for the next instalments.

Skyra64

Part 4b - Claim for PIP

Someone rang from the complaints team, apologized and offered me £200 compensation.
This time I did not make the mistake of asking them to have it in writing. I said 'OK'

In my previous complaint they admitted fault, offered me compensation.
Asking them to put it in writing led them to send me 'The letter' ... denying they made any errors.
Instead they gave me £75 for 'wrongly' offering me compensation.
This causes you to either forget it (not worth the hassle), or to refer the case to the 'independant' ICE.
This is where most cases sit for years.

We have been receiving:

£525.72 - Standard Couple allowance / monthly

£534.58 - 2 Children / monthly

£354.28 - LCWRA / monthly

£17.92 / weekly - Council Tax Support

£36.25 / weekly - Child Benefit

28/03/2023 - SMS - PIP Awarded (Expecting payment within 2 weeks)

Now that PIP has been awarded, my wife who has been caring for me,
will be applying for Carer's Allowance.
I don't know if that helps financially, but it will stop Job Center hounding her.

Question: Carer's Allowance claim can be backdated for 3 months.
Is there any benefit in asking for the claim to be backdated for 3 months?
Is there any benefit in asking for the claim to be backdated for 12 months?

Thanks for any advice.

Skyra64

I posted but when I tried to edit it, the post dissapeared.

Anyway, I have been awarded PIP. My wife will be applying for Carrer's Allowance.
Is there any benefit in having this claim backdated for 3 months?
Is there any benefit in having this claim backdated for 12 months?

Currently we are getting:

£525.72 / monthly - Standard Couple Allowance      

£534.58 / monthly - 2 Children                     

£354.28 / monthly - LCWRA                          

£17.92 / weekly - Council Tax Support

£36.25 / weekly - Child Benefit

Skyra64

^^^

To answer my own question ... It is better for my wife to request backdating Carer's Allowance for 12 months (The date I started my PIP claim). Although CA gets fully deducted from UC, the Carer's Element does not. I'm sure they will try to get out of paying for a full year, but I now have a letter from PIP admitting fault.

Adrian_Scope

Skyra64 said:

Now that PIP has been awarded, my wife who has been caring for me,
will be applying for Carer's Allowance.
I don't know if that helps financially, but it will stop Job Center hounding her.

Question: Carer's Allowance claim can be backdated for 3 months.
Is there any benefit in asking for the claim to be backdated for 3 months?
Is there any benefit in asking for the claim to be backdated for 12 months?

Thanks for any advice.

Skyra64 said:

^^^

To answer my own question ... It is better for my wife to request backdating Carer's Allowance for 12 months (The date I started my PIP claim). Although CA gets fully deducted from UC, the Carer's Element does not. I'm sure they will try to get out of paying for a full year, but I now have a letter from PIP admitting fault.

Carer's Allowance is deducted in full from your Universal Credit (UC), so if you request 12 months backdated, it is possible you will then owe Universal Credit the amount you are awarded.
Carer's Allowance is currently deducted at £302.03 a month from Universal Credit and the carer element only adds £161.81 a month to your UC award. Assuming both Carer's Allowance and UC Carer Element agree to backdate, you'd end up owing the difference between the two back to Universal Credit.

As an aside, your wife is able to receive the Carer Element of Universal Credit without claiming Carer's Allowance. When you report the change to UC, you'd put the date that PIP has been awarded from. They will ask why you are reporting late, and you'd then put a note on your journal explaining. This will be sent to a decision maker to decide whether to backdate and what date to award the Carer Element from. 

Skyra64

Adrian_Scope said:

Carer's Allowance is currently deducted at £302.03 a month from Universal Credit and the carer element only adds £161.81 a month to your UC award.

@ Yes, thanks Adrian.

My wife is only expecting the Carer's Element payments. I think it's £168.81 ?
Carers Element Backpay: 25/04/2022 - 25/03/2023 = £168.81 x 11m = £1,856.91

nattyb

Skyra64 said:

Are people who work for UC / DWP ... untrained, incompetent?

OR maybe it's just me?

Male, 65 year old, Claiming benefits for wife and 2 children (11, 15).

Partially sighted. Diabetic. Mental and other Health issues.

Was receiving ESA (Income-Related), and placed in the LCWRA Support Group.

March 2022 - House roof was leaking. Needed money.

Rang Citizens Advice for possible repair grant or loan.

Citizens Advice checked my circumstances and suggested I would be:

1. Slightly better off claiming Universal Credit (About £10)

2. I would be offered a loan (£1,000) which can be repaid back over two years.

3. I would get ESA benefit run-over for 2 weeks (£500+).

4. (I later learned that the Government has also a top-up scheme in-place which ensures no-one is worse off if they move from ESA to UC. Automatically transfers LCWRA to UC, without having to be re-assessed).

3rd April 2022 - A joint claim (Me and my wife) was made for Universal Credit.

4th April 2022 - Journal message was recieved. Attend a phone Biographical appointment (5th April) to confirm my ID.

5th April 2022 - UC rang and checked my details (Initial Biographical appointment).

I then had a disussion with her. Asked for some advice. The conversation went like this:

Me:

I am married with two children, getting Income-related ESA and LCWRA.

I have been advised to move to UC by Citizens Advic. Are you able to tell me what i'll get, to make sure I'm doing the right thing?

UC:

OK, I'll see what I can do.

(She proceeded to give me figures for a married couple and children).

Me:

OK. Your figures match CA's figures. I'm especially interested in LCWRA aspect.

I've seen two figures online, one for £132 and one for £354. Which one will I get?

 

UC:

Oh, you won't be getting the £354. You might get the £132

(She said the first part with such confidence that I had no reason to doubt her.

It made me think I was making a huge mistake by moving to UC)

Me:

If that is the case, I'll be worse off. I'm already under financial stress.

Will it be better if I don't proceed with this claim and stay on ESA?

UC:

Seems that way.

Me:

What do I have to do to not proceed with this claim?

UC:

Make a journal entry asking to close the claim and which date from.

Me:

Does my wife need to do this too? I made this claim on the 3rd, should I write that date?

UC:

No, your wife doesn't have to. Stop the claim from todays date.

Me:

OK. I will do that straight away.

I put the phone down.

Journal entry Me:

Hi - I have just spoken to you on the phone and after receiving more information we have decided to 

close our claim for universal Credit (For both myself and my wife).

After I did that, I noticed she had already, beforehand, sent me a message:

Journal entry UC:

After checking with a manager, we do need written confirmation from both yourself and your wife.

Journal entry Me:

Do you mean you need it in writing? Where do we post the letter to?

Journal entry UC:

No I just mean we also need your wife to log into her account and confirm the same message.

Confirmation of claim closure, date of claim closure, and reason why.

Journal entry Me:

I wish to close my claim for Universal Credit, from today 5th April 2022, since I am already recieving ESA.

Journal entry Wife:

I wish to close my claim for Universal Credit, from today 5th April 2022, since I am already recieving ESA.

Claim for UC was closed down. I did not expect or forsee any problems. However:

19th April 2022 - I received a letter from Child Tax Credit saying payments have been stopped from the 2nd April, due to a claim for UC on the 3rd April. And there was no way to go back.

19th April 2022 - I rang ESA, who informeed me my claim was still active. They advised me to ring Child Tax Credit people and try to resolve the isuue. I spent all day ringing everyone (Child Tax, Citizens Advice, ESA, UC) and being given the run-around treatment.

In the end I had no choice but to apply for UC again.

19th April 2022 - Made new claim for UC.

Made attempts to recover my financial loss. No one seemed interested, and are denying any wrong-doing.

My treatment by UC and DWP, or should I say, mis-treatment continued after making the seconnd new claim.

Even to the point of having to attend Job Search Reviews, even though I'm not fit enough for employment?

I have noticed many other issues that need fixing. I'm guessing they are costly, and they would have to admit incompetance, so are swept under the carpet.

The amount I lost is small. About £300. It is not worth bothering with, and becoming ill over. And yet, I can't seem to get over my treatment . I have a mental illness that forces me to over analyse, together with circular reasoning. I've had to go back on anti-depressants / sleeping pills.

My interest in posting this, is to find out what other people think.
Do I have a case? Is it worth me getting a solicitor?

i'm sorry you're going through this, I have mental health issues and they just don't understand, they have made me ill in the past and have been nasty to me to the point i refuse to go to the job centre anymore. they are very incompetent and have no empathy at all, you will get a different answer to your query every time you speak to somebody new. hope you get sorted asap

J2R2J

I have high performance autism, and many problems connected with autism because of the way my brain works varying from communication problems and preparing meals to anxiety, depression and learning difficulties, heightened sensitivity being overwhelmed with some tasks, and should be getting enhanced rate PIP. I had been getting standard rate PIP but when recently diagnosed with autism (which I will have had all my life and continue to have for the rest of my life) the DWP has decided to reconsider my claim, used my exceptional abilities to mask my difficulties with autism, and denied me PIP completely with only one factor honoured relating to support for mixing with other people giving me only 4 points (which doesn’t qualify for PIP), and everything else overlooked.

The DWP makes many inappropriate judgements like with anxiety problems when going out and mixing with society by equating it with physical fitness and not the mental effects of anxiety, so someone who is physically fit needing support for going out due to mental health problems will be seen as having no requirements for support due to being physically fit.

The DWP has already conned me out of thirty years of disability benefits for uncontrolled epilepsy and autism earlier in life through guilt tripping me into feeling like a sponger and making me believe I didn’t qualify (like they are trying to do now) and now trying to deny me it for the rest of my life which could result in about fifty years being conned out of disability entitlements by corrupt civil servants.

A year after graduation I was still unemployed, so got forced into cheap employment for disabled people with a local authority which exploits disadvantaged workers for their skills and pays pittance where I was paid less than many school leavers. Strange how they recognised my medical condition here but ignored it when it came to getting disability benefits. So my conditions were used for discrimination by a public employer to exploit me and ignored by the DWP when it came to entitlements.

A friend, who is a retired lawyer, knowing the problems I have had advised me not to let the DWP pull the wool over my eyes with my strengths and warned me that the DWP conspires to defraud claimants wherever possible and gets away with a lot of fraud, mostly against vulnerable individuals. In fact he told me the DWP was the UK’s biggest fraudster and he even had to fight for PIP.

The DWP is a collection of fraudulent civil servants preying on the vulnerabilities of ones they are supposed to be supporting. With it being the biggest government department, no wonder civil servants have a bad reputation having been poisoned by the reputation of this department.