Complaints process farce UC. Need help

Legwax
Legwax Community Member Posts: 196 Empowering
in Universal Credit (UC)

Hi,

DWP underpaid me four months ago. I raised a complaint on journal per online guidance in the https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure#ask-for-your-concern-to-go-to-the-complaints-team I have evidence HMRC and my employer have been in discussion and my employer was correct and HMRC informed DWP I was earning X amount when I earned a very small amount. My employer is sick of me asking them to contact HMRC as it was HMRC/DWP's fault.

I checked my HMRC tax account and see that the small amount was reported to DWP but on my UC statement it has the X amount. Clear case of HMRC or really I guess DWP not being right.

Well, despite my asking several times to escalate the issue and for them to show me the complaints process, they ignored my asking. They eventually sent the complaint to their colleague in the same service center. I complained as this was sidestepping and not escalating. Again, I followed what is online to complain and UC continue to refuse to give me the process. Then they send it to a colleague in a different service center who states they will raise to the complaints team. It is a Real Time Income complaint.

I received a journal message saying HMRC could not get in touch with my employer. That is false.

I asked to escalate - in my mind to stage two. They said they would raise RTI again. I wanted it to be a stage two. At this point, I emailed ICE. ICE said they can't touch it as I haven't received the letter about them completing stage 2.

UC ARE NOT OFFERING ME this process so I am stuck. Oh my god. I have come here because four months later I cannot keep doing this cyclical farce and yes, I will use the phrase - it is Kafkaesque. I am trying to boost my morale but I have been in dire hardship due to the underpayment and am now in debt again. I am very upset and trying to further my life and this is so unfair to have no right of reply.

Please advise me. My local Citizens advice waiting list is months and how can I escalate to ombudsman if I can't get ICE to acknowledge that I am not being offered the complaints process?! I have all evidence saved. If this went to court, I would win, I know that.

Help please. I feel desperate.

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Comments

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Community Member Posts: 9,052 Championing

    I'd recommend contacting your MP to see if they can help move things towards a resolution for you.

  • Legwax
    Legwax Community Member Posts: 196 Empowering

    Hi Kimi87, thank you for the suggestion. Local MP has families and people in dangerous situations to help, I would not be priority at all and understand why. There Must be another independent way of complaining.

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 4,799 Online Community Team

    This sounds very frustrating @Legwax. Unfortunately I'm not sure what to suggest other than contacting your MP as Kimi has suggested. Would you consider that?

    Do you have some mental health support in place? Understandably, it seems such a stressful time for you.

  • Legwax
    Legwax Community Member Posts: 196 Empowering

    Thank you Rachel. I don't have support in place. Anyway, I come here for a stressbuster! I think I shoud do as I tell others and take @Kimi87 's suggestion and email my MP. Let them tell me no, not say it for myself. Sick of self-advocating, is exhausting. I'll be ok, better out than in.

    Thanks both of you.

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 4,799 Online Community Team

    That's great and hopefully your MP can step in. It's so unfair that you're in this situation. I love that you come here for a stressbuster! Here's some resources for mental health support if you feel you need it https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/ 😊

  • Legwax
    Legwax Community Member Posts: 196 Empowering

    I proved them wrong with evidence that came from themselves. What a bunch of cowardly, lazy little expletives. It's not over.

  • Holly_Alumni
    Holly_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 6,534 Championing

    How are you getting on with it @Legwax? Proving them wrong with evidence sounds positive, but when you've said it's not over yet tells me it might be still ongoing? Hope you're doing ok.

  • DeerNewt92
    DeerNewt92 Scope Member Posts: 9 Listener

    This happened to me.

    UC wont do nothing and say HMRC have them information, HMRC say contact employer, my employer was ex employer so I was stuck, took me 1.5 years to sort out went FTT and UC were useless and FTT clerks and denied me and upper tribunal I won as per law,.I was correct against HMRC and UC and got it back and DWP ICE,.I raised it with them before tribunal,.took them 12 months to accept case and contacted me after upper tribunal.

    Basically don't bother with UC,.they use HMRC and HMRC don't have a clue, raise tier 1&2 then Tribunal.

    Good luck

  • Yani09
    Yani09 Community Member Posts: 145 Empowering

    The system is so rigid when things go wrong.. computer says: “no”mentality. The time and money wasted on not applying common sense is astonishing. Obvious errors should not end up in Tribunal. Crazy.

  • Yani09
    Yani09 Community Member Posts: 145 Empowering
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1146954#Comment_1146954

    The common sense is:

    If a person can produce evidence and even their Employer supports this evidence.. a human being then can spot the mistake and correct it! The common sense is a universal ability to spot something simple like 2 sets of figures not matching. No special training needed to spot the error.

  • Legwax
    Legwax Community Member Posts: 196 Empowering

    Dear @Holly_Alumni , @DeerNewt92, @Yani09 and all who took an interest.

    I appreciate your comments; am exasperated at your own examples of ludicrousness and am grateful for the link Yani09.

    After I sent them the evidence that they had provided me proving that HMRC had sent them the wrong figure, I received an email with a letter attached agreeing that DWP had made a mistake although of course it did not apologise or explain and made it sound as if they had sorted it themselves. They said they would rectify the sum paid to me.

    Guess what. A few days later, I got another letter stating that they had made a mistake and that they were correct.

    The sum was c.£250. At this point, I was very low and despite my ferocious claims that it would not be over, I had to let it go. Even though the way they dealt with it all was appalling and definitely a maladministration.

    I do have dyscacula, not joking, I hadn't earned enough and have been in hardship/abject poverty since.

    However, I am fortified by good people here and elsewhere and I do have bigger fish to fry so unless I win the lottery and can pay for you all and myself to get some tip top legal services who can embarrass and right all our DWPHMRC farces, I am done diddly done done with this petty palaver.

    Here is to your good health and happy Autumn days!

    Thank you very much x.

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