Hi. Is it ok to ask for advice? UC with LCWRA element

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DessertOrchid
DessertOrchid Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
edited February 2023 in Universal Credit (UC)
Hi.

Is it ok to ask for advice?

If not, i'm sorry and please ignore / delete the following.

Not sure where to turn, what to do or where I stand. 

Lcw UC and working, then signed unfit to work start of aug, 2021.

Provided continuous fit notes until work capability assessment jan, 2023; told covid delayed the assesment until then.

Placed in Lcwra jan 2023.

Feb 2023 paid uc with lcwra element.

Decision letter stated £ owed would be backdated and paid but not when, how or what that might be, if anything.

No news or answers since.

Thanks for your time. Legit appreciated. 



Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    edited February 2023
    If you received the decision letter telling you how much they owe you then it takes 3-5 working days to go into your bank, once payment was made.
  • Hannah_Alumni
    Hannah_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,866 Championing
    edited February 2023
    Hello @DessertOrchid

    I see Poppy has answered your query :) I just wanted to say Welcome to the community! and to let you know I popped your query into our Universal Credit section of the forum. In case you had any other questions or queries :) 
  • DessertOrchid
    DessertOrchid Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
    poppy123456 said:
    If you received the decision letter telling you how much they owe you then it takes 3-5 working days to go into your bank, once payment was made.
    Thanks for the reply. Appreciated 🙏.

    I received a digital copy of a decision letter via uc journal.

    The letter simply said i'd been determined lcwra and that any backdated £ owed would be paid, but not if i'd be notified, not when, not if any was, not an amount, not what to do or expect or anything. 

    Hence the request for advice.

    I dont know whether to wait, act, where to turn, who to ask...



  • DessertOrchid
    DessertOrchid Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
    Thank you Hannah. 🙏 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    The decision letter for your WCA usually says if there’s any money owed you will be contacted within 7 days. 

    Before you were found to have LCWRA had you already been assessed as having LCW? If so did you report a change of health condition? If you did then you should be owed the extra money from the assessment period in which the changes were reported. 

    It’s not unusual to be waiting quite a few weeks to receive what’s owed. 
  • DessertOrchid
    DessertOrchid Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
    poppy123456 said:
    The decision letter for your WCA usually says if there’s any money owed you will be contacted within 7 days. 

    Before you were found to have LCWRA had you already been assessed as having LCW? If so did you report a change of health condition? If you did then you should be owed the extra money from the assessment period in which the changes were reported. 

    It’s not unusual to be waiting quite a few weeks to receive what’s owed. 
    Thanks for the info.

    The letter just says if i am owed anything backdated it will be paid but not when, if i am owed, or any details. It is a generic template letter.

    I was already in the lcw bracket. 

     Aug 2023 i reported that i had been deemed unfit to return to work at all, after being sent home by management midshift. 

    I have every single month since reported fit notes until the start of feb 2023:  i was placed in the lcwra band at the end of jan 2023 and the letter said i no longer needed to supply fit notes.

    I read that lcwra is backdated to the fourth period following the change of circumstance, but i dont know what is true or what to do.

    The time between my change of circumstance and assesment was 17 months: Aug 5th, 2021 to jan, 17th 2023. Uc said the waiting time was due to covid.

    Thanks again for the info.








  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    As you already had LCW then the waiting time doesn’t apply to you. It will be paid from the assessment period in which you reported the changes.

    As I advised it’s not unusual to wait quite a few weeks to receive what is owed. They will need to recalculate your past statements to work out how much you’ve been paid against what you should have been paid and you will then receive the difference.

  • DessertOrchid
    DessertOrchid Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
    poppy123456 said:
    As you already had LCW then the waiting time doesn’t apply to you. It will be paid from the assessment period in which you reported the changes.

    As I advised it’s not unusual to wait quite a few weeks to receive what is owed. They will need to recalculate your past statements to work out how much you’ve been paid against what you should have been paid and you will then receive the difference.

    Thanks again for the time, info and explanation. 🙏


  • DessertOrchid
    DessertOrchid Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
    Hi.

    I left a journal message as i hadn't heard anything from uc and just now received a reply:

    'There is no backdated money due to you in relation to your Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity as this was a review case as you previously has Limited Capability for Work.'


    		My situation changed aug 5th 2021. I reported it in the journal then and have fit notes without a break ever since.

    Don't others have lcw then go into lcwra? Someone on here mentioned that just meant they scrape the 3 month wait period? My situation changed and i reported it.

    Financially i was left too ill to work and too poor to eat. It has been awful and then the assessment didn't happen until jan 2023 but all that time i should've been in lcwra, as the assessment determined. Hence, receive that rate, which would've meant affording food, heating etc.

    Cant deny. So gutted and just broken to be told i receive nothing for all that time and struggle. It means more struggle now too of course as i'm still scraping by without that backdate. It has cost me my home: i have to move too now and was relying on tgat or any of it to help me do so.

    Please, does anyone know anywhere to turn from here? 🙏

    So tired. 😞
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    edited March 2023
    If the review was started because you reported a change then the LCWRA element should be backdated to when you reported the change. If they don't do that you should challenge that decision.
  • DessertOrchid
    DessertOrchid Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
    Thanks. I left a journal message asking to appeal. Is that how i challenge it?

    I am so clueless at this point. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    First step to appeal is the Mandatory Reconsideration. This is what you need to ask for and tell them why you think the decision is incorrect.
  • DessertOrchid
    DessertOrchid Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
    Thank you 🙏

    I will do that.

    And really appreciate all the advice off folk on here.

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