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Hi, my name is IndignantPigeon!

FeistyPigeon

I'm disabled, stuck on universal credit with all that entails…

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WhatThe

No wonder you're indignant. I have my doubts about the pigeon if you don't mind my saying so. Welcome to the Scope forum 💜

FeistyPigeon

I'd like to tell you all about an experience I've had with the health assessment questionnaire. I was told it arrived at their office late and my disability payments would be stopped at once. This is what I've learnt:

ALWAYS post your forms back to them as signed on delivery. I had proof of postage - yeehah! Cast iron proof it at had arrived by the deadline. I always post them back 1st class, don't rely on the 2nd class postage on their envelope, it's not worth the hassle of fighting any postal delay (although that shouldn't be a factor).
The date given for you to send the form back to is the date you need to stick by. I was told "no, it has to arrive several days before that date so its passed to the correct office". This is rubbish, to put it politely, confirmed by citizens advice you have 28 days in law to complete + get your form back to them, which is the date you are given in the letter.
Your form is passed around by a number of private companies, amongst them Maximus + Serco, and forms end up lost in the process and are recorded "late" or "not received" because of it.
If your form is refused and you have proof of delivery, put in a complaint as soon as possible, the same day or the next. You can do it online (search for "make a complaint to universal credit"). It's surprisingly cathartic. If you do it quickly universal credit will sit up and take notice. In my case, they read my complaint before they received my rejected form from the assessment center and sent it straight back to them saying they'd got it wrong. By doing it so quickly you make sure your payments aren't stopped, and there's always the chance they'll pay you some compensation.
Make sure you put down everything in your complaint, bullet points are a good way to make your points clear. If the assessment center talked over you, doubted your word, implied you were lying about proof of delivery etc, include it, it's all legitimate as a complaint. And remember to tell them how the stress of dealing with this has impacted on your health.
Don't let them fob you off - they're banking on you giving up + accepting their decision.

Best of luck everyone - Indignant Pigeon x

FeistyPigeon

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/933550#Comment_933550

I can assure you What The, I'm covered in grey feathers and nicely fed on seeds!

Amaya_Ringo

Sending via recorded delivery is 100% the way to go. I remember doing this one time when I was living in London re my PIP claim and the lady in the PO was sympathising with me about sending them off and how long it took for them to acknowledge anything.

They take on average ten days to arrive when they send letters to me, and my last renewal notification 2 years ago was dated Dec 24th, so when I saw an article online mentioning how they often do claims around Christmas it got me thinking. The post is slower around that time of the year…

Welcome to the site, Indignant Pigeon!

FeistyPigeon

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/933579#Comment_933579

Good insights Amaya and thank you!

FeistyPigeon

Makes you wonder just how many have had their medical assessment rejected because it was claimed to be late. Providing an envelope with a 2nd class return is just asking for it to be made "late" or "lost". I would never rely on their 2nd class return, even if I sent the form back 2 weeks early. And unless you pay for signed on delivery and can actually get a signature, if they claim it arrived late it's just your word against their's, which puts you in a very vulnerable position, at the mercy of who universal credit will believe. With my experience, the assessment company seemed so determined to claim my form arrived "late", I wouldn't be surprised if there was a financial incentive to do so - after all, universal credit have a vested interest in reducing your benefit.