Was hoping not to have to post about this again but this is still ongoing. After ringing the contact at DWP every week since before Christmas and leaving a message everytime I have finally made contact with her (no one else was willing or able to help) she says it has taken her almost 4 months to find a contact in the back to work credit team and today I have once again been asked to email over the original complaint letter, the letter from the tribunal and when I have called and the result of these calls, needless to say the latter part was short as they never returned my calls. She is saying that this is being forwarded to some on the correct team and this should be resolved soon. I called the lady as wasnt sure she had recieved the email as maybe they have a spam filter and she was supposed to call me back and she hasnt. Am at my wits end with it as had hoped this would of all been sorted out months ago. Housing benefit refused to pay all outstanding HB and the run on as said because the claim was closed (they wrote to me asking for partners details and I replied saying there was no partner so they closed the claim). Am having no luck at all with it all. Just want to get it all sorted out and draw a line on the whole affair but it never seems possible. Does anyone have any advice on whatI can do next?

Hi ErikaPNP and thank you for your advice so far with all this. DWP have now paid what they said they would but to date havent heard from Housing Benefit or Back to Work Credit Team, however I have today had a letter from the Special Payments Team who have said the following............... A special payment can be made if either you have incurred costs which you would not have done if your claim had been dealt with correctly, (eg telephone costs etc) and/or what is known as a consilatory payment in recognition of your life having been adversely affected by what has happened. Accordibgly you are invited to give full details of all costs incurred, stating what, when and how much and why. Sounds daft but my whole head is now mush with all of this so am hoping you or someone can advise me what I need to reply. I have started to make a list of stuff and the effect the whole episode had on my life but I also feel very lost as was a very stressful time in my life and having 3 children see their mother go into meltdown is a memory I am trying to forget Hope someone can advise me. Thanks

An update - I sent the letter of complaint off recorded delivery last week and today I had a phone call from Income Support apologising for the delay and saying she has ordered a payment of the owing income support and another back to work payment of £250 and she has forwarded to the back to work credit team and the maladministration team along with housinng and council tax benefit so that they can also pay me what they owe. She also said the maladmistration team would look at paying me compensation. I asked her to confirm all of this in a letter and she said she has to as I've made an official complaint. More importantly though she apologised for how I have treated on the phone and for the delay in all of this and said that on many occasion they dont always get the outcome of the tribunals until the customer calls in. I said they had had mine for ages and why would the tribunal send it when they sent it to me and not to them. She couldn't answer this. I will continue to update as and when I get any more information and will also continue to say thank you as all of you who help are total stars.

One more question Do I send it to the branch of DWP who deal with my area of the country? You have helped me so so much and I am really grateful

Thank you so much for your help ErikaPNP. I look into this and send it off tomorrow. I will of course come back and let you know how I got on. Once again many thanks.

Thanks for replying where would I start? So so need this money and dont want to do this wrong

Well it will be 3 months this month since the tribunal which I won and I have heard nothing from DWP other than what they posted to me. How do I go about asking for the money which they stopped? As I am owed IS from between when they stopped it to when I started my job (which was arranged months before the decision came through), HB and Return to Work credit as because they stopped IS I couldnt claim for RTW credit. I guess I will have to write to them but what do I say in the letter as would like to do this all correctly.

Hiya, me again! DWP tried to take back the overpayment which had I been found guilty would of created so I got in touch with them and they saud they hadnt received any notification from the tribunal so I had to foward a copy of my paperwork to them on receipt of if they stopped taking money from me and wrote me a letter to confirm this. Other than this I have heard nothing from anyone. Do you think its been long enough to write to them now and ask for the money owed? It has been 6 weeks since the tribunal was heard and other than what I say above I've heard nothing from them.

Hi, as far as I am aware they do and can access your bank accounts. I know this from prior dealings with them but I think they have to have reason to do so.

Am so cross, I called IS today to ask about outstanding monies and back to work credit and as they dont yet have the information from the tribunal they couldnt help me and refused to comment on it. Made a semi accussation on the phone to me that I was lying and the investigation on me was a very long one! Made me feel awful, thought all the last 18 months were now behind me

HI and thanks for replying. I was told I couldnt apply for the back to work credit as wasnt entitled to it as they had at that point decided I wasnt entitled to the income support, which in turn stopped my Housing Benefit and made me unable to claim the back to work payment.

Thank you. Do I have to ask for them and also inform them that I won?

thanks for replying will they pay what they owe me automatically or will I have to ask? Also the back to work payments I was unable to claim for it as they had already stopped my income support. once again thankyou for your help

Hi, I have a question for you all. I was accused last year of living with my ex, on monday the decision was set aside and I have won the appeal. The stress it created for me was unimaginable as I was single and still am and all the evidence DWP had seemed to be wrong so thankfully I have won. The question I have is do income support now have to pay me for the money they had stopped and also I would of been eligable for the weekly back to work payment but because of the initial decision I didnt get it. Am I able to ask for this all to be backdated now? I only ask as this created massive financial hardship for me. Hope to hear