ok all thought i would ask for some help after the successes of my PPI fight this is a bit different went to work today and was called into the wages office and informed that a Direct Earnings Attachment for £1500 or so had been received for a overpayment of some benefits going back some time i started to panic and then the wages clerk noticed the address was not mine but the DOB and name and national insurance number was correct to cut to the chase i had never lived at that address and have never had any coraspondance or phone calls about this the wages clerk rang the DWP explaining the facts and was told it was a very old debt that had to be repaid so just to put things on hold i asked my wages clerk to ask how old and they would not say then said i should ring them so thats the question i will ring them and what should i say and what not thanks in advance

CPAG Fact sheet on how to apply the legal tests for Reg 29 & 35 in an ESA appeal http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/making-exception Appeals and reconsiderations Disability Rights UK Factsheet F36 http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/appeals-and-reconsiderations HM Courts & Tribunals Service Guides to Appealing a DWP decision. Form SSCS1A - How to appeal against a decision made by the Department for Work and Pensions. http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/sscs1a-eng.pdf Form SSCS1 - Notice of appeal against a decision of the Department for Work and Pensions. http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/sscs1-eng.pdf

Hello People Got a compliance interview at the Job center tomorrow. Requesting ID and Bank statements. Now this is worrying me. Nothing i am aware of i have done wrong. I have claimed JSA for over 2 years now and in that time i have not been paid a penny, on any benefits. They tell me i am signing for my stamp. However i get letters from the DWP in Newcastle saying i owe them for stamps not paid (in the period i have signed.!!) I am married with two chilren 15 and 17 of which my wife works and this counteracts any payment i would get from DWP. So i sign every 2 weeks just for a stamp.!!? Now i am led to believe a compliance interview is a 1st step to confirm information before a interview under caution. Now I don't have a passport and don't have a driving license. Bank statement ok. If i am requested to get these do they pay the fee or does it come out of my pocket? If they have something to investigate surely i have nothing to pay back... ? I had also been on the work program which was useless and have only just come off that. Very confused and very stressed at this i can see why a lot of people get upset. Any advice please help. Thank you

I recently received a letter from the DWP saying I owed them £400+ for a Social Fund loan from 1991. They have never contacted me before about this,despite their claim to the contrary. I don't remember it,nor can I afford to pay it back (by 12 July!). They tell me the statute of limitations does not apply. I was told that there are precedents,including the DWP's own internal advice on debt recovery/court action,in which debts under £100 should not be pursued after 3 years,£100-£300 after 10 yrs,and over £300 after 20 years. Can anyone enlighten me? Ta!

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum, and wonder if anyone could confirm something for me? I made a claim for sickness benefit, (or what ever its called now) but had it turned down because I own a property that is worth more than £16,000 but do not live in it. So I am not entitled to any help, other than having my stamp credited. The house I own is rented out and is my only source of income as I'm now unable to work. Its the only property I own apart form my old touring caravan, which I spend a fair bit of time living in, as well as various bolt holes with friends and family. What I have been told to do is sell the house and live off the money until its below £16,000 Or move the tenants out and live in it myself, without any income, before attempting to make another claim. Can anybody confirm that is the rules we have to play by? Cheers, Keith.

From the Benefits and Work Organization. BENEFITS NEWS It’s been revealed that you are five times more likely to have your benefits cut than you are to find long-term employment if you are forced onto the work programme. A shockingly small 48,000 work programme participants have been placed in jobs that lasted two years or more – just 3.2% of the total participants In the three years since the scheme started. But figures already released by the DWP show that in the 12 months up to October 2013, no fewer than 242,973 sanctions were handed down for alleged failure to participate in the work programme And to make it even harder for claimants to meet their commitments – and even easier to sanction them - the DWP is removing all the free telephones from Jobcentres. It’s a viciously cynical move which has aroused deep anger, but it’s going ahead anyway. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Universal Jobmatch, the jobs site that claimants are forced to use, is so riddled with fake and fraudulent opportunities that the DWP is not planning to renew the contract with Monster to maintain it. Monster are currently demanding a fee of almost a million pounds to remove all the fraudulent ads. The site is just one example of failures in the DWPs partnership with the private sector which has led MPs on the public accounts committee to warn that the entire department is on the verge of meltdown.

Could somebody please help with an issue I'm having. I've received a couple of letters from the DWP recently saying I have been overpaid benefits over a number of years, ending a few years ago, because of a mistake in their calculations of how much I was due and therefore I must repay them. The sum totals a few thousand pounds. I am aware of this situation from before, and I was paying back a sizeable sum each week when I was on benefits. However, I am no longer on benefits and am very short of money, as I don't have an income. I am now a part-time student and I look after my elderly father who is quite ill. I get by on a very low expenditure, with money my father gives me from his pension (spending about £5 a week on my groceries for example). The letters are becoming more forthright. The latest one I have just received states: "DO NOT IGNORE About the £xxxx owed We have contacted you about paying back this money You must make a payment by xx/xx/xxxx Please do not ignore this letter. This will not mean you can avoid paying back this money, and you need to contact us to stop any further action being taken" It goes on to say that they will consider recovering the money through the courts or "refer the case to a private company for repayment collection. You may have to pay additional costs if this happens, and your future credit rating may be affected" I am very worried as you can imagine. I simply don't have the money anymore. I don't know what to do. I know from past experience the DWP can be inefficient (even in their current letters they are commenting I am on benefits, which I haven't been for a long time now) and do you think they might pass over/'forget' this fairly old overpayment if I ignore their letters, including the one I have just received? Or will they continue to pursue it? If they will pursue it, what do you think I should do pls? I am very appreciative of any help anybody could offer please.

Hello all I have received a letter on the 17th of December dated the 11th of December in which the DWP state they are recovering a Crisis Loan on the the 12th of December out of my Employment Support Allowance. The Crisis Loan was paid to me in November 2011 and repaid in January 2012 The DWP alledge that this money has not been repaid. Sadly the cash payments I made into the local jobcentre for which I received a receipt does not seem to have been paid anywhere hence the demand for payment. Thankfully I have one receipt that did not get shredded recently with everything else and the DWP tell me that they have no knowledge of that receipt number. I have also had to make a formal request for this to be investigated via the recoveries section of the DWP I have also written to another section of the DWP requesting a Subject Access Disclosure regarding the application and any other documentation they hold computer or paper based Has anyone else had this so long after an initial Crisis Loan was given regards sinkinghelp

Hi, new to forum and got this from a search for help. Mine is slightly different ( and I will post this as a new thread too, but cos of looking for this, wondering if anyone gets alerted to an old post? Not sure how it works..) Mine was a said over payment, because I left the country and didn't disclaim, and this was in Feb 2000. Whereas I did write a letter to disclaim, but they continued to pay, and someone else took the money, knowingly and fraudulently as I truthfully was out of the country for the next 5 yrs. The first, they said I knew about it was in 2006, when I wrote after they contacted me, to ask of this debt, whereby they told me I had run out of time to appeal, laughingly I would of, as I knew nothing of it! (I had returned to live in England in 2005) Tho I do not actually recall this communication, but my memory isn't what it was! Anyway, 8 yrs after alleged last communication, but 14 yrs in total, they write to me at address where I have been for last 7 yrs saying I have to pay this debt of nearly 2000 pounds. Under the freedom of Information Act, I asked for all documentation relating to this case, every letter sent, every letter returned and they said they would find it. I also had a letter from a DCA (CCSCOLLECT) saying they were taking on the debt, within two weeks of first hearing from DWP. I delayed them with saying to not contact me again as this was still an unproven case and in dispute with DWP still. And I got a letter back saying it was indeed On Hold! Ive recently had a letter saying I still have no right to appeal, and I should take it up with HM Courts and Tribunal Services? Is this just white collar robbery of the poorest or is there something I can do? Thanks.

I am currently on ESA in the wrag group after migrating from Incapacity Benefit. My health is not good and recently when i visited my local Jobcentre Plus office for my ESA work- focused interview with my personal adviser she advised me to apply for Personal Independence payments due to my condition. She said this would help me financially and also i would not have to struggle to attend any more interviews with her. I applied for PIP by telephone and then a massive PIP claim form arrived. I have had difficulty trying to complete this form(ESA50 is nothing compared to this monster). I telephoned them to say i was having difficulty completing the form. I have now received a letter saying an adviser is coming to visit me at my home address. They say they are coming to assist me with the form and to discuss benefits i am already receiving or may be entitled to, plus to provide information on further services. Has anyone else been through this procedure or can anyone offer any advice please? I hate claiming benefits in this current social climate and am very suspicious(rightly or wrongly) of DWP after all the problems i have had with them and ATOS whilst claiming ESA. I do not know if i have done right by applying for PIP. Should i have applied to go in ESA support group? Will they stop my current ESA payments if i fail on my PIP application? The whole thing worries me so much. Can anyone help please?

Hi Guys, I'm hoping one of you wonderful people can give me some advice please My husband has been awarded contribution based JSA & today my employer has received a letter asking for my income details, stating that I have given them permission to contact them. This is my husband's claim, I am not claiming JSA as I work 16 hours per week & I have never signed anything giving them permission to contact my employer. Can they do this without my written permission & does my employer have to provide this information for a contribution based claim? Any advice gratefully received

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/20/people-stripped-benefits-charged-decision I remember writing a post the other day on one of the threads, and considered writing that the government could be even more obstructive and start charging for appeals - then I decided no, they wouldn't be stupid enough to even consider it, and I was wrong......

Hi guys, I have received a letter today about a debt i owe DWP for £435. I can remember taking this out, it was a loan of some sort to pay for some white goods which must of been over 6 years ago as ive now been in full time employment constantly for the last 6 years. I have been doing some reading and it seems if the debt is over 6 years old they can no longer take you to court, is this correct? Can they still sell the debt to a 3rd party debt collection agency who then in turn could take you to court? I read stories that if its over 6 years old the only way now they can enforce it onto you to repay is if they deduct it from your benefits, is this true? I actually want to pay it, i hate having a debt hanging over my head but at the moment i have been off work for 6 months due to ill health so im only on statutory pay which i am actually using my savings to live!. Many thanks

...in today's post. JSA going up in April from £71.70pw to £72.40pw. So what is everyone going to do with their extra 70p a week? I may treat myself to something nice like a can of coke!

After chasing up my own request made in November and being told by the BDC that they hadn't received any such request, I did a bit of research. It seems that this is not an uncommon event, BDC's up and down the country routinely mislay, erase, or as in my case just refuse to admit they received a request. The 40 day response time is also routinely ignored, one person I contacted told me they finally got the information six and a half months after requesting it, and that was after sending in three applications. Interestingly the DWP state that the address to send SAR requests is 'found at the top of letters we write to you', which is what I did. I was somewhat bemused to be told by a spokesperson at my local BDC which is supposedly based in Hackney East London but has a Nine Elms Lane SW95 address, that it's actually Glasgow benefits bentre that process London claims, and any correspondence to them gets routed through Wolverhampton first! So I suppose Hackney processes Glasgow's benefit claims then? All done in the name of efficiency of course. I often feel the DWP are obtuse at times, I've now come to the conclusion that they are round the bend.

Good Morning, I am attempting to offer the DWP a Payment Plan for some money I owe them. Last time I called I was charged in excess of 20 quid while I waited - at that point they agreed to wait 28 days while I took budgeting advice. I don't want to incur those costs again and think its better to sort these things out by letter anyway so I can detail my income - outgoings. I cannot find a postal address anywhere and was wondering if anyone could help. If anyone has any experience of this kind of thing, would also be helpful to know how you got on/how understanding the DWP are to payment plans, etc. Thanks in advance

I attended a DWP compliance interview last week and apparently following an anonymous call in June 2013 the DWP fraud investigation dept had checked my bank account and contacted previous employers. I wasn't concerned as I can account for all payments into my account and indeed I have not been paid any salary for any work. The problem arises over 'expenses'... prior to my current medical condition... limited mobility and poor circulation/severe cramps... I worked overseas as a project designer/manager for private companies and charities. After successfully navigating the ATOS process I was put with Working Links. During my last interview at the Jobcentre before going onto WL I was told that given my age and disability my best course of action would be to just tread water until i could apply for early retirement (I am 61). My WL supervisor while accepting that the likelihood of getting part time work 'shelf stacking' was zero was nevertheless positive that I could use my experience and extensive contact network to create a consultancy/advisory job that was flexible enough for me to manage. I wont go into the details for now but this involved a number of national and international trips to meet with past and potentially future clients. Fortunately i do ave a good reputation and a number of potential clients were happy to pay my travel and accommodation expenses. The DWP are now suggesting these expenses are in fact income and tat i should ave advised them of a 'change in circumstance' My point (and my question) is that I had no direct contact with DWP but clearly informed my WL supervisor of every stage of the game.. in fact I was actively encouraged. I was never advised by WL to separately inform the DWP and indeed during my first compliance interview the interviewer conceded that WL should have done this (apparently it isnt the first time this has happened) Of course it is impossible to find out the contractual obligations between DWP and WL but in my world if I am appointed as a supervisor then I have a duty of care to ensure that all aspects of the service are correct. My first question is simply do I have a valid argument that I did in fact provide the information (albeit to a nominated supervisor) and secondly... the DWP are suggesting that expenses are 'income' when in fact it can be shown that the sums were reasonable and from an income tax standpoint allowable. In my understanding income means taxable and disposable i.e. it can be used to pay the fuel bill and buy groceries etc is this the case? would appreciate any comments/advice that could help thanks

From the ATOS Miracles Facebook page: Would the injustices against YOU by the dwp and Atos make a good legal test case? Liberty are currently trying a bedroom tax test case and similarly would like to find an appropriate case against the dwp and Atos. It would set a precedence and could help many others. Ideally you would have co-operated with the process, then found entitled by the appeal process and suffered stress and hardship as a result. The case could be via the person themselves or the family of someone deceased. Atos Miracles will offer support to the brave person whose case is taken up. Together we can get things changed!

Hi, I wonder if anyone could give me some advice on a matter involving my father and the DWP. My father has worked all his life and has not claimed benefit and last year he reached pension age and was informed that some DWP debt recovery department were going to make deductions from my fathers pension in relation to FRAUD case that apparently had been heard in court in 1994. My father has never been convicted of a crime let alone fraud like the DWP keep saying. They say my father owe them +£5k which the court ordered he paid and costs to the court. We have contacted the court that the DWP say the case was heard at to which they say they have no record what so ever of any court case taking place in my fathers name I asked the court if they would just allow somebody that's been ordered to pay the court costs just to walk away without paying they say they would pursue anyone who done that but they again insisted that no case has ever been heard there and that the court have no intention of chasing my father for court costs this call was recorded with the court. We went back to the DWP advising that the court has no record of any such case that they claim took place to which the DWP just do not care and have said that any appeal is to late and my father still has to pay this money regardless of anything?? Also previous the DWP has said they have CCTV images of him in a post office to which now they admit this was false information and they do NOT have this. They now say they have a piece of paper that was written in 1994 from another department saying this case happened so that's what they rely on but as they keep saying regardless of anything my fathers too late to appeal and been told the deductions will continue. I really do not know what to do as DWP will not listen and my father is struggling with the deductions being made as he is not working the hours he used to at work now due to his age. In all this the DWP discussed this with myself without my fathers authorization and the DWP were more than happy to discuss the whole thing including this phantom court case amounts owed the lot to which was caught on tape and thinking of getting my father to raise a complaint that they have committed a serious breach of the DPA by discussing this with myself without his permission i was also able to get documents sent to my father which were useless but the fact remains i was able to do this without my fathers permission. Should he pursue them on this??? My father is very upset that they have labelled him a criminal and continue to take this money when all he has done is work all his life and never been on the wrong side of the law. Is there anything else we can do to get this sorted out as DWP say they have no other paperwork to send to my father they keep saying its been over 19 years and we should not expect them to have this information but they expect to slander my father with false accusations and take money from his pension. The DWP seem to make there own rules up as they go along. Any advice would be so much appreciated as i feel really angry that we can prove what there saying is rubbish but they wont listen hiding behind the fact we run out of time to appeal. Thank You

Hi Long story short, in 1999, just before my daughter's birth we have to move to a totally unknown part of the country, chasing a job, and in the process we obtained a social fund loan of £450 or so, to get us some baby clothes/beds etc. I have completely forgotten this debt as I assumed that in those years when we both had recourse to benefits while we were rebuilding our future- anyway I assumed they have taken the money by reducing the benefit etc as that was what I was told by the staff at benefit center at the time of applying, ie that they would do that to recover the money. This was around year 2000. We then emigrated to Australia and after few years there, are back here. Last year, in March, out of the blue, I received a letter from DWP that said I still owe that money and that if I am in insolvency I should contact them. I was but that was ended in 2009 and I am not anymore. So foolishly, I ignored the letter until I got two weeks ago, a letter from a company called Akinika Debt Recovery, in which they state that a doorstep collector is coming to collect the money. I am confused why all these years, DWP never contacted me about this until now. What can I do now, please advice. Thanks

Do the DWP check up on these forums, and can you identified by them from using these forums? Also do the site admins report people for suspected fraud on this forum?

Hi, i am in thew support group for anxiety, i have been in therapy which has now ended, and my scores have comedown to normal levels for anxiety and depression, however i have pure ocd which causes me anxiety when i go out to places and gives me intrusive thoughts, which was untreated due to not having enough time in the therapy with the NHS. I was not able to go out much before when i was assessed, but am now able to go out to my support groups for drug and alcohol abuse (which i suffered from due to my anxiety),the gym, and i'm on the waiting list for more therapy to treat my ocd from a charity, and i am going to be assessed for an NHS meditation group. I am wondering do I have to inform the DWP about anything as i still suffer from the main cause of my illness,which has not been treated, but my scores which came down during therapy, show my condition has improved, when I still feel anxious and i'm still suffering when i'm around people.

In short the title pretty much sums my current problem , the DWP are claiming they do not have my application for DLA back in Oct despite having sent a letter to me back in Nov saying they were passing it onto PIP for assessment. When a family member phoned the DWP they claimed they have no record of it and in the meantime my PIP former DLA has been stopped ( without any forewarning or letter ) which in turn has reduced my incapacity . As this is not my mistake and I only responded to what I was told in that letter I do not see why I should be penalised for something that is not even my fault and find it conspicuous too that they would cut my benefits without being aware of a decision from PIP regarding my application when they said it was up to them in the first place ( hence the reason why they were passing it on ) . DWP have also claimed because they no longer have access to records to check whether it was there and as I said PIP are denying they have it , so whose responsibility it is actually ( I would of assumed DWP ) because clearly PIP did not cut my DLA if they did not have my application , or did they ? Again , no letter was sent by PIP either to say they've received nothing from me or DWP , so how was I meant to know ? I have written back to PIP asking them to contact DWP about this because it seems my application has been lost during this transition over to PIP but in the meantime I'd appreciate any other suggestions on what I should. thanks again, mike

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing accusations of a double cover-up, after altering two sets of guidelines, both of which had allegedly been breached by one of its specialist welfare-to-work providers. http://unemploymentmovement.com/forum/welfare-to-work/7894-whistleblower-seetec-breaching-dwp-guidelines-not-getting-crb-checks-done Seetec are fast emerging as the leading exponents of 'duck and dive', I'm reading more and more disturbing stories of how this provider is treating ESA claimants and I am currently on the receiving end of Seetec's questionable practices. My problems began with a WFI back in February, the ESA advisor informed me that her 'hands were tied' and she had no option other than to refer me to Seetec for a mandatory introductory interview. When I attended the interview the advisor informed me that I had voluntary status and my participation was not mandatory, 'thanks very much' said I on my way out, and I foolishly thought that would be the end of it. A couple of months later I received a mandatory appointment letter from Seetec, so I visit the office to get the situation straightened out. Once again I'm informed that I'm voluntary and was given assurances that I would not be contacted again. Two weeks later and...........You guessed it, another letter hits the mat. I phone this time and speak to the manager who informs me that I have it all wrong, things have changed and I am indeed a mandatory participant. I tell him I'm having none of it and insist he confirms my status with JCP which he reluctantly agrees to do. One week turns into two and I still haven't heard any news when another letter hits the mat, I'm now getting a tad annoyed and storm off to Seetec's offices where I have a stand up row with the manager who shows me a screen print which states I have a 12 month prognosis and am therefore a mandatory participant, I provide evidence to the contrary resulting in a stalemate pending further investigations. I then spend the next couple of days confirming that my prognosis is 24 months and that I'm definitely voluntary, I get assurances from JCP that Seetec will be told to take my name from their data base. Either JCP forgot about me or Seetec ignored them because the letters keep coming, I'm then told by JCP to ignore them, so I do. Bad advice as it transpires because Seetec simply raised a sanction doubt on my last no show. I've filled in the 'good cause' letter and by rights should not be sanctioned, I cannot be mandated to attend, or engage in a programme I'm not part of. But I see a pattern emerging here, what's to stop Seetec sending a mandatory attendance letter out every couple of weeks and then raising a sanction doubt when I don't attend? Nothing as far as I can see, I have no confidence that JCP will force Seetec to leave me alone. So it's in the hands of my MP, perhaps she can get some affirmative action from JCP, in the meanwhile I'm looking at fighting a sanction doubt every couple of weeks for the near future, and I've done nothing wrong other than assert my rights. This scenario has turned my normally well balanced state of mind into one of constant paranoia, I'm convinced they are actually out to get me.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25213633