I have recently been informed that towards the end of 2017 the DWP computer lost my records.

I experienced problems with payments in Jan 2018 but did not think any more about it as they sorted my ESA payments out.

However, last month I was informed that by mortgage company that they had not received any payments under old scheme prior to changes made in April 2018. I was contacted by Serco and completed the SMI loan agreement that was posted back early June 2018.

I have been informed that these completed documents were received by DWP early August 2018 who subsequently sent them Clydebank DWP centre.

I contacted the 0800 number ESA department who informed me that the paperwork was sent to Clydebank early August 2018.

I queried why I had not received an correspondence reference the SMI loan.

The adviser put through an emergency call back from Clydebank.

This is when I learnt the delay was because my computer records were lost sometime in Nov 2017.

Hence the delay as Clydebank did not have access to information they needed for my SMI loan application as not on the DWP computer system for some reason.

The adviser took the relevant information from me and was very supportive though bemused by my situation.

She is contacting me back reference SMI loan.

However, my concern is as the claimant of ESA and IIDB why was I not informed of the loss of my data by DWP computer?

Please, advise me on what I should do?

If it was the other way round and it was an overpayment scenario; DWP would be straight on to me.

Register a complaint through your local MP. If you don't do this, then I suspect you will be give the run around for months by DWP. Complaints via MP's are given priority,

Have a good read of this link as well: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-your-personal-information-from-the-department-for-work-and-pensions

Thank you

How has this gone since November, Stasia?

HB

SAR To DWP they centrally store paper records and you'll be able find/prove the paper trail and they will then have to rectify the situation. 

Thank you, everyone, who has read and replied to my post. I apologise for the delay in responding, but I have recently diagnosed by two clinical psychologists I am and have been suffering from Complex PTSD with Dissociative Disorders. 
For the past 8 years, the psychiatrists I have seen have tried to fob me off with psychotic medication that I refused to take. Social services failed to pick up on the signs. My children all under 18 years old at the time let a social worker into the house and showed her to my bedroom. I now know I was in a 'dissociative shut down'. These episodes of 'dissociative shut down' occurred regularly continuing for two/three days at a time  -  continue even to this date. 
The social worker on a visit at a later describes the following to me; she had witnessed on the above earlier visit. It still frightens me that my children had been subject to seeing me 'completely incoherent, very pale and waxy' exact words relayed to me by the social worker. Obviously to the above but I questioned what she meant by 'waxy' I learnt that a dead body looks waxy. My poor brave children had regularly been seen me in the above-described state; it makes me wipe and guilty(even though I had no control over these dissociative shut episodes.) 
However, having now learnt all this and other events that my children witnessed that fall within Complex PTSD symptoms. Social services failed in their duty of safeguarding of vulnerable minors who only had one parent that being me as my husband had passed away in 2006. 
I am a professional with a good honours degree and a Post Graduate Education. An independent, high functioning individual but it happened to me. I know I am not alone. There, are so many families who are experiencing the very same failures by an inept system. I could rant on and on, but I guess we all have our problems to cope with.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.