My overall Benefits journey from 2013 to date - and on going still!!

[ErikaPNP]

Yes, Ruby - that paperwork is the submission.

 

So it's definately gone to TS (Tribunal Service) Did TS send you an enquiry form, like the one attached to this post?

 

If so, then they definately have your case and it's just a case of waiting for a date to come through. Long wait you've had, Ruby.

TCEEnquiryFormAppellant_05_04_10.pdf

[Guest]

Hi Erika, yes the tribunal did get back to me, i was told where the hearing would take place etc, its just i am still waiting and wanted to ensure there hadnt been any admin errors or anything like that as it really does seem a very long time to still be waiting. I may make a polite phone call and ask them to check for me as i am so concerned now.

[ErikaPNP]

Yes, I think a phone call would be in order, Ruby. We all know these things are taking months but at the very least they might be able to update you - it's almost been a year with your case, hasn't it?

[Guest]

Last year my adult son came back home to live with me,

as he works he rightly so pays rent and council tax,

which meant that my benefits for both those were reduced,

i paid the amount requested and all went ok for 3 months,

 

then i got a letter stating i wasnt paying enough and explaining why,

i could see that they were right and arranged with them to pay off the arrears by increasing my monthly amount for the rent etc,

therefore paying rent etc due and reducing the arrears.

 

Then last month i went into my local office and asked them for a statement which showed all my rent payments,

and when it was printed off it showed that housing benefit were taking an amount from every payment i made,

 

after clearly stating to me that they wouldnt be,

as the overpayment was merely added as rent owed on my rent account,

i rang housing benefit and was assured i owed nothing,

and they werent taking any money,

 

i re-checked with the local office who said this was rubbish and they were,

the local office spoke to benefits and it seems nobody knows why this money was being taken and who authorised it or why, and bizarrely where its gone to.

 

They were meant to ring me back after sorting it out, after a week with no news i went back in the office, was told that they were

"looking for a way for it not to happen again, and i should get back any money taken wrongly, they would write and explain"

its now a week since then and still no reply or explanation.

 

Any ideas? i am puzzled.

[understanding]

Hi ya, Ruby,

 

Although you do not say which department sent you the letter initially, my first suggestion would be to write a recorded delivery letter to all departments concerned.

 

Explain the situation as it has happened and supply each of them with full information as you have it, i.e. dates and names of whom you spoke with in telephone conversations as well as in person (if you have it) and what was said.

 

Ask them each to supply you with a full breakdown of the account including all payments made as well as full details of amounts being taken from the account and by whom. At the very least, you can demand the account be adjusted with the money put towards your arrears once you have received this information.

 

Even if they get in touch with you beforehand to your satisfaction, I would urge you to get a statement from them detailing exactly what money have been taken off the account and where it has gone as this will be your evidence in the event of something going wrong in the future.

 

Good luck, I hope my advice is helpful and please let me know the results.

 

understanding

[Guest]

Hi understanding and thanks for your reply, originally it was the housing benefit office that wrote and informed me i had been overpaid, they state in that letter that the overpayment had been added to my rent account, i also had a letter from my housing officer telling me i had rent arrears for that same amount, as i was on reduced benefit while waiting for a tribunal hearing ( had my incapacity benefit stopped as atos thought me fit to work, despite proof to the contrary) i asked to pay the arrears off at the lowest possible rate, i had a letter from housing officer stating i could pay at £3.25 per week until it was cleared, all ok and been reducing ever since. It was just that last month i wanted to check the amount left and asked for a statement of my payments to date, and when this was printed out it showed money being transferred from my rent account to housing benefit, who say they arent taking any, i dont owe any etc etc, nobody seems to know who set it up or why or where its been going. Its now just over a week since my housing officer was going to be sorting it out and writing to me with explanation etc.

[understanding]

Hello, Ruby,

 

So Housing Benefit wrote to you stating they had made an overpayment to your rent account and was seeking recovery for this amount?

 

Did they recover the amount of overpayment directly from the Rent Account in one lump sum?

 

If they recovered the money directly from the Rent Account, was it this action of theirs that led your Rent Account to be in arrears?

 

Are they now taking money from the Rent Account after they have reclaimed their overpayment?

 

If the answers to the above is ‘yes’ and Housing Benefit has already reclaimed the overpayment from your Rent Account and are now taking extra money from that account, then I would suggest you write a Recorded Delivery letter, keeping a copy, asking them to stop taking the money and start an investigation.

 

I would suggest giving them fourteen days as a maximum to respond to this letter in the first instance although it may take much longer for them to supply you with details while they do their investigation, they should stop taking any money from the account during this.

 

As with my initial suggestion, supply them with any details you have of the names of people of whatever departments you spoke with regarding this matter.

 

Ask them to supply you with a breakdown of full details of payments as well as deductions from both the Housing Benefit Account and the Rent Account for the period in question.

 

Once you have received the breakdown details of who is paying what and who is taking money from where, then you will be in a better position to dispute, if necessary, any missing money and ask for it to be refunded or to be put against the rent arrears.

 

 

 

Maybe someone more legally minded than me will be along to help further.

 

Best of luck

[ukbix]

Unlike the profesionals who work for Atos the doctor at the hearing is actually qualified and knows what they`re doing. At least in my case anyway. Good luck.

 

Doctors on tribunals do not actually have to be licenced to practice medicine.

 

Whether that is right or wrong, would probably depend on a court case to decide....

[ploddertom]

You need to involve your local Councillor as it appears each department is giving you the run around.

 

PT

[Guest]

well i wrote to the tribunal service asking for confirmation my case was still waiting to be heard, no reply, i then rang (3 weeks ago) and spoke to someone who checked on the system and says my case is still on the waiting list, they said they were passing my enquiry to the appeals team and i may hear from them soon, as of today still not heard anything, it was a year on october 15th 2009 that my case was passed to the tribunal service........long haul or what?

[Guest]

it took the dwp from july to october 2009 to pass it to tribunal service, and now i have been waiting over a year and still no hearing.

[Guest]

Finally after what seems like forever, but is actually 16 months, i have my date for tribunal hearing re my IB. Its on the 17th Feb, all my evidence has now been sent and nothing more i can do until the day, will post the result etc for anybody who may be interested in the goings on etc. my representative has let me down and will not be attending, but i am taking a close family member for moral support and this is the best i can now do. Trying to stay positive and will just get through it best i can.

[walkinthepark]

Good luck!

[Guest]

I had my hearing today, it was for 10.00, i was signed in etc and i have to say the staff there were lovely, re-assuring and did all they could to put me at ease. The clerk was very welcoming and told me i would be in promptly at 10.00 and he would come to take me in. Just before 10.00 i was told that the tribunal had considered all the evidence submitted, and there was no need for further evidence to be looked at, my appeal was upheld, allowed, i will receive a letter within the next few days...........so please dont give up if your still waiting...be strong and dont give in. I had no representative but my daughter came as moral support, but basically its obvious that the written evidence i had supplied was enough. Thankyou to all who advised me on here, and for the support from those who couldnt advise but took the time to give support.

[rebel11]

Hi Ruby

 

Well done, good stuff:-D

[Guest]

thankyou rebel11 its a week ago today that i went to the tribunal, its only just sunk in lol i havent heard anything from the dwp and am not really sure what happens next? i cant see them appealing as the decision was made quoting regulation 27 unfit to work and the evidence provided stated same. I dont know how long it takes for them to sort the money out etc, anybody got any ideas?

[Guest]

I won my IB tribunal a week ago, am wondering what happens next? i havent heard from the dwp and dont know if there is a usual time to wait before i should contact them and if so who etc, can anybody help?

[Imrys]

I suspect it will take weeks. They're far too busy taking IB off everyone else.

[Guest]

yeh my thinking exactly, its not enough to have wrongly judged my capability, be inefficient or sheer awkward on purpose, cause me to wait almost 18 months for a tribunal hearing and now even after winning, and 2 weeks afterwards ....nothing....its disgraceful

[Guest]

Hi everyone, i wont go into all the details but my regular rants on here may be remembered by some of you, in short i failed wca by atos in may 2009, dwp refused to reconsider, i waited until feb 2011 for my tribunal hearing, which i won. The dwp immediately sent out instructions to apply for esa, then atos sent a form to fill in for a wca, nobody wrote to advise me of benefit re-instatement or any back payment due. As you will guess i was furious, and the stress of it set me back with my illness, it was all too much. After viewing some other cases on here i emailed ministers@dwp and complained, outlining the situation. One week later i rang local dwp and they said they were dealing with it and told me the MP had instructed it be dealt with. They immediately re-instated my IB and within the week all my back payment was paid into my bank. I then had a phone call from jobcentreplus, manager, telling me i was to bin the atos form, i wouldnt be called for a wca until 2013 and that they had updated the records to that effect. So it really is worth emailing the ministers@dwp as it has helped me.

[Guest]

Hi everyone, I am considering a house exchange, a new start in a different part of the country. The move would be from Essex to Wales, the thing is i am on incapacity benefit and am worrying about what happens with my claim, does it close down here and i have to re-apply in wales? or does it get transferred somehow? am sorry if this is a silly question but i really dont know how these things work, and getting through to the dwp isnt easy by phone and i never seem to get replies when i write. Any help/advice appreciated.

[reallymadwoman]

I imagine it's the same as any change of address. When we moved I just let them know my new address (in writing) and that my bank details hadn't changed. There was no break in payment.

[Guest]

thankyou rmw thats what i was hoping.

[Nystagmite]

Change of address shouldn't trigger a new assessment. I've done it with DLA. It was just "this is my new address" and that was it.

[leemack]

If you claim hb/ctb, obviously you would need to close down your existing HB claim and reapply in the new area - so there would be some paperwork and possible delay with this claim.