Benefit suspended or inhibited???

[hensteeth]

Hello,

 

I have been a long time reader of this forum but have, in the past, been able to deal with the DWP and the likes on my own.

 

Unfortunately a lot of problems have arisen over the past few weeks that I either don't know the answer to or I am totally confused.

 

I will post each problem separately to make things easier for me to understand.

 

The first problem has come about with a Pension Credit claim I made in late 2009.

 

We (me 63 and my wife 67) had the following income when I made the claim.

 

Wife - State Pension.

Me - private pensions, DLA (up to Jan 2011 LRM, from Jan 2011 HRM & MRC), IIDB, WTC's & I worked part time (16 hours a week) self employed.

 

All of that was disclosed (the Pension Service accepted quite rightly that I made a loss in the relevant year) and used to calculate the award.

 

We started to get Guaranteed Pension Credit of £2.62 a week, which went up to £5.76 from April 2010.

We had an AIP from Oct 2009 until June 2014 (when I will be 65)

 

Everything went well until August 2010, when the weekly giros stopped. I heard nothing from the Pension Service despite repeated letters and telephone calls, until October 2010 when they started asking about proof of self employed income.

 

It was explained to them that the accounts up to the 31st August 2010 would not be ready until early 2011. In Nov 2010, December 2010 and Jan 2011 I kept getting copies of the same letter, and replied using the same letter as well.

 

Then in February 2011 they closed the claim down citing that I hadn't replied!!!!!

They gave me no prior warning and not only that, they back dated the closure to August 2010 when the payments were stopped.

 

 

What I want to know (and this is what they have told me) is that the payments were stopped by the computer and as such it wasn't a suspension but an inhibition due to them being advised (in Aug 2010) that I was receiving WTC's from HMRC!!!!

 

I am trying to get them to accept that it wasn't an inhibition, it was clearly a suspension on dubious grounds as they had already used the WTC figure when calculating the award back in Nov 2009.

If I can get them to accept that it was a suspension then they have failed to apply the 'suspension' regulations.

 

The end result was that I did not supply the info re my self employment, but did write numerous times explaining why not.

The evidence became available at the end of Feb 2011 (3 weeks after they closed the claim). They refused to deal with it as the claim had been closed.

 

Has anybody any idea how I can prove that it was a suspension (and by their neglience they should now re-open the claim) and that they, no matter what caused it they should have complied with the suspension regs?

 

They are holding firm and apologising now for using the word 'suspension' in all of their letters - it should have read 'inhibition' and as such the suspension regs then don't apply.

 

OK the amount of lost Guaranteed Pension Credit is not a lot of money, the Housing Costs are! They amount to about £69 a week from Nov 2009 which were never paid as the bank didn't reply to the MI12 until the 31/1/11!! And only then after I threatened them with complaining to their CEO!

 

It is now July 2012, and I am still arguing that I want the award to start up again from Aug 2010 and that the Housing Costs be paid to me from Nov 2009. The back pay I calculate up to date is £10,000!!!

 

I haven't made another claim for Pension Credit as in doing so it will look like that I am accepting their decision.

Edited July 6, 2012 by hensteeth