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Old 2009 Social Fund Loans Come Back from the Dead


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Hi,

 

In september 2021, I received a letter stating I magically owed £1400 to DPW.

 

So I straight away:

  1. Called the number on the letter, eventually got through to a message which read "we are unable to take this call, goodbye", 30 mins later!
  2. I messaged my work-coach and said I was getting nowhere, they too found that they weren't able to get through.
  3. I then wrote to the department as addressed in the letter sent recorded signed for, confirmed as received too (signed for). In the letter I disputed the amount stating "I dont owe that".
  4. I never heard back from them at all.
  5. In december I was charged £81 for a random debt recovery action, so again, called.. No joy
  6. Again, work coaches both on the phone and whoever else is behind the UC system, totally unhelpful.
  7. Today I called the UC general enquiries up, and they passed me on to a @management@ number.
  8. Called the LOL management LOL number and they told me to all the general enquiries. They didn't know what to do, they tried to get me to call the "we are busy, goodbye number" which I corrected them on.

 

I asked them nicely in September in the letter not to just "attach an earnings thing" as I'm disputing it as I have zero idea what it is, and now I'm literally one month into a new tenancy, so the landlord will LOVE the fact that I'll be late with rent 2 months in. 

 

If I'm late, this will burn me in 10 months when my rental agreement needs renewing.

 

My question is:

 

If the UC helpline dont deal with it, the debt management department don't have a phone line that works, that nobody who's at the end of the letter they sent me can receive a letter and respond...

 

What do I do now?

hey've got me jammed up for some amount I don't even owe.

 

Is this some random stealth tax we weren't warned about?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by dx100uk
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send them an sar 

stop getting wound up on the phone 

writing only from now on

if they have no data= no debt.

 

dx

 

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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I did write to them initially and it was blatantly ignored. The exact letter read:

 

Quote

 

Dear Sir/Madam:

RE: refno - Inexplicable Debt

Many thanks for your letter received 21st September 2021 regarding an outstanding amount of £14xx.xx

I do not recognize this debt nor have you provided any breakdown or evidence of this debt. I have also been in touch with the Job Centre work coaches and they too are unable to find evidence of this debt.

I ask that you please:

1.      Provide a FULL breakdown of the so-called debt(s), along with the exact dates the debt(s) were incurred and any reasoning behind the debt.

2.      Kindly hold off from any action whilst I work with you to resolve this matter. I am extremely concerned that a debt attachment may result in my dismissal due to still being in probation as well as lead me to being unable to feed myself.

I trust that you are able to assist me in this matter as I have tried calling you on the number provided on your letter, but every menu option I get through to, results in the call being terminated with a message urging me to “contact the department where the debt had arisen”, which wasn’t provided.

Regards,

 

This was confirmed as recieved by royal mail on Sept 30 '21, and since then I haven't heard back from them. My letter was literally ignored. I'm happy to send a SAR, but looking at the run-around I'm given, a SAR will just make things worse won't it?

 

Problem is they've nailed the money before I even got a chance to dispute it and now am in a horrible situation thank to that. I agree there's no debt, as I know they've all been paid off in the past from years ago. THey don't see it that way.

 

WHo would I write to then if the departmet dealing with the debt dont respond at all? THe address they gave me was:

 

 

DWP

Debt Centre Trafford

Debt Management (C)

Mail Handling Site A,

Wolverhampton,

WV98 2DF

 

 

Cheers,


A

Edited by adridude
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Best way forward is to use the DWP complaints process as they have set service standards for complaints.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure

We could do with some help from you.

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Dwp debts dont appear on credit files

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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Did you claim Tax Credits prior to claiming Universal Credit, as it's probably a part year overpayment, which is a standard issue that arises.

However Debt Management is the only team that will have access to what the debt is for. Raise a complaint online and ask for an escalation. The rest of the DWP have no access to the debt system, so will never be able to help you.

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  • 2 months later...
On 25/02/2022 at 14:33, tomtom256 said:

Did you claim Tax Credits prior to claiming Universal Credit, as it's probably a part year overpayment, which is a standard issue that arises.

However Debt Management is the only team that will have access to what the debt is for. Raise a complaint online and ask for an escalation. The rest of the DWP have no access to the debt system, so will never be able to help you.

 

I did but that datesback to 2015 or so?

 

I sent them a letter AND SAR, and all I got back is

Quote

Dear zzzz

We are writing in connection with your request for outstanding SocialFundLoans.\Ne have 24 Social Fund Loans outstanding totalling to £1073.89.

Please accept our apologies in the delay in respondingto your letter 28/09/2021.

Help and Advice If you need more information aboutthis matter, please contact Social Fund Helpline on 0800 169 0140.

Yours sincerely


yyyy

 

Now my letter to them was clear, I can't have put it any clearer:

 

Quote

Dear Sir/Madam:

RE: XXXXXX

Many thanks for your letter received XX September 2021 regarding an outstanding amount of £1443.54

I do not recognize this debt nor have you provided any breakdown or evidence of this debt. I have also been in touch with the Job Centre work coaches and they too are unable to find evidence of this debt.

I ask that you please:

1.      Provide a FULL breakdown of the so-called debt(s), along with the exact dates the debt(s) were incurred and any reasoning behind the debt.

2.      Kindly hold off from any action whilst I work with you to resolve this matter. I am extremely concerned that a debt attachment may result in my dismissal due to still being in probation as well as lead me to being unable to feed myself.

I trust that you are able to assist me in this matter as I have tried calling you on the number provided on your letter, but every menu option I get through to, results in the call being terminated with a message urging me to “contact the department where the debt had arisen”, which wasn’t provided.

 

Regards,

 

Meow

 

 I'm lost as to what to do as:

 

  1. I've tried phoning
  2. I've tried asking whoever my workcoach was when I was unemployed for help, but they were in the frame of "not my job".
  3. I've complained to the processing centre (Canterbury BDC for me)
  4. I've literally found my case managers personal DWP email address thanks to them being a little loose on social media, asked again for help but was told off and assigned a new case manager. (Interestingly the new case managers talks as-if he's the manager of the call centre)
  5. I've explained to 5, yes 5 (and multiple times to the same members) that I can't get through to the debt line. They provided me with a number, 0800 916 0647 which EVERY time gets "disconnected" when I mention anything like statement, list of debts.
  6. I've asked 3 times to start a complaints procedure, in writing, but those too are just ignored.
  7. I've asked face to face for a complaints procedure to be initiated through my old work coach, that too went by the way side.

 

Literally, I've exhausted EVERY avenue.. To the point where they won't even accept my letters to post internally any more. I was told that it's not their problem at the local Job Centre last time.

 

Any help here would be great as these debts, I'm pretty sure ARE paid off as they came out of benefits YEARS ago. The hesitation to send me statements is getting odd though.

 

Cheers,

 

Ade

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No data = no debt 

 

Ignore them now?.

 

Dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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I'd love to but they've threatened to contact my employer and enforce an earnings attachment or something like that. I've only just found this job, really enjoy it and really can't be doing with anything jeopardising it.

 

This is why I've gone all-out in trying to contact them. On top of that, my monthly income just falls short of the UC threshold so I should get £100 each month back, but that'd gone down the pan due to these "so called" debts.

 

Cheerio

 

Ade

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you mean a DEA?

 

clickme ^^

 

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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WWW.GOV.UK

How to complain about the service you get from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or from an organisation that provides its services.

 

Only DWP Debt Management can help resolve this for you.  No point contacting the Job Centre or Case Manager, as they will not have access to debt information. They just see the amount being deducted on UC statements, that same as you.

 

Debt Management complaints

Telephone: 0800 916 0647

 

Monday to Friday, 8am to 7.30pm

 

 

 

On UC statements, next to the amount being deducted, what does it state as the deduction type ?

  • Like 1

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They come under "Budgeting or crisis loan repayment", but I know these were paid off years ago through my JSA.

 

This is why I've asked via phone, email and writing for a written statement of what these so called "Budgeting or crisis loans" are, but I just get silly answers back or they just literally ignore my letter.

 

The recorded-signed for letter I sent was literally ignored despite me having record that it was received by them.

 

Is there an ombudsman or 3rd party watchdog which I can complain to? I think they're taking my passive/calm anture as a weakness and are literally taking the mick.

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6 hours ago, dx100uk said:

you mean a DEA?

 

clickme ^^

 


Yes, this is what was threatened back in September. I had to contact them before a certain date or they;d just go ahead and do it. I sent them a letter, special delivery, it was confirmed as received, but they ignored it and literally took money out of my UC which left me £100+ short on rent.

 

Now that I'm working full time again, last thing I need is them to contact my new employer and make a scene... Especially as I'm trying my damndest to contact them and get to the bottom of this.

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Yes there is Independent Case Examiner, but as you will see, they require final letter of response from DWP., before they will look into any complaint

 

WWW.GOV.UK

Contact the Independent Case Examiner about unresolved complaints to do with DWP services, for example Jobcentre Plus

 

Suggest that you register a complaint again and also send a Data Protection Subect Access Request (SAR) specifically asking for information regarding budgeting and crisis loans.

 

I wonder whether this loan is from a very long time ago ( could be 20 years ago) or it is more recent and someone has taken out a UC advance during Covid period using your details without you knowing about it. 

 

 

We could do with some help from you.

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 Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

 

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  • 4 months later...

HI All,

 

 it's taken near to a year for the DWP to get to send me a statement with dates on it. They've avoided all ways to send me this, but a complaint sent to them and ICE got them in gear

 

These debts are old social fund loads dating back to 2009?!

I've been on and off of benefits a few times between then and now and not once have they mentioned this and I never thought of it as they were all paid out of JSA.

 

Inexplicably they  began taking £80-90 off of me a month, and it's a year later...

 

Can I challenge this as they are statute barred.

 

I haven't heard about these debts in near to 12-13 years and they've had more than ample time to raise them with me. Obviously nobody has paperwork going back this far so where would I stand on this?

 

Can I get back the money they took without asking despite me disputing it when they first wrote to me in 2021? Officially speaking they've avoided to do everything but address my dispute, until a over year later.

 

On a comical note, they offered me £30 compensation for all of the agro I've endured. I think I've used about that in paper and ink alone, let alone the hours on the phone waiting, the finger pointing between departments and the rest. Rather petty really.

 

Any advice?

 

Cheerio

 

Ade

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gov't debts cant be SB'd.

 

so their statement proving the loan was given to you in 2009? is correct?

 

dx

 

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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  • dx100uk changed the title to Old 2009 Social Fund Loans Come Back from the Dead

For those old social fund loans which you claimed before JSA payments were paid, normally they deduct a regular amount from the JSA payments until the loan amount is paid back.

 

Do you stop claiming JSA soon after taking out the loan?

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I might have but that was so long ago. Because I was on JSA a number of times, all varying amounts until it all eventually stopped years ago, I was under the impression that they were paid. For at least the last  8 years I was on JSA and UC enough to pay them over 6 fold so had no reason to think they weren't paid off.

 

Furthermore they said in 2017 that I didn't have the right to work here as a EU citizen but said that their records going back to my HRT in 2005 were no longer available. If so how come these so called debts are available and other paperwork isn't. It's all very cloak and dagger.

 

On 14/10/2022 at 17:58, dx100uk said:

gov't debts cant be SB'd.

 

so their statement proving the loan was given to you in 2009? is correct?

 

dx

 

 

Yes it's a statement showing partially paid back loans. But I disagree as these were paid off as JSA evened up and deductions stopped a few years later. I got the statement a week ago, I no longer have paperwork dating back that far, I keep 6 years on hand.

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So go back to DWP debt management and register a dispute that the debt record is erroneous on the basis that repayments were made from benefit deductions. Ask them to prove the debt is still owed.

We could do with some help from you.

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS SITE RUNNING EVERY POUND DONATED WILL HELP US TO KEEP HELPING OTHERS

 

 Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

 

If you want advice on your thread please PM me a link to your thread

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Do u have bank statements dating back thst long. 

A pre deductions and during deductions. Only ask as if you can work out what you should have been getting and any deductions  taken off can be added up and see if tallys. 

OFT debt collection guidance

 

Please remember the only stupid question is the one you dont ask so dont worry about asking the stupid questions.

 

Essex girl in pc world looking 4 curtains 4 her pc,the assistant says u dont need curtains 4 a computer!!Essex girl says,''HELLOOO!! i,ve got WINDOWS!!'.

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On 16/10/2022 at 13:02, unclebulgaria67 said:

So go back to DWP debt management and register a dispute that the debt record is erroneous on the basis that repayments were made from benefit deductions. Ask them to prove the debt is still owed.

 

Thats what they sent me, a statement (a week ago) which shows whats outstanding, whats paid. I dont believe any of it as I'm sure as heck that they're paid off.

12 hours ago, The GodMother said:

Do u have bank statements dating back thst long. 

A pre deductions and during deductions. Only ask as if you can work out what you should have been getting and any deductions  taken off can be added up and see if tallys. 

No, my bank only has statements back to 2010 :-(

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Bank should have all your statements as they are fully aware they are meant t keep these records. 

 

Mabe a SAR to the DWP asking for ALL your records from the time of the loans and all payments of benefits paid to you including deductions and amounts. 

OFT debt collection guidance

 

Please remember the only stupid question is the one you dont ask so dont worry about asking the stupid questions.

 

Essex girl in pc world looking 4 curtains 4 her pc,the assistant says u dont need curtains 4 a computer!!Essex girl says,''HELLOOO!! i,ve got WINDOWS!!'.

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