Free Traffic Legal Advice

This is such a specific situation I don't seem to be able to find any clear guidance online.  I appreciate this is a motoring board however I would be interested in any opinions or advice that members may have.

This is a rough timeline of events, as I'm after very general advice at this point I hope it will be sufficient

- About two years ago, my father gave me a letter that he didn't understand but that looked serious.  He suffers from various dementia-related issues, most significantly "Aphasia" which means he struggles to understand words and particularly numbers

- It turns out that, some 6 months before, a letter had been sent to him stating that as his Attendance Allowance had been stopped, he was not liable for the pension credits he had been receiving over the past few years.  As such he owes them £6000, which they will recover by taking £10 off his pension every week until it is repaid

- The reason the Attendance Allowance was stopped was because he had received a letter asking him to confirm whether his issues were still current.  He didn't understand this and unfortunately didn't put this in the pile of letters he saves for me.  As such it wasn't responded to

- I initially got the Attendance Allowance reinstated and thankfully the lady in this department of DWP was understanding and gave me a letter stating that although he had not been receiving the AA during this period, he was still eligible for it.  This was with the intent of appealing the Pension Credits "debt"

- When I spoke to the Pension Credits person they were just about as officious and unhelpful as possible.  Although they gave me the details on how to appeal, they said I would not be successful

- As I was preparing the appeal, I got a letter (I have now had all DWP stuff routed to me as POA for obvious reasons) stating that the appeal had been unsuccessful.  The one I hadn't even submitted yet!

- The rejection had a number of errors with dates, one of them stating that unless a response was received by (a date four years earlier than the date the letter was sent) they would consider the matter closed.  Bear in mind this was addressed to my dad, and someone without cognitive impairment wouldn't even be able to make sense of it

- I submitted an appeal based on the confirmed eligibility, also discussing they should exercise more care when conversing with people known to have cognitive problems

- I heard nothing for 6 months, and phoned up.  I was told the appeal was still being considered, and as they have such a backlog there is no confirmed date by which they will reply.  I suggested they stop docking his pension while the appeal is happening, but of course this wasn't accepted

- It has now been two years, the appeal is still in the queue, and he's still having £10 a week taken off his pension

- As it seems there is no accountability and no end in sight, I would love any suggestions on next steps.  Is there an ombudsman or governing body for the DWP?

Thanks

Your experience of the DWP seems to mirror mine. They remain truculent even in the face of adverse court orders. They seem to be of the opinion that they need to ‘consider’ whether to obey a court order.

I’m not familiar with the relevant statutory scheme but there may be an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. If an appeal is taking so long one has to wonder if the HRA is engaged.

Would your MP help?

Quote from: Southpaw82 on August 07, 2024, 11:44:33 am

Would your MP help?

I'm not sure, would they?  I imagined they would only deal with local matters, but i will give it a go if you think it's worthwhile?

They ought to take up the cudgels for any constituent, especially if government is involved.

We're assuming you share the same MP as your dad?  If not, it would be your dad's MP to approach as he's the constituent with the issue.

to show how far behind they are, I've just had to apply for universal credit having jst been made redundant. They promptly sent me a demand for £180 overpayment from 12 years ago about which I know nothing!