emergencyadvice please,isthis a scam?

granniesfriend

my friend received a letter from the pension service telling her they want to discuss my friends state pension entitlement and that she could be entitled to a 5 figure sum.she never replied thinking it to be a scam requesting her bank details.she tehn received a litle later another stating that if she didnt reply they would deduct £80 from her pension credit.they said this was income and is because shes not claimed her state retirement pension? according to her she has been on pension credit ,the basic amount. she has not to her knowledge any single other pension and has never drawn anything other than pension credit since being on it.she may have paid small amounts into works pensions in the 60s and 70s before emigrating and then returning(80s) before then being invovled in accidentv and on disability unable to work. Is this some scam as the paper of letter looks strange(discoloured) and the spelling on words is wrong.would very much appreciate help as shes worried sick of losing almost ALL her pension. many thanks. i will not have access to compuetr until tommow if more info needed. thank you

timbo58

Its got SCAM written in bright red neon all over it.
Tell her to say nowt to the people contacting her and visit her local DWP to see if there s any truth in it (if it has any truth I live in a windmill, I have clogs on a big slab of edam in me pocket!)

hugheskevi

my friend received a letter from the pension service telling her they want to discuss my friends state pension entitlement and that she could be entitled to a 5 figure sum

How old is your friend? Is she above State Pension age?

Perhaps she has deferred her State Pension (which is automatic, if you don't claim it) and Pension Service are suggesting she could take a lump sum payment.

she tehn received a litle later another stating that if she didnt reply they would deduct £80 from her pension credit.

Rules about claiming Pension Credit and drawing State Pension are outlined here.

Is this some scam as the paper of letter looks strange(discoloured)

Simple way to find out is to contact the Pension Service, not using any of the information on the form, but using their public numbers, which you can find here.

Hard to say much more without resorting to guesswork (which I've already indulged in a bit anyhow ).

canaster

There were a number of people who did not bother to claim their state pension because they were on pension credit and did not stand to gain anything financially from doing so.

They later discovered that under "the regulations" they were deemed to have deferred their state pension regardless, and were entitled to a pay-out. They were not obliged to repay their pension credit.

This "loop-hole" has now been closed but it may well be that the Pension Service are still paying out to those who "deferred" (unwittingly) before the regulations were changed.

If the pension credit is to be reduced by £80 then it suggests that there is a state pension of £80 per week to be claimed.

They do ask for bank details to be provided so they can pay the state pension in to a bank account.

There have been some people who have hoped for a lump sum from a deferred pension and then been bitterly disappointed to discover that they were not entitled.

There have been others who never expected a penny but were shocked to discover that they were suddenly being offered 20k or more.

Well worth phoning the Pension Service to find out what is going on.

granniesfriend

:jwow, you guys are wonderful. you replied so quickly and with such good advice, bless you and many thanks, you put at ease a very distraught old lady...... and her friend :T . And hugheskevi the links u provided were just the ticket! speacial thanks to you sir:T:T:T:T take care both, keep up the good work.

jamesd

Please let us know whether this does turn out to be a scam. The bad spelling is a good clue that it is but canaster has explained a completely legitimate possible reason.