civil penalty £50

mikey_bach

If it was for £65 or under it would be written off. They are imposing penalties on most over payments now I honestly think you need to ask for the original decision to be looked at.
again.

I would ring the OP team again or ODCA as its called in this case and tell them the claim was closed from the wrong date and the OP should be a SMOP, thats the term for a non recoverable OP under £65.
If they disagree ask can you put in a late appeal against the decision as you started FTW the 31st Jan not the 28th they should send you a GL24.
They can not chase the OP until your appeal is heard. The appeal will be looked at by another team and they may ask to see your contract again

jellybaby8

Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it!
Does it matter that I've already made an appeal and have had a letter from the Tribunal Services?

mikey_bach

jellybaby8 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it!
Does it matter that I've already made an appeal and have had a letter from the Tribunal Services?

Did you appeal the OP or the original ESA decision.
The OP is a result of that ESA decision, if the decision is wrong then the OP is wrong.
I dont know to be honest but l would question why was your claim closed early, if it had been closed the correct date there would be no recoverable OP and no Civil Penalty.
Why would you tell them you had started FTW earlier then you had and you have the contract to prove it
Give them another ring and try, if that fails consult CAB or Welfare rights to help you.
Anyway hope you received your Job Grant

epitome

Jellybaby,

You called them on 4/2/13 to say that your hours had increased. How did the confusion arise as to when the hours had increased?

Was it the telephone agent assuming that if you had worked extra hours from the 31/01/2013 then that would mean your weekly worked hours for that week had therefore increased and they wrote down from the 28th Monday because that was the start of the week in question? And you just went along with this.

I agree you should ask for this decision as to what date the increased hours should be taken from to be looked at again. I don't know whether it would be correct to say from the 31st or from the start of that benefit week - which would not necessarily be Monday but a DM would know.

What date was your benefit payment for that week?

Now then, I still think that -depending on what date your payment was- you still phoned and informed of the change late, you phoned on the 4/02/13 to inform them that your hours had already increased, so you were late, so if this resulted in an OP then you will be fined £50.

mikey_bach

If the hours are sixteen or over the claim closes from the date the employment starts, or as in this case the date the contracted hours increase as Jelly Baby was already employed.

I cant think how they got the 28th to th 31st, fours days overpayment,
when it should be one... And this would be well under £65 and would be written of as a SMOP and no civil penalty
Seems wrong somewhere but whether or not anything can be done now,
but well worth a try

benefitbaby

jellybaby8 wrote: »

I have appealed against a £50 civil penalty charge and have received a letter from HM Courts and Tribunals Services regarding a hearing and whether or not I want to continue with the appeal!
I'm unsure what to do for the best and it's really stressing me out!

This is asking whether you wish to have an independent hearing of your case and whether the decision by DWP was correct. You can opt for a paper hearing (where you do not attend and they decide on the paperwork alone) or you can ask for an oral hearing where you can explain the issues as you have done here.

Oral hearings tend to have a higher success rate as you get to tell your side of things. Given that you told JCP as soon as you knew the contract had been changed then it seems as though you did act reasonably and the civil penalty should not have been imposed.