Incompetancy of the DWP - compensation?

Who?_me?

I am yet again suffering from the shear incompetency of the DWP to get anything right. They are completely and utterly unable to get my claim right and sorted. They sign me off when they should be signing me on, they don't sign me off at all when I should have been, I get a different story from every person I talk to. I guess taking short term posts / part time work is far too much for them to cope with. Every single time I have to sign on or off, they get it wrong and it takes 6 weeks and lots of phone calls to sort it out. If a business operated in the same way, they would have gone out of business years ago. They certainly aren't fit for purpose.
Anyway,
I am going to complain (Again) and have heard that you can get a discretionary payment for their messing around? If so, what is it and do I put a request in my complaint letter.

lld01

Guidance on special payments can be found here which may help

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/financial-redress-for-maladministration.pdf

oldboy64

Who?_me? wrote: »

I am yet again suffering from the shear incompetency of the DWP to get anything right. They are completely and utterly unable to get my claim right and sorted. They sign me off when they should be signing me on, they don't sign me off at all when I should have been, I get a different story from every person I talk to. I guess taking short term posts / part time work is far too much for them to cope with. Every single time I have to sign on or off, they get it wrong and it takes 6 weeks and lots of phone calls to sort it out. If a business operated in the same way, they would have gone out of business years ago. They certainly aren't fit for purpose.
Anyway,
I am going to complain (Again) and have heard that you can get a discretionary payment for their messing around? If so, what is it and do I put a request in my complaint letter.

Good grief - if I applied for every time that the DWP made disastrous mistakes, I would be having a cruise every year on the State!

Believe me or not, but I have sat on the shelves in my office at home - 25 A4 ring files of mistakes that the DWP have made on different benefit claims - all of which have cost me todate in excess of £34,000!!!! One claim caused a loss of just over £20,000 of benefit over an 11 year period!!

I would probably have another 25 files if I tried to get any compensation out of the DWP.

xylophone

I would probably have another 25 files if I tried to get any compensation out of the DWP.

You do not think that they would "pay to get the man to go away....?":D

Apologies to Hilaire Belloc.

oldboy64

xylophone wrote: »

You do not think that they would "pay to get the man to go away....?":D

Apologies to Hilaire Belloc.

No, I just don't have the time to start another series of battles with the DWP. I have enough on my plate as it is with hospital appointments, two first tier Tribunal hearings, one upper Tribunal application, our gas & electricity supply, DLA missing money, Pension Credit SMI not being paid - loss of forms by the DWP as well as preparing for a medical assessment for a benefit in Feb next year and for the PIP application in late 2015.

Having lost £34,000 in lost benefits - fighting for a few hundred in compensation seems a little insignificant don't you think?

lld01

oldboy64 wrote: »

No, I just don't have the time to start another series of battles with the DWP. I have enough on my plate as it is with hospital appointments, two first tier Tribunal hearings, one upper Tribunal application, our gas & electricity supply, DLA missing money, Pension Credit SMI not being paid - loss of forms by the DWP as well as preparing for a medical assessment for a benefit in Feb next year and for the PIP application in late 2015.

Having lost £34,000 in lost benefits - fighting for a few hundred in compensation seems a little insignificant don't you think?

With all that going on it's surprising you find the time of day to post on here

Murphybear

DWP made a bit of a cat's breakfast with my JSA claim. I got the name of the person dealing with complaints and wrote a letter. I got a phone call a couple of days later with an apology, promise to get my claim sorted out immediately (which it was) and compensation of £50. May not sound a lot but it was better than nothing.

oldboy64

lld01 wrote: »

With all that going on it's surprising you find the time of day to post on here

I do most of my work in the evening when it is quiet.

skintmacflint

lld01 wrote: »

With all that going on it's surprising you find the time of day to post on here

Especially when he's got numerous aliases on MSE and argues with his alter ego posts.! And it's not just MSE , he does the same on several other forums.

I need to get out more I fear I'm beginning to grow fond of reading about his imaginary friend's convoluted stories.:eek:

rogerblack

I would strongly argue for anyone affected negatively financially by incompetence to request compensation, or to raise a formal complaint (this is different to an appeal)
Compensation awards are one route to feedback to various parts of the DWP that they're doing something wrong.
If they have no internal feedback that something is wrong, nothing is wrong.

missapril75

oldboy64 wrote: »

I have sat on the shelves in my office at home - 25 A4 ring files of mistakes that the DWP have made on different benefit claims.

Ah, that explains a lot.