I think CRU took too much from our compensation

kerry1311

hi

I have posted something similar before but i didnt word it correctly.

My husband had an accident in dec 2009. The medical expert say my husband would of became disabled after 1 year regardless of his accident so my husbands accident claim was just for one year which was december 2009 until december 2010.

He has been given loss of earnings for that period only plus the other compansation parts from expenses, mobility etc covered one year only.

We were happy with that and the DWP only wanted the benefits paid to him in that year period which was dla from sep 10 - dec 10, and Industrial injuries from july 2010-dec 2010. They didnt want any esa back as that wasnt claimed until Feb 2011.

However just before the claim was settled while we were exchanging offers a week before court the CRU came back and said they wanted the IIDB back from July 10 until October 2013. I argued this with the solicitor but was told it would be paid regardless and we would have to try and claim it back ourselves from the DWP as court date was looming.

I thought that would be ok so once everything was settled i sent a letter explaining that as my husband was entitled to full ESA for the dates and the IIDB was taken out that i found it unfair that the IIDB could be taken back but rather it should of been offset by the ESA we would then be underpaid.

I also explained that my husband had not been compensated for 2011, 2012 and 2013 so we shouldnt of had to pay benefits back from this time. I dont seem to be getting anywhere.

Am i right in the way i am thinking?
thanks

kerry1311

Does anyome have any advice please? Many thanks

lld01

This is a complex area - any advice you receive on here will probably be pretty limited.

If your not getting anywhere with the DWP try making a complaint or getting your MP involved.

However it appears to me that your solicitor may be at fault as all of this should of been sorted before the settlement was agreed.

Hopefully someone on here will know a bit more about this area, good luck.

kerry1311

lld01 wrote: »

This is a complex area - any advice you receive on here will probably be pretty limited.

If your not getting anywhere with the DWP try making a complaint or getting your MP involved.

However it appears to me that your solicitor may be at fault as all of this should of been sorted before the settlement was agreed.

Hopefully someone on here will know a bit more about this area, good luck.

Thanks for you response. It is a complex area as i really dont even think the DWP understand what im saying. Ive just had a letter from them today saying i cant be compensated twice. I truely understand that but the time in question i have not been compensated for. I have made an appointment on monday with a welfare advisor who ive explained the situation to and he says he understands my situation and will have a look at my letters etc.

I am starting to think that the solicitor is at fault. I did tell the solicitor straight away that the compensation recovery certificate was wrong before i settled claim. She advised me that was not her field but she would ask barrister. Barrister also claimed he knew nothing about the compensation recovery and i was advised i had to deal with the DWP myself after the claim was settled. Now im thinking they said this to make me agree to the claim. I have all the solicitors correspondence in email form to show i did query amounts from the start.

Hopefully on monday i may get further.

many thanks

HB58

Sounds as if you might have a claim against the solicitor if DWP remain unmoved.

kerry1311

Im still waiting for a response from the CRU over this and its been 3 months. I have called them and they said they still have some paperwork to do on it. They sure take there time. I presume they will say no and i will have to appeal. How long does it take from appeal until tribunal? Its been going on since October 2013 and i just hope the end is in sight.

dippy3103

Appeals can take up to 2 years to be heard. They are not usually that bad - about six months is pretty average.

geri1965_2

They can take a while, as they have to get papers from the local benefit office.

Your solicitor should really be sorting this out. She sounds useless, to be honest. This is basic stuff which she shouldn't need to seek advice on!

kerry1311

The solicitor told us the case has been closed with her now so up to us to sort ourselves even though i told her the cru certificate was incorrect before the case was settled.

cattermole

I agree it sounds like the solicitor is negligent.

Was it a no win, no fee case?

kerry1311

cattermole wrote: »

I agree it sounds like the solicitor is negligent.

Was it a no win, no fee case?

It was a no win no fee case. Theres a few other things that were missed out of claim too which is annoying as it affected my husbands compensation.