Pension credit delay

mrsyardbroom

Four months ago I reported a change of circumstances to the DWP which I believe would allow us to receive a small amount of guarantee pension credit. Since then I've heard nothing. If I ring them up they say they haven't got the staff to deal with the claim. Meanwhile we're paying Council Tax and losing out on any other benefits we might be able to claim. I asked if we would get any back payments and I was told it was up to whoever dealt with the claim.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has had to wait this long.

Horseunderwater

Write 2 MP.

lld01

Do you get pension credit already? If not then you need to phone them to make a new claim.

Otherwise, PC change of circs have large backlogs, four months is unacceptable but not unusual. Raise a complaint citing financial hardship. You should recieve backpayment to the date you notified them.

mrsyardbroom

Thank you. I'll ring them again and see what they say about putting in a fresh claim. We only get the savings credit at the moment but we've had to spend money on house repairs and our savings have gone down quite a lot. Also I wasn't able to do as much last year to earn a bit extra on the internet and so our income dropped. I think it's brought us down below the threshold for the guarantee credit.

mrsyardbroom

Just to add, I wrote to our MP about pension credits once before and I got a reply about income tax. I'm not sure he understood the difference. I'm voting for someone else next year.