Benefits, mental health and security questions.

AsknAnswer2

If this has been going in since July of last year then I would suggest involving the local MP. Ministerial enquiries have to be dealt with by DWP and also have to be dealt with within a specified timeframe though I cannot recall what that time frame is. An MP doesn't usually deal directly with the relevant benefit department, it goes much higher than that.

If your relative is still in a position which leaves them incapable of dealing with their own affairs then the MP should also request that the DWP appoint someone to act on your relatives behalf for benefit purposes. This can be a family member, friend or organisation and is known as an appointee. An appointee becomes responsible for all aspects of the claimant's benefit claim.

banana

Sometimes a concerted effort is required to get through security questions. These are ,as a PP said , randomly generated by the computer and 3 out of 5 should be answered correctly.If security is failed the caller is asked to call back and repeat the exercise with (hopefully) slightly different questions. If security is failed a second time this is repeated .After the third fail they should be offered a callback from the benefit centre holding their claim. The security questions can then be more tailored to the callers needs.

If you get a sympathetic person when you first call though this can be circumvented for a vulnerable person. They have to be told of the long term previous problems at the outset though. The benefit centre can be asked to callback right from the start if necessary.