Claim suspended for notsupplying evidence requested in letter I've never received

TELLIT01

gilbutre wrote: »

Have they not heard about something called "email"? Why relying on a single, flawed communication channel for something as important as sustenance means?

Many parts of DWP won't accept evidence sent by e-mail for a number of reasons.

1. It is not considered a secure method of sending information. DWP certainly advise against sending in anything containing personal information by e-mail. When I worked there anything sent by text (we didn't use external e-mail at all) had to be generic, or at least not contain personal info. For example, we'd text if an immediate payment had been released but never put the precise amount.
2. They want to see original documents. Any scanned document can be doctored.

annandale

From the first post it looks like the information was being requested by the council. Not the dwp.

My local council has no problems accepting payslips sent to them via email.

gilbutre

annandale wrote: »

From the first post it looks like the information was being requested by the council. Not the dwp.

My local council has no problems accepting payslips sent to them via email.

The point isn't for claimants to provide evidence by email, but for the Council to request it by email (as well as by post, whatever system not relying on a single channel that is known to be unreliable)

annandale

I see. They won't do that. It's always by letter.

Delree

In my job (tenant support in a Housing Association) I have identified a massive problem with the Royal Mail in my postal area. Now I don't know if it's individual postmen or women or a systemic problem at the sorting office, but somehow every official letter that contains anything other than good news never seems to make it. I estimate that between 20 and 30% of all letters, especially official looking ones, just totally vanish. It's a mystery and I don't know what to do about it.

missapril75

rockingbilly wrote: »

IThis 30 day rule is very much one sided for the council & DWP. Their post is DEEMED to have been delivered within 48 hours of being posted. Try using that argument on the DWP when they say that they haven't received your letter

Not so much a case of they haven't received it but that they can't lay hands on it that quickly given the very high amount of post received, much of it with unclear handwriting including names and often no NINOs or other reference numbers.

(unless you can prove absolutely that not only was it posted but that it was also signed for at the DWP office).

Although that only proves something was received. And whatever it was is received not at DWP these days isn't it?

Mersey wrote: »

DWP sometimes just don't send letters out sadly (I dealt with an Appeal for a Claimant at First Tier Tribunal where the District Judge ruled that the letter had not been sent, after the DWP failed to provide any evidence it had been).

What kind of evidence would you expect? A signed statement that a member of staff witnessed that the letter they'd arranged was handed to the post office and they tracked it until it was mailed?

Or some CCTV footage of them putting it in the mailbox for collection? Some kind of homing device?

Or just the record of it having been issued which would be initialled and dated if done locally or would show up on the computer system as having been issued and the only way you could know it wasn't issued would be if you happened to know a printer was out of paper at that very moment or maybe there was a fire or something.

Honestly, you give good advice here but sometimes you do have a bit of a chip on your shoulder when it comes to Benefits offices.

dekaspace

missapril75 wrote: »

Not so much a case of they haven't received it but that they can't lay hands on it that quickly given the very high amount of post received, much of it with unclear handwriting including names and often no NINOs or other reference numbers.
Although that only proves something was received. And whatever it was is received not at DWP these days isn't it?

What kind of evidence would you expect? A signed statement that a member of staff witnessed that the letter they'd arranged was handed to the post office and they tracked it until it was mailed?

Or some CCTV footage of them putting it in the mailbox for collection? Some kind of homing device?

Or just the record of it having been issued which would be initialled and dated if done locally or would show up on the computer system as having been issued and the only way you could know it wasn't issued would be if you happened to know a printer was out of paper at that very moment or maybe there was a fire or something.

As someone who had to deal with DWP, a few times I sent letters to them recorded delivery and they never signed for them, this was after they lost multiple documents I handed in, in the end only a complaint to the MP made them like a miracle find the documents in under 20 minutes, the way I was spoke to on phone was either as if I was lying, or an uncaring "well just do the form and get id again and it takes 14 days from when we recieve it to look at it" (like a 30 page form, and hard to get ID)

Even had them lose a friends P45 and when we got a replacement I was a witness and asked for a receipt to get shouted at by the advisor saying "don't you trust me" and turning it around to basically imply we were troublemakers and typical benefit claimants.

Theres the general attitude of both the DWP and council if they can't find it on system you never handed it in, the worst was 11 I think housing benefit applications I made around 2001 as they kept losing them, and the person at the desk was well known to look down on benefit claimaints (yet go in to inform you were starting work and he was suddenly nice to you) I can remember the time he was snooty with my dad and trying to put him down not realising my dad has 2 degrees and when my dad stood up to him and put him in a corner the guy didn't know what to say until he basically whimpered he would get my dad chucked out (all my dad did was be calm and assertive)

My dad also helped me the time with the 11 applications, again calm but assertive and stated rights and basically told him he would take things further to get a grin and a smug response of "yeah right, lets see you do that then"

Next day after my dad did take it further they found all 11 applications and I was even paid the full rent even though the local rate at time was £15 under the rent.

The general common thread for both DWP and councils tends to be once they recieve something they don't bother to file it until they want to, the absolute worse thing I had which was DWP was when they lose multiple doctors notes and so closed my claim saying I never handed them in meaning I had no money for about 6 months (only survived by overdraft) A year later they did the same thing again so another 6 months I had no money.

So they lose/misfile things you send or hand them but assume everything they send you get and choose not to respond to.

FBaby

Most post arrives to the address provided. Most occasions when it isn't being delivered to the intended person, it's because the address used is wrong. In most cases, it is because the receiver hasn't informed of a change of address through the proper channels.

Sometimes, it is indeed the administrative function that has been deficient. When that's the case, instead of huffing of puffing, the best way to resolve the issue is to communicate with them, and act on their request asap for resolve the matter.

Of course it is frustrating for those few cases of maladministration or the even rarer cases of post office mishandling. However, it remains that in the vast majority, 'letters not received' fall under the category of 'it's been received but ignored and then forgotten' or 'it's been received at the last address that was provided'.

Housing_Benefit_Officer

The simple truth is that we use claimants post to fuel the council's boilers during cold snaps. Sacks and sacks of incoming and outgoing mail are just shovelled straight into a furnace to keep us warm while we think up new and cruel ways to delay paying people or suspending or cancelling their claims. We do this because we are so overstaffed we can afford to have people hunting for post and files and taking all the extra phone calls, counter visits and letters that delaying and losing post causes.

Sambella

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

The simple truth is that we use claimants post to fuel the council's boilers during cold snaps. Sacks and sacks of incoming and outgoing mail are just shovelled straight into a furnace to keep us warm while we think up new and cruel ways to delay paying people or suspending or cancelling their claims. We do this because we are so overstaffed we can afford to have people hunting for post and files and taking all the extra phone calls, counter visits and letters that delaying and losing post causes.

I actually think you're running a wee sideline on huge sacks of shredded paper for hamster bedding

This never happened to this extent in the past.