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DWP Debt Management Letter - UC Advance - Scam?
jrhys
Forumite 43 Posts
Hi
I received a letter today (dated 01/05/21) from DWP Debt Management claiming I owe £1049.90. It requires that I go online and pay or my employer will be contacted / debt collectors engaged. I have never made a claim on UC or any other benefit to my knowledge and so at first I thought this was a scam letter, but googling revealed that others have experienced the same thing and it is most certainly a legitimate letter, albeit caused by fraud: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/nov/14/universal-credit-fraud-scam.
The online "repay-my-debt" process shows me that a UC Advance for this amount was paid on 15th October. I think it was around this time last year that we had our communal post room vandalised, so I suspect someone had stolen some letters providing them enough details to claim a UC advance under my name.
Any ideas what options I have to get this sorted? - I'll start calling the UC number and DWP debt management number tomorrow (they are quieter on Tuesdays apparently). If the fraudsters have done this to me, I suspect others in my building may be next.
I received a letter today (dated 01/05/21) from DWP Debt Management claiming I owe £1049.90. It requires that I go online and pay or my employer will be contacted / debt collectors engaged. I have never made a claim on UC or any other benefit to my knowledge and so at first I thought this was a scam letter, but googling revealed that others have experienced the same thing and it is most certainly a legitimate letter, albeit caused by fraud: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/nov/14/universal-credit-fraud-scam.
The online "repay-my-debt" process shows me that a UC Advance for this amount was paid on 15th October. I think it was around this time last year that we had our communal post room vandalised, so I suspect someone had stolen some letters providing them enough details to claim a UC advance under my name.
Any ideas what options I have to get this sorted? - I'll start calling the UC number and DWP debt management number tomorrow (they are quieter on Tuesdays apparently). If the fraudsters have done this to me, I suspect others in my building may be next.
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Replies
Unfortunately DWP Debt Management are usually incredibly hard to deal with but I hope you can at least get them to suspend any action pending further investigation. If not you may want to involve your MP.
I'm sorry to say that the chances of getting a sensible and emphatic response from DWP Debt Management is remote.
I'd tend to write, as well as phone, with letters copied to your MP
I've not got hours to spend on hold to the DWP and UC folks during 9-5 (or 8-6) working days so email has been my focus thus far. I've:
Some details on the MR process:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/problems-with-your-payment/challenging-a-universal-credit-decision-mandatory-consideration/
And the form:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683380/if-you-disagree-with-a-decision-made-by-dwp.PDF
I'm not entirely sure that there is an appealable decision in your case (or that you have a UC claim), but launching an MR is certainly another way of getting your situation considered within the DWP by a decision maker.
This (with the help of a local advice charity), may be worth considering if no sensible action is forthcoming from the DWP:
https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/judicial-review
https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/judicial-review/judicial-review-pre-action-letters/fraud-uc-claimed-fraudulently-3rd-party
(but the template would need adapting to your circumstances re recovery of advance rather than reinstatement of benefits).
However, as a MR can be requested in writing by using the MR form (this wouldn't involve passing security on the phone), I do think it would be worth a try. UC must have a record of the original claim on their system.
UC should then reply in writing with a MR notice.
The difficulty in dealing with Debt Management is that they are likely to refer the OP back to UC.
If the OP's MP office picks up his case, the OP can copy them in with the resultant DWP correspondence / responses.
The more documentation the OP has from DWP the more chance of the MP's office getting someone in the DWP (Dispute Resolution ?) to address it, should Debt Management and UC only take the OP round in circles.
What are also needed are robust procedures to distinguish between fraudsters and fraud victims.