Less money after being switched over to Universal Credit

calcotti

Do not talk to IS about the SDP transitional element - that has nothing to do with them because it's a feature of UC.

What you are asking IS for is a Mandatory Reconsideration of the decision that you no longer qualified for IS. The grounds are these.
I was receiving IS because I cared for my aunt who was receiving PIP. Her PIP was stopped on xxx. As a result you told me that I was no longer entitled to IS from yyyy. My aunt has now had her PIP reinstated and backdated to be continuous. I have been continuing to care for her throughout.
Now that my aunt's PIP has been reinstated, which has retrospective effect, I am asking you to revise your decision that I was not entitled to IS from yyyy and to reinstate my award.* I understand that as I have subsequently claimed UC my IS entitlement will end two weeks after the date I claimed UC.

*which should include the SDP but that is not actually what you are challenging. What you want is to get the IS reinstated, the calculation of the IS amount is a separate issue.

thebailey

calcotti said:

Do not talk to IS about the SDP transitional element - that has nothing to do with them because it's a feature of UC.

What you are asking IS is this
I was receiving IS because I cared for my aunt who was receiving PIP. Her PIP was stopped on xxx. As a result you told me that I was no longer entitled to IS from yyyy. My aunt has now had her PIP reinstated and backdated to be continuous. I have been continuing to care for her throughout. Now that my aunt's PIP has been reinstated I am asking you to revise your decision that I was not entitled to IS from yyyy and to reinstate my award, which should include the SDP. I understand that as I have subsequently claimed UC my IS entitlement will end two weeks after the date I claimed UC.

Yes, that's what I asked.  I asked if they can revise the IS and he just said no. 

Admittedly the first time I phoned, the guy was willing to listen to everything I had to say.  The 2nd guy was just trying to get me off the phone.  And when he said I will be better off on UC, that was a joke.

But yes, I did.  I mentioned everything you guys have been telling me.  They just don't want to listen, or they accept I should be receiving SDP but won't give me it, or they just pass the buck to someone else.

I've a feeling I won't get any where's with the local benefits group "Financial Inclusion Team" I called with either.  But I'll just have to wait and see what they say when they phone back, next week.  I reckon it'll be a call to my MP after that.

Really appreciate all the help here, and sorry for any confusion on my part.

I also feel like writing in my UC that it's terrible.

calcotti

thebailey said:
But yes, I did.  I mentioned everything you guys have been telling me.  They just don't want to listen, or they accept I should be receiving SDP but won't give me it, or they just pass the buck to someone else.

At this point the SDP is incidental. Getting IS to revise the decision to end the IS claim is the key point. If IS is in place the SDP follows (if you meet the conditions).

If that is achieved you then go back to UC and say I was entitled to IS with SDP at the time I claimed UC so my UC award should include the SDP transitional element.

If necessary put the request to revise the decision to close the IS award in writing.

DWP are very resistant to doing what is being asked in respect of IS but in your case you need to try, not only to try and get the extra money in your UC claim but a also to head off DWP asking you to pay back money paid to you between May and September. Ideally you may want support from a welfare rights organisation https://advicelocal.uk.

There is a long discussion on this here (by people far more knowledgeable than me)
https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/15312/P15

Post no 43 has a very useful link setting out a tribunal argument as to why IS should be reinstated in these circumstances.

thebailey

calcotti said:

thebailey said:
But yes, I did.  I mentioned everything you guys have been telling me.  They just don't want to listen, or they accept I should be receiving SDP but won't give me it, or they just pass the buck to someone else.

At this point the SDP is incidental. Getting IS to revise the decision to end the IS claim is the key point. If IS is in place the SDP follows (if you meet the conditions).

If that is achieved you then go back to UC and say I was entitled to IS with SDP at the time I claimed UC so my UC award should include the SDP transitional element.

If necessary put the request to revise the decision to close the IS award in writing

There is a long discussion on this here (by people far more knowledgeable than me)
https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/15312/P15

Thank you, I'll take a look at the link later tonight.

I'm away to write in my UC Journal about the 2 phone calls to IS and how the first person said I am entitled to Transitional SDP.  I'm also going to mention the 2nd call saying that I will be better off on UC even though I'm £92 worse off a week than what I was previously getting.

calcotti

thebailey said: I'm away to write in my UC Journal about the 2 phone calls to IS and how the first person said I am entitled to Transitional SDP.  I'm also going to mention the 2nd call saying that I will be better off on UC even though I'm £92 worse off a week than what I was previously getting.

That will achieve nothing. IS know nothing about how UC operates and a statement by somebody that you would be better off on UC has no value. DWP staff are not benefits advisers and when they take it upon themselves to offer advice they are frequently wrong.

The situation has arisen because you didn't know your IS entitlement was ending in May. Had you claimed UC within one month of the IS end date you would have got the SDP element. Although you claimed UC within one month of knowing your IS was stopping this is not the same as doing so within one month of being entitled. That's why you need to establish that you are still entitled to IS immediately prior to claiming UC.

Regarding the 'overpaid' IS, if you told IS that your aunt's PIP had ended and they neglected to stop your IS then that is official error and they can't recover the overpaid IS. If you didn't tell them, which you should have done, it then comes down to whether you should have known that you needed to tell them.

thebailey

After waiting a while, I finally heard back from the local benefits help group.  They said there's nothing I can do and I should have told the DWP back in March or May my aunts PIP had stopped.  I said I thought they would know this as I thought all departments were one thing, plus I thought you still got the same benefits during the appeal period.

I then said don't understand how someone else with the exact same health problems as me and cares for someone, gets an additional £285 a month.  The woman then said "It's just sods law that it hasn't worked out for you being on UC and you're getting less money"

She then asked if I have filled in a work capability booklet and I said no because when I told UC I was a carer once again due to my aunt winning PIP, I was told I no longer need to send back the booklet. The woman then said "Yes, but you can still work full time and be a carer".  She said if I fill in the booklet and submit sick lines for 13 weeks, I'll get extra money.

Is that true what I've been told??  I have no problem submitting sick lines for 13 weeks, if it'll help my money go back up????

AND to make matters worse, I have received a letter today from the DWP saying they will be making me pay back IS from May to September.

Very depressing situation to be in.  Please help if you can.  Thank you.

calcotti

thebailey said:

.. when I told UC I was a carer once again due to my aunt winning PIP, I was told I no longer need to send back the booklet. 

That's appalling advice. Being a carer and having a work limiting health condition are totally different things. It is definitely worth doing the Work capability Assessment to see if you can get LCWRA, it pays more than the carer element anyway.

thebailey said:AND to make matters worse, I have received a letter today from the DWP saying they will be making me pay back IS from May to September.

Have you gone back to IS yet as advised and asked them to revise the decision to end the IS claim?
Challenge a benefit decision (mandatory reconsideration) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

thebailey

calcotti said:

thebailey said:

.. when I told UC I was a carer once again due to my aunt winning PIP, I was told I no longer need to send back the booklet. 

That's appalling advice. Being a carer and having a work limiting health condition are totally different things. It is definitely worth doing the Work capability Assessment to see if you can get LCWRA, it pays more than the carer element anyway.

thebailey said:AND to make matters worse, I have received a letter today from the DWP saying they will be making me pay back IS from May to September.

Have you gone back to IS yet as advised and asked them to revise the decision to end the IS claim?
Challenge a benefit decision (mandatory reconsideration) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

So if I fill in the work capability assessment booklet, I may get the extra money again.  I'll certainly do it and send the sick lines in too, if it'll help me out

Yes, when I called the IS line the 2nd time a couple weeks ago, when I asked if they can revise the decision to end IS, all he said was "No".

poppy12345

thebailey said:

calcotti said:

thebailey said:

.. when I told UC I was a carer once again due to my aunt winning PIP, I was told I no longer need to send back the booklet. 

That's appalling advice. Being a carer and having a work limiting health condition are totally different things. It is definitely worth doing the Work capability Assessment to see if you can get LCWRA, it pays more than the carer element anyway.

thebailey said:AND to make matters worse, I have received a letter today from the DWP saying they will be making me pay back IS from May to September.

Have you gone back to IS yet as advised and asked them to revise the decision to end the IS claim?
Challenge a benefit decision (mandatory reconsideration) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

So if I fill in the work capability assessment booklet, I may get the extra money again.  I'll certainly do it and send the sick lines in too, if it'll help me out

Only if you're found to have LCWRA which pays an extra £343 per month from the 4th month of your claim. For you because you're claiming the carers element you won't receive all that extra £343 you'll receive the difference between carers element and LCWRA element which is an extra £179.90 per month. This is because you can't claim both LCWRA and carers element at the same time, you'll be paid the higher amount.

calcotti

thebailey said: Yes, when I called the IS line the 2nd time a couple weeks ago, when I asked if they can revise the decision to end IS, all he said was "No".

I would suggest you formally request this be looked at again in writing. When you ring you are not speaking to a Decision Maker. The argument is something like this:

My IS claim was closed from xxx because my entitlement to Carer’s Allowance ended as a result of my aunt’s PIP award being stopped.

I have since informed you that the decision to end my aunt’s PIP award was subsequently revised and the award was reinstated meaning that her entitlement was continuous. I continued to be a carer for her throughout and fall within a prescribed category of person entitled to Income Support as a person regularly and substantially engaged in caring for a person entitled to the daily living component of PIP.

I have asked you to make an any time revision of the decision to end the IS claim but you have refused to do so. I request a Mandatory Reconsideration of that decision.

Because the legal position is now that my aunt was continuously entitled to PIP the decision to end the IS claim is incorrect and should be revised.

Get advice if you need it https://advicelocal.uk/