UC money stopped, urgent messages in journal

Lenzar

I have been on UC (along with PIP and ESA) since September 2019. Even as I went through a nasty divorce and lengthy court battle over my two sons, this money has been paid without a problem. My ex left me and took our sons in April 2020 - as far as I can tell, she reported all these changes as my UC rate went to that of a single person.

I have Autism and as a result do not work. It also means I do not like using the phone as I quickly become overwhelmed.

For most of the time that I've been on UC, I have checked my journal whenever I received a message, but got discouraged due to the fact that virtually every message was something about a job fair or information about activities in school holidays, none of which was either interesting or relevant.

However after noticing I'd received two messages in quick succession, I guessed something had happened and I wasn't wrong. I logged in to be told that my payments were being stopped. The messages in my journal informed me that the UC Risk Review team had tried to phone me as they 'needed' to conduct a review of the information in my UC claim. It did not say what I have done wrong.

My journal claims they attempted to call me twice, first on the 13th of January, between 13:30 and 15:30, and then again today between those two times. I apparently did not answer the call, but I am thinking that on both occasions I was actually talking to my new landlord (I'm in the middle of moving house).

As I have missed these calls, my claim has been stopped. I have phoned the 0800 number given and asked to speak to someone from the risk review team, but I was simply told I was being handed over to a case manager and they would contact me in the next 2 days.

It is ridiculous that in 2022 I am expected to use the phone for this. They know all about my Autism and difficulties that it poses, yet I'm expected to sit and wait with all of this hanging over my head. It frankly beggars belief that whatever I've done to trigger a review isn't mentioned in my journal. What's the point of the website if you can't avoid a lengthy and difficult phone call when something's gone wrong?

I even attempted to go to the JCP and ask to speak to someone there, but all they could do was repeat the advice given in my journal.

poppy12345

It's likely that your UC has been suspended because they couldn't get hold of you when they rang you. Are you sure you're now claiming as a single person... which would mean your UC statements should read.. standard element single person.. LCWRA element and housing element, if you claim this (for 1 bedroom rate if you privately rent) With a deduction for your ESA.

We can only guess what the reason is for this and you'll need to wait for the decision maker to ring you.

Lenzar

poppy12345 said:

We can only guess what the reason is for this and you'll need to wait for the decision maker to ring you.

This is totally unacceptable. I have Autism. I hate using the phone, I hate not knowing what's happening.

We're in 2022. We need to move away from this phone culture. I can't spend two entire days hoping someone will call.

poppy12345

Can you get someone to ring on your behalf tomorrow when they open? You will likely need to go through security first and then tell them you're passing the phone onto someone else to speak on your behalf. Although even by doing this the call centre may not be able to do anything to help you.

Spoonie_Turtle

Lenzar said:

poppy12345 said:

We can only guess what the reason is for this and you'll need to wait for the decision maker to ring you.

This is totally unacceptable. I have Autism. I hate using the phone, I hate not knowing what's happening.

We're in 2022. We need to move away from this phone culture. I can't spend two entire days hoping someone will call.

You may need to make a formal request for a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010.  I don't know how likely it is they'll meet their legal obligation even if you fight for it though, and I also don't know how you proceed if they deny the first request. 

Our society is still fundamentally ableist and it being 2022 quite honestly means nothing.  When even the basics of access are still lacking in everyday life, it's hardly a surprise that this less obvious barrier is still in place.

calcotti

When the change was reported that you had become single in April 2020, due to the pandemic, UC will not have carried out the normal checks to verify your claim. The Risk Review team is now going through all claims to check them. 

If you do not engage they will assume the claim has been incorrectly paid since then.

tomtom256

Maybe you should have check ed your journal and then responded to the messages, as they may have arranged an office interview for you.
Not everybody in the DWP will be aware of your circustances or how it affects you, they tried the digital route which you ignored, so phone would be the only other real option to try and contact you.

calcotti

JCP cannot assist you because the Risk Review team is a specialist team.

TELLIT01

Even in the 21st Century, the telephone is the best and quickest way to collect information for the vast majority of the population.  I accept for the OP this is not the case.  The alternative is either a text or entry into the journal with a question, wait for the answer to that then ask another question and wait for the answer.  Then repeat the above ad infinitum.  That can take days or weeks where a phone call can achieve the same result in minutes.

As suggested, get a friend to speak on your behalf and get the problem resolved quickly.  The only person suffering by not getting this resolved is the OP.