2nd COL Payment Refused Due to Going From Joint To Single Claim

calcotti

xxxxxxxx said:

CoLP is not administered by UC 

Not clear what point you are making.

xxxxxxxx

If the OP has challenged the non payment of the CoLP they have done so via .gov.uk  not via UC 

So the letter of response will have surely come from the CoLP team (wherever they are) and not from UC.

ladyandthetramp

Thank you for all the comments and help. It’s all so confusing. From the start had a joint claim with partner, we split, I informed them of the change and then my UC then became a single claim, I thought it would just kind of run on with no issues but on my UC home page  it was as if I had a new claim with the 5 week wait etc. So from 28th aug - around 7th October I wasn’t entitled to anything, hence the refusal of COL. I filled in the missing payment link then got a letter through UC portal to say nope not happening. Hope that clears it up, I have no idea where to go from here 😟. 

xxxxxxxx

What was your AP end date on the joint claim?  

What is your AP end date on your current claim? 

Did you have to complete a new online claim when you separated? or was it all done by the UC staff? 

Did you report the missing COL payment through Gov.UK? 
https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/report-a-missing-cost-of-living-payment/welcome
What happened next? i.e. how did they communicate their reply to you? 

Or did you raise a challenge in your UC journal? 
If you did raise a challenge in your UC journal did the journal reply tell you to raise it on Gov.uk?

What period did your fist UC payment on the single claim cover?

Was the letter saying "No col" in your UC Journal?

Who is the refusal letter headed from ?  Does it say "UC - Universal Credit" at the top?  

What is the code number on the bottom right corner of the first page of the letter? 
eg "UCD83" ?

calcotti

xxxxxxxx said:

Was the letter in your UC Journal?

OP has already said that it was.

xxxxxxxx

calcotti said:

xxxxxxxx said:

Was the letter in your UC Journal?

OP has already said that it was.

She said UC portal, I am simply asking for clarity.

calcotti

NedS said:

calcotti said:

NedS said:. But I'm not so sure it would apply if Tom has an existing single claim, and Katie, who doesn't have a claim (maybe she's still claiming Tax Credits), moves in with Tom and joins Tom's claim. When they then separate, Katie does not have her own AP dates as she's never had a claim of her own with a claim date assigned, she's only ever 'borrowed' Tom's AP dates for the purposes of their joint claim.

I read that as now being a joint claim which therefore means the assessment dates should be applied to both if they then separate.

NedS said:

You see this in practice where two single claimants, with different AP dates become a couple. The couple claim AP dates are taken from the claim that the other person joins (has your partner given you a linking code? ... for you to join their claim). And then when they later separate, they each revert to their original AP dates, so one person of the couple will now get original AP dates back again.

That makes no sense to me, is that really what happens? I haven’t got the energy to read through the guidance at this time of night!

I think so. I will keep an eye on claims that separate and see if I can confirm. Should be easy to confirm - under your thinking, both would retain the same AP dates. Under my thinking, statistically it would be highly unlikely (1 in 30 chance) both would have/retain the same AP dates.

Seems to me that paragraph E3134 makes clear that two single UC claims become a joint claim when they are linked as a couple. When they separate you would then expect the rules for dividing a couple claim to be applied if they then separate. 

if the above does not happen a claimant would be financially penalised (even without the CoL issue).

xxxxxxxx

calcotti said:

if the above does not happen a claimant would be financially penalised (even without the CoL issue).

Can you explain your thoughts please? 

tomtom256

xxxxxxxx said:

If the OP has challenged the non payment of the CoLP they have done so via .gov.uk  not via UC 

So the letter of response will have surely come from the CoLP team (wherever they are) and not from UC.

Your wrong, as it can be challenged via your UC journal and the Service Centre will check and issue a response/arrange a payment if found to be eligible.

ladyandthetramp

Can’t quote on phone very well but colcotti said claimants would be financially penalised - this is what happened and seems really unfair, i had the waiting period with no money coming in and had to ask for an advance, which now I have to pay back each month.