Pension Credit - when to notify of 'excess' savings

scottleag

Hah! No sooner do I write the above than a letter drops through the door from Pension Credit. Dated ten days ago they're asking for statements from the date we went above £10,000, NOT £10K plus one-offs and NOT from when the twelve-months disregards ended. So it looks like things like cost of living payments and winter fuel allowance DO affect benefits after all.

Worse, they want a reply by February 16th. We go away tomorrow and come back on the 16th so it looks like a day that should be spent leisurely packing will now be a frantic search to provide bank statements, get them posted off then a mad pack this evening. One of the accounts is now closed with no online record so I'll have to go to the bank and see if they can provide details. 

Still, it could be worse I suppose. If this letter had arrived tomorrow we'd have been away and the first working day after our return would be Feb 19th.

Spoonie_Turtle

That wording is standard (because not everyone will know what's disregarded or not), so make sure you do specify all of the payments to be disregarded.

Can you not post them while on holiday, give yourself time to make sure you don't miss any of the disregarded payments?  Oh, I briefly forgot people go abroad - if that's the case then of course you wouldn't be able to post them while away.

scottleag

Spoonie_Turtle said:

That wording is standard (because not everyone will know what's disregarded or not), so make sure you do specify all of the payments to be disregarded.

Can you not post them while on holiday, give yourself time to make sure you don't miss any of the disregarded payments?  Oh, I briefly forgot people go abroad - if that's the case then of course you wouldn't be able to post them while away.

The reference to the date of reaching £10K was handwritten. They already have details of disregards, sent in my letter of Dec 18th. In any case these are DWP payments, albeit different sections, so they should have a record themselves. We're not going abroad but couldn't really do this while on holiday as it means printing out bank statements and I could do without spending the morning in a bank explaining things. I phoned the DWP up and told them (after waiting 55 minutes t get through) that we'd just received this letter and it was possible they may not get a reply till after Feb 16th. I didn't want them to maybe stop payments because they hadn't received a response. After that I downloaded statements only to find my printer was on the blink. So off to the library where their PC wouldn't print from my USB stick then to Rymans which had a £2.50 service charge before printing. Got it done eventually and bunged it into post - too late for today but will be picked up in the morning, giving it ten days to reach them. I just hope what they've been sent is enough for them to finally put this issue to bed.

Of course one of the statements I sent was today's balances. And they're going to be seriously dented by hotel bills and all 'normal' holiday expenditure over the next ten days. But the DWP will calculate on the basis of today's figures. 

I thought I'd taken account of everything. Seeking advice on here, writing to them in advance, then this happens. Best laid plans gang aft-agley I suppose. What a day!

Spoonie_Turtle

scottleag said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

That wording is standard (because not everyone will know what's disregarded or not), so make sure you do specify all of the payments to be disregarded.

Can you not post them while on holiday, give yourself time to make sure you don't miss any of the disregarded payments?  Oh, I briefly forgot people go abroad - if that's the case then of course you wouldn't be able to post them while away.

The reference to the date of reaching £10K was handwritten. They already have details of disregards, sent in my letter of Dec 18th. In any case these are DWP payments, albeit different sections, so they should have a record themselves. We're not going abroad but couldn't really do this while on holiday as it means printing out bank statements and I could do without spending the morning in a bank explaining things. I phoned the DWP up and told them (after waiting 55 minutes t get through) that we'd just received this letter and it was possible they may not get a reply till after Feb 16th. I didn't want them to maybe stop payments because they hadn't received a response. After that I downloaded statements only to find my printer was on the blink. So off to the library where their PC wouldn't print from my USB stick then to Rymans which had a £2.50 service charge before printing. Got it done eventually and bunged it into post - too late for today but will be picked up in the morning, giving it ten days to reach them. I just hope what they've been sent is enough for them to finally put this issue to bed.

Of course one of the statements I sent was today's balances. And they're going to be seriously dented by hotel bills and all 'normal' holiday expenditure over the next ten days. But the DWP will calculate on the basis of today's figures. 

I thought I'd taken account of everything. Seeking advice on here, writing to them in advance, then this happens. Best laid plans gang aft-agley I suppose. What a day!

Ah, you assume the different departments talk to each other.  If only!  And they're not to know whether you spent those payments and then later came into some money, to be fair, so you do need to tell them.

Well, it's done now.  If they don't disregard what they're supposed to you can either challenge it or accept it, depending on whether you think it's worth the hassle or not.  But if you go back below the threshold because of your holiday then it would be silly to be having deductions just for payments that should be disregarded.

And despite this happening today of all days, I hope you enjoy your holiday!

scottleag

Thanks. The one stroke of luck is travelling the day AFTER the train strike.

scottleag

Ah well, here we are. Eleven weeks come Monday since I first wrote to them and four weeks on Monday since I replied to their letter and still no resolution. I know for a fact my last three payments will have been overpayments. 

scottleag

Update on this is good news and bad news. The good is that when on the phone I was told it was "highly unlikely" (not impossible though) DWP would ask for anything back because I'd notified them of changes in advance so it was their fault if they hadn't applied them quick enough. I was also told my case was with a 'name' and that while there was a backlog it shouldn't be too long now to receive a letter with a an updated (lower) amount.

The bad news was what I was told WRT informing them of future changes. I was told I had to do it every time capital rose over the £500 threshold. We receive five payments every month - state pension x2, PIP x2, housing benefit. Only the last of these is below £500 and that doesn't really matter as if, for argument's sake, I was £200 short of the threshold that would put me over it. OTOH there is only one day in the month when payments out are definitely over £500 and a couple of other days when they might be. The guy on the phone was insistent I had to notify them every single time. He also said he current account in its entirety was regarded as capital. 

I explained that every time I've had cause to ring pension credit I have waited close to an hour before speaking to someone. His response to that was 'ring just after 8.00 am, it won't take any longer than quarter of an hour' He was seriously suggesting I call them at least six times per month with notice of changes.

He said the only other option was to write to them. 

This seems utterly crazy. Not just from my POV. It'll mean automated letters notifying me of changes being issued at least six times a month too. As DWP letters tend to arrive 7-10 days after they're dated they'll be sending me one after I've notified them of further changes. 

So, three months after notifying the DWP of impending change of circumstances I still have no idea of how much my pension credit will be reduced by (and the guy on the phone couldn't confirm that COL payments etc would be added to the savings limit) and am faced with the prospect of writing or phoning them a couple of times a week.

Surely this can't be right? I thought at worst I'd have to give them a monthly statement but the phone guy was adamant that was unacceptable. 

scottleag

Four months now and still waiting for a decision. That's now six payments received since going over the limit.