Complaint about DWP Staff

[Deleted User]

I posted this at the end of an existing post in The Benefits Forum then wondered if it would be more appropriate on this Forum.  If not, please let me know.  Here is the post:

Re Formal Complaint to DWP about the way their staff treated me - 5 telephone calls.

Any help with this will be appreciated, thank you very much. 

After five (all unsuccessful) telephone calls to DWP I, as a last resort, complained to the address I was eventually given, on request, to write to DWP by way of a regrettable formal complaint.

I wrote, complaining formally, on 12 December 2023 and, so far, I have received no acknowledgement from DWP and no subsequent communication from DWP about my written complaint.

It does not seem possible to complain in any other way.  Apart from resending my written complaint from 12 December is there anything else I can do to have my (definitely last resort) complaint addressed by DWP?  My five telephone calls, before complaining in writing, have all been futile.

I don't know what to do next. and will be really grateful for any guidance, thank you.

BoGoF

It's been 25 working days, not that long when writing to a Govt department.

[Deleted User]

Thanks very much for replying, BoGoF.    Do you know of any guidance regarding how long would be a reasonable or expected time to wait?

I'm discouraged because several assurances, by telephone, that a Manager would call be back in 24-48 hours were all not upheld and I heard nothing from a Manager.  This is why, as a last resort, I wrote complaining formally.  I'm really quite upset about it.

BoGoF

Had a look at the other  thread and all honesty my advice would be let it go. What are you hoping to achieve from the complaint? You might get a token apology but after the stress of getting your problem resolved your eneegy would be best spent on better things.

[Deleted User]

Thank you for your wise words, BoGoF, and I appreciate your reply.

Two of the staff were, I believe, not only obstructive but horribly unkind and did not listen to what I was saying.  I was not rude at any time and when, as a last resort,  I asked how to complain the member of staff during that telephone call hung up abruptly without giving me the information.

Is it not reasonable to expect DWP staff to behave better than this and, hopefully, be held accountable when they behave so badly?  I'm definitely not looking for any 'material' compensation. A sincere apology would be reassuring - or am I being unrealistic?

Although your words really are wise, would it not be a 'case' of, by doing nothing, this, I feel unprofessional and unkind behaviour, will go unchecked and will continue - as if being acceptable and approved?

I am, genuinely, open to any justifiable criticism.  I really was not rude and was treated badly by these members of DWP Staff.  They say their calls are recorded and it should not be difficult to hear that I was not unreasonable or provocative during the calls. 

elsien

15 days according to this, once it’s been escalated to a senior manager - that would be working days obviously, and probably a tad hopeful. 

Doesn’t say anything about escalating further though until you’ve actually had a complaint resolution letter.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure

BoGoF

[Deleted User] said:

Thank you for your wise words, BoGoF, and I appreciate your reply.

Two of the staff were, I believe, not only obstructive but horribly unkind and did not listen to what I was saying.  I was not rude at any time and when, as a last resort,  I asked how to complain the member of staff during that telephone call hung up abruptly without giving me the information.

Is it not reasonable to expect DWP staff to behave better than this and, hopefully, be held accountable when they behave so badly?  I'm definitely not looking for any 'material' compensation. A sincere apology would be reassuring - or am I being unrealistic?

Although your words really are wise, would it not be a 'case' of, by doing nothing, this, I feel unprofessional and unkind behaviour, will go unchecked and will continue - as if being acceptable and approved?

I am, genuinely, open to any justifiable criticism.  I really was not rude and was treated badly by these members of DWP Staff.  They say their calls are recorded and it should not be difficult to hear that I was not unreasonable or provocative during the calls. 

Not unrealistic in your expectations but as someone who has experience of Govt depts there will be no sincere apology and any letter you may get might say all the right things but behind the scenes nothing will change.

It's no defence but the frontline staff you are dealing with are marginally above minimum wage, work in a culture of fear and morale is rock bottom. DWP in particular have a staffing crisis.

Marvel1

elsien said:

15 days according to this, once it’s been escalated to a senior manager - that would be working days obviously, and probably a tad hopeful. 

Doesn’t say anything about escalating further though until you’ve actually had a complaint resolution letter.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure

Be aware it does state, so maybe not 15 working days at first, see bold part.

General complaints about the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

If you have a general complaint about the Department for Work and Pensions itself which is not related to service you have received, write to:

DWP Complaints
Post Handling Site B
Wolverhampton
WV99 2GY

3. Ask for your complaint to go to a senior manager

If you’re not happy with the response from the team you’ve been dealing with, you can ask them to pass your complaint on to a senior manager.

A dedicated member of our Complaints team will then contact you within 15 working days, usually by phone, to talk about your complaint and agree how to investigate it. They will tell you the outcome or when you can expect a response, if it will take longer.

marcia_

 Write to your MP asking them to intervene. I once had the same result. Wrote a complaint and never received a reply, I waited months. MP got an answer in days. 

[Deleted User]

Thank you for all these helpful and very interesting replies.  They have provided good insight.

I'm a bit worn out just now and have no energy to go to an MP - now that have been helped to understand a bit more about how DWP operates - informally that is.  It's  sad.

I know it is nothing personal and it sounds as if pursuing it would be futile.  Maybe I just need to accept that it's  just how the 'System' is.  Although there is no excuse for it, on the scale of things, worse things (very much worse - The Post Office scandal comes to mind) happen all the time.  In the end, thankfully, I'm not their judge and I don't  think bitternes achieves anything good.

Thank you all, again.  Your replies have helped me.

BoGoF

marcia_ said:

 Write to your MP asking them to intervene. I once had the same result. Wrote a complaint and never received a reply, I waited months. MP got an answer in days. 

In this case OP's problem has been resolved. Yes, an MP's intervention will get an apology but one that someone has been told to write, say lessons learnt etc etc. It's a waste of time and energy but some people need that moral satisfaction (not saying you do OP).