Can I post Attendance Allowance form to a REAL address?

boots_babe

Hi,

In December my mum filled out the Attendance Allowance form and posted it off. She had wanted to send Special Delivery but the post office said she could not do so, as it was a freepost address.

Fast forward to now and she's heard nothing so called up last week. Was told they haven't received it, which means she now needs to fill in all over again.

I understand why a special freepost address cannot have Special Delivery, but there must be a 'real' postal address too. I have tried in vain online to find an answer, and was hoping that the collective wisdom of people on here may help.

Really don't want my mum to spend hours filling in the form again, and wait another few months, only to possibly end up with it going astray again.

Many thanks.

Newcad

They are big mail receiving/handling sites, so whilst they do have an address such as 'Mail Handling Site B, Wolverhampton' that's not reallly any different to the 'Freepost DWP###' address.

You should use the Freepost one but ask for 'Free proof of posting' at the PO counter. I've done that many times.

Being frank 'Special Delivery' or 'Signed For' doesn't count for anything with the DWP.

They recieve that many forms and letters each day that there is no way (no time) that they could sign for each one individually, so if they sign at all then it's for a sackful, or even a truck full, at once.

That being the case then there is no 'proof' that you particular letter was actually amongst those signed for anyway.
Even if it was then so what? If it's been lost then it doesn't matter where, they will want you to send another anyway.
(You should always keep a copy of anything that you send to them).

So save your money and just get the free proof that you posted it to them on a certain date. (At least that you posted something to them on that date).

PS. They probably do already have it, all received mail is scanned in at the handling centres and sent on electronically, it's probably been scanned in and either electronically sent to the wrong office, or is at the right place sat in an electronic inbox and not logged to your mums claim yet.
It's not that unusual for 'lost' mail to not be lost at all and suddenly turn up again later, or when someone actually looks further than what's on the claim screen in front of them.
Not that that helps you, so I'm afraid you will have to send it again.

p00hsticks

This time I'd suggest scanning or taking a copy of the completed form before sending  to save writing it all out again if it goes missing again. 

boots_babe

I appreciate that once it hits the DWP that it can still get lost.  But with Special Delivery the mail goes via a different route to normal post (or even recorded signed for), it is handled separately every step of the way through the Royal Mail process, which means it has a better chance of at least arriving to the destination and not getting lost. 
 
So it's not so much proof of delivery I'm after (after all if they say they haven't received it, a proof of signature doesn't help them to conjure up the completed form!), but more that the more secure method of posting offered via Special Delivery would be beneficial to minimise the chance of being lost in the post.

It took my mum almost 3 weeks to painstakingly fill in the form last time, so now she has to do it all over again. And I know it cannot be helped, but I really don't want her to be in the same position with it going astray a second time, as it has really taken its toll on her.

Alice_Holt

Your mum could try a Subject Access Request to see if the DWP can miraculously find the form.

Other than that - Get proof of posting (as already said) and always, always take a copy (again as advised).

Only include copies of medical evidence.

poppy12345

boots_babe said:

I appreciate that once it hits the DWP that it can still get lost.  But with Special Delivery the mail goes via a different route to normal post (or even recorded signed for), it is handled separately every step of the way through the Royal Mail process, which means it has a better chance of at least arriving to the destination and not getting lost. 
 

Where did you get that from?  it's not correct. It's handled in the same way as any other mail going to DWP. It will be signed for in bulk by someone from Royal Mail sorting office and not someone from DWP. 

All you need is proof you sent it, with proof of posting as advised above. When sending anything to DWP you should always keep a copy for yourself, this way you will have a copy to send again if it does get lost. 

boots_babe

p00hsticks said:

This time I'd suggest scanning or taking a copy of the completed form before sending  to save writing it all out again if it goes missing again. 

My mum did take scans, however has been told she cannot simply print those out and send them. It must be handwritten on new form unfortunately :-(

boots_babe

Alice_Holt said:

Your mum could try a Subject Access Request to see if the DWP can miraculously find the form.

Other than that - Get proof of posting (as already said) and always, always take a copy (again as advised).

Only include copies of medical evidence.

Proof of posting wont help, if the mail goes astray on the way though. Whereas with Special Delivery, all mail is segregated from the rest, and handled separately with extra checks at each step along the way. So it is in theory less likely to go missing en-route. 

She did take scans of the form prior to posting, but is being told she cannot just print these out and re-send. It must be handwritten on a new form apparently.

boots_babe

poppy12345 said:

boots_babe said:

I appreciate that once it hits the DWP that it can still get lost.  But with Special Delivery the mail goes via a different route to normal post (or even recorded signed for), it is handled separately every step of the way through the Royal Mail process, which means it has a better chance of at least arriving to the destination and not getting lost. 
 

Where did you get that from?  it's not correct. It's handled in the same way as any other mail going to DWP. It will be signed for in bulk by someone from Royal Mail sorting office and not someone from DWP. 

All you need is proof you sent it, with proof of posting as advised above. When sending anything to DWP you should always keep a copy for yourself, this way you will have a copy to send again if it does get lost. 

Special Delivery is definitely handed through a separate process, that's the whole point of that service, and why it costs more. I cannot find a 'formal' confirmation of this, but if you search online it is confirmed in an awful lot of places e.g. https://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/community/viewtopic.php?t=104991

Proof it was sent doesn't help though does it, unfortunately. That won't make the DWP conjure up the form! As I've said, I realise that even if delivered safely it could still go AWOL at the DWP end, and there is nothing we can do to mitigate against that. But at least Special Delivery would minimise the chance of it going astray en-route.

My mum did take a scan of the form prior to sending, but the DWP is saying this is not acceptable to just print and re-send, it must be handwritten again on another form :-( 

Spendless

boots_babe said:

poppy12345 said:

boots_babe said:

I appreciate that once it hits the DWP that it can still get lost.  But with Special Delivery the mail goes via a different route to normal post (or even recorded signed for), it is handled separately every step of the way through the Royal Mail process, which means it has a better chance of at least arriving to the destination and not getting lost. 
 

Where did you get that from?  it's not correct. It's handled in the same way as any other mail going to DWP. It will be signed for in bulk by someone from Royal Mail sorting office and not someone from DWP. 

All you need is proof you sent it, with proof of posting as advised above. When sending anything to DWP you should always keep a copy for yourself, this way you will have a copy to send again if it does get lost. 

Special Delivery is definitely handed through a separate process, that's the whole point of that service, and why it costs more. I cannot find a 'formal' confirmation of this, but if you search online it is confirmed in an awful lot of places e.g. https://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/community/viewtopic.php?t=104991

Proof it was sent doesn't help though does it, unfortunately. That won't make the DWP conjure up the form! As I've said, I realise that even if delivered safely it could still go AWOL at the DWP end, and there is nothing we can do to mitigate against that. But at least Special Delivery would minimise the chance of it going astray en-route.

My mum did take a scan of the form prior to sending, but the DWP is saying this is not acceptable to just print and re-send, it must be handwritten again on another form :-( 

Does it have to be handwritten by your Mum or can someone else help her with this?

Newcad

Sombody else can fill it in and then the claimant signs it, it tells you at the top of the form:

"If you are filling in this form for someone else, tell us about them, not you."

But there is a better option all round.

You can download the form from here and save it on a computer: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/attendance-allowance-claim-form

You can fill it in on the computer, save the form at any stage, go back and change things, etc. Then once you are happy with it print and sign it.
The answer boxes have been specifically made to allow you to type into them, except for the signature box.
That way you have a copy saved on your computer, and can print off another whenever you like.

(You can also just print it with the boxes empty and then fill it in by hand if that's what you prefer).

PS, From experience, mail to the DWP hardly even gets 'lost in the post' by Royal Mail, the DWP do say that but in practice it's been 'misplaced' after it has got to the mail-handling centre(s). Somewhere in the DWPs own system.
They can usually miraculously 'find' it again if they take the time to look, as Alice_Holt notes they usually find it if you do a SAR; but as those can take 40 days to get a reply then it's not a particularly useful thing to do if they are still waiting for a form.