UC Claim closed without notification as I hadn’t accepted commitments?

SpikeyKitten

Hi guys,

Bit of a confusing one. I've been on UC for a few months after migrating from WTC. I'm self-employed so I'm on a 'year's grace' from the minimum income floor if that makes sense. But things are going in the right direction financially so I've not been eligible for much financial help from UC, but it all helps!

Anyway, I usually get a text about meetings etc, and alerts to input my self-employed income, but this month I realised I'd not received one, so I went to log in to my account to find a message that my claim had been closed as I hadn't accepted my commitments.

I had recently had my first quarterly meeting at the JobCentre with my advisor who seemed happy with how things were going. He said that the next meeting in three months would be via the telephone and that was that. No mention of having to 'accept commitments'.

So, looking in my journal it seems that one week after my meeting there was a message left in my journal from somebody other than my advisor asking me to 'accept my commitments'. I didn't see this message as I'd received no notification text or email. Two days after this message was left, my claim was closed. 

After ringing the helpline, a lady told me that I can make a mandatory appeal, which I have done due to receiving no notification. She also advised I check my journal weekly. But that would have made no difference as my claim was closed just two days after the message regarding my commitments. She also advised I make a new claim whilst this one is decided.

So, my questions are:

Have I got a leg to stand on regarding my existing/old claim? There is the possibility that they could have telephoned me about it. But as a rule, I don't answer unknown numbers, they go straight through to voicemail without ringing (iPhone feature), so genuine customers etc will leave a message for me to call back, and scammers, time-wasters, marketing companies etc will just hang-up. It's a system that has served me well after getting deluged with spam calls soon after going into business.
 I'm not saying they did call me, but I'm just trying to work out what has happened. I usually check the 'contact by text/email, and uncheck telephone' boxes so can't imagine I would have missed this.

And, should I make a new claim? The lady on the telephone said I should do this so as not to lose any money. But looking at my earnings for the last month I don't think I'd be getting a payment this time anyway so I guess I could afford to wait for a verdict. And I'm a bit suspicious that it's a ploy to make my old claim null and void as I have now opened another. If the reconsideration is found in my favour will it be backdated to when they closed it?

Thoughts?

Thanks

huckster

Yes make a reclaim asap. There is an option on your claims homepage to do this.

Sounds like the Work Coach dealing with the self-employment made an error. During the 12 month start up period, they should have applied a work group override that would have locked in the commitments for the 12 months. This would have avoided the UC system issuing generic claimant commitments when a UC statement is issued depending on the earnings being reported.

However technically all claimants should be regularly accessing their UC claims and completing items in their claims to-do list. And this includes accepting claimant commitments within the 7 days allowed.

Submit the reclaim. I doubt the mandatory reconsideration will be decided in your favour, as it appears UC sees accepting claimant commitments as a fundamental aspect and allow few good reasons for not accepting these within the time allowed.  If they did decide in your favour, new the claim would be realigned, so you had no gap in the claim periods.

SpikeyKitten

huckster said:

Yes make a reclaim asap. There is an option on your claims homepage to do this.

Sounds like the Work Coach dealing with the self-employment made an error. During the 12 month start up period, they should have applied a work group override that would have locked in the commitments for the 12 months. This would have avoided the UC system issuing generic claimant commitments when a UC statement is issued depending on the earnings being reported.

However technically all claimants should be regularly accessing their UC claims and completing items in their claims to-do list. And this includes accepting claimant commitments within the 7 days allowed.

Submit the reclaim. I doubt the mandatory reconsideration will be decided in your favour, as it appears UC sees accepting claimant commitments as a fundamental aspect and allow few good reasons for not accepting these within the time allowed.  If they did decide in your favour, new the claim would be realigned, so you had no gap in the claim periods.

Thank you.

Just realised that my claim was closed on the 12th May too, which is bizarre as that was before my meeting at the job-centre, and indeed the request to 'accept my commitments'. Unless it's more 'from the start of the last cycle or something else utterly confusing.

Annoying about having to make a new claim. Does that mean I'll have to go to the job-centre again?

huckster

Possibly. Once you reclaim, they will tell you if you need to.

Hermann

Would making a new claim not lose the right to have the minimum income floor ignored that was due to migration from WTC?

SpikeyKitten

Hermann said:

Would making a new claim not lose the right to have the minimum income floor ignored that was due to migration from WTC?

This.

Feels like a trap.

HillStreetBlues

Was this  the original CC or a revised one?
If it's a revised one then failure to accept shouldn't end your UC claim instead the issue raised if not actioned could lead to a sanction

Hermann

SpikeyKitten said:

Hermann said:

Would making a new claim not lose the right to have the minimum income floor ignored that was due to migration from WTC?

This.

Feels like a trap.

As far as I'm aware once you make a new claim there is no going back & all transitional protection is lost.

SpikeyKitten

I think I'll hold off for now on opening another claim. 

What are my options, if any, regarding levels of appeal?

Spoonie_Turtle

Hermann said:

Would making a new claim not lose the right to have the minimum income floor ignored that was due to migration from WTC?

The 12-month startup period is not transitional protection for migrating, it's standard for all new UC claims by self-employed people and new self-employment (unless someone has had a start-up period for the same s/e job and/or in the last 5 years).

I don't know how it works with a rapid reclaim within the 12month period though.  But it's definitely not a form of transitional protection nor unique to managed migrations.

HillStreetBlues

SpikeyKitten said:

What are my options, if any, regarding levels of appeal?

Depends, did you agree a claimant commitment when you first migrated? or was this the first one? Your journal will tell you if you have accepted one in the past.