DWP forcing me to repay a debt caused by identity fraud

NedS

myDWPhell said:

“They should respond before 29 August 2025 - it’s now 26 September 2025 and still NO RESPONSE. 

As I said previously, it took 8 or 9 months for a DWP response to my tribunal filing.

Keep pressing the Clerk to the court to move things forward and ask them to set a date for the tribunal.

myDWPhell

badmemory said:

Personally I would not be looking for a default win as nice as it would be.  I would be looking for a whoops sorry we got it so wrong type win.

Absolutely, I couldn’t agree more. I want a retraction and an apology from the DWP. Furthermore, I want an explanation as to how this could ever have been allowed to happen. How and why was I denied the written explanation? How can they have continued to adamantly insist that the funds were paid into a bank account “belonging” to me? (FOLLOW THE MONEY!!!) How could they have claimed that rigorous ID verification procedures had been followed? How can they have claimed they have claimed that:

“The UC system verified your bank account details automatically using Bank Wizard. This is a service provided by Experian which checks that the bank details that a claimant provides match a valid bank account, that the bank account is open, that your name matches the name on the account, that the bank account holder is not recorded as deceased, and that your address matches the address on the bank account.”

THAT DID NOT HAPPEN! 

And given the fact that THREE different claims had been attempted (using my details) in three completely different towns and cites in a six week period that can’t even have been said about a fraudulent account in my name.

The DWP have needlessly put me through torture for almost 12 months. The DWP are guilty of an absolute failure to follow due process, diligence and procedures. 

The DWP have acted like some type of criminal enterprise. 

I fully realise that getting a full retraction and an apology from the DWP is next to impossible! 

myDWPhell

born_again said:

TBH.
If they have failed to provide the required info, then the tribunal should sit & make the decision based on the evidence provided at that point.
So a default win. 

That could potentially happen at some point in the future but it isn’t mandatory that the DWP should respond by the 29/08/25 it just states, “should”. When I spoke with the Tribunal last week they said it could take up to six months for the DWP to respond - or more! 

My point was to draw attention to the extreme imbalance in power. 

myDWPhell

NedS said:

myDWPhell said:

“They should respond before 29 August 2025 - it’s now 26 September 2025 and still NO RESPONSE. 

As I said previously, it took 8 or 9 months for a DWP response to my tribunal filing.

Keep pressing the Clerk to the court to move things forward and ask them to set a date for the tribunal.

Yes, this is something I’m fully aware of. I called the Tribunal last week or at least I called the department which I am allowed to call and discuss my case with at this point. I sought clarification on various points and they stressed that it could take up to six months or more before the DWP see fit to issue their response. 

myDWPhell

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT:

In a major development yesterday, I received a phone call from DWP Debt Management. Debt Management being the department which forced me to “agree” to a “repayment plan” - on the instructions of DWP Universal Credit. DWP Debt Management called to inform me that the money I had been FORCED to repay each month was to be refunded to me! The agent I spoke with provided me with information that suggested this was a result of a “change of decision” on the part of the DWP regarding my case. 

Following my call with DWP Debt Management I called the Tribunal for clarification of the status of my appeal. The Tribunal informed me that they had received a response from the DWP on 25/09/25 (the day before). The Tribunal confirmed that as of 25/09/25 the DWP had “changed their decision”. Their original decision being that “I” made the claim. I was informed that would receive a “lapsed letter” from the DWP in the coming days which would explain the situation. 

Somehow (miraculously), following my call with the Tribunal earlier on in the week where I was advised that it could take up to six months (or more) before I should expect to receive a response from the DWP, just a few days later the DWP issued their response and cleared me of responsibility. 

Somehow my case had rocketed its way to the top of the list and was dealt with within just a few days, rather than six months or more. 

I can only assume that it had something to do with the fact that the DWP were being bombarded by multiple major UK newspapers seeking comment and clarification regarding my case. 

DWP - NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE! 

NedS

myDWPhell said:

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT:

In a major development yesterday, I received a phone call from DWP Debt Management. Debt Management being the department which forced me to “agree” to a “repayment plan” - on the instructions of DWP Universal Credit. DWP Debt Management called to inform me that the money I had been FORCED to repay each month was to be refunded to me! The agent I spoke with provided me with information that suggested this was a result of a “change of decision” on the part of the DWP regarding my case. 

Following my call with DWP Debt Management I called the Tribunal for clarification of the status of my appeal. The Tribunal informed me that they had received a response from the DWP on 25/09/25 (the day before). The Tribunal confirmed that as of 25/09/25 the DWP had “changed their decision”. Their original decision being that “I” made the claim. I was informed that would receive a “lapsed letter” from the DWP in the coming days which would explain the situation. 

Somehow (miraculously), following my call with the Tribunal earlier on in the week where I was advised that it could take up to six months (or more) before I should expect to receive a response from the DWP, just a few days later the DWP issued their response and cleared me of responsibility. 

Somehow my case had rocketed its way to the top of the list and was dealt with within just a few days, rather than six months or more. 

I can only assume that it had something to do with the fact that the DWP were being bombarded by multiple major UK newspapers seeking comment and clarification regarding my case. 

DWP - NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE! 

Congratulations on the outcome.

DWP legal have now looked at your tribunal filing and decided to lapse the case in your favour, as presumably they either now agree that it was not you who made the claim, or they feel unable to provide sufficient proof that it was you to stand a realistic chance of winning the case at tribunal. Either way, a win for you.

It will be interesting to see how they contact you to notify you of their decision to lapse the appeal in your favour, as normally this letter would be uploaded to your UC claim (which you cannot access). I would see if you can get notification in writing from HMCTS that DWP have lapsed the appeal, as you may never receive anything in writing from DWP.

Muttleythefrog

Ah pleased to see this update.... I suspect they realised their submission to tribunal would not hold water. I'm sure you'll let us know the details of the letter which they claim to be sending you explaining! (And yes I wonder if press attention in the case helped)

myDWPhell

Muttleythefrog said:

Ah pleased to see this update.... I suspect they realised their submission to tribunal would not hold water. I'm sure you'll let us know the details of the letter which they claim to be sending you explaining! (And yes I wonder if press attention in the case helped)

I think it’s more to do with the fact that when they undoubtedly pushed my case to the top of the pile following all the press attention they would have been confronted by the mass of evidence I’d submitted showing that I had nothing to do with the fraudulent claims. 

When they viewed the evidence which I’d submitted in support of my appeal it would have been the very first time EVER that the DWP had seen ANY evidence submitted by me in support of my case. Up until the DWPs MRN (Mandatory Reconsideration Notice) they had failed to provide with ANY details of their allegations against me (apart from the dates of two of the claims). So as the MR process was supposed to be my opportunity to provide evidence and information in support of my case and claim that I did not submit the UC claim in question. This proved to be absolutely impossible as I was completely unaware of the details of the allegations despite my efforts over the preceding months to be provided with those details. It was only when the DWP made their final judgement that they saw fit to furnish me with those details - a bit late! Once I had eventually been provided with the information I required proving my innocence was easy. 

Relived as I am to have been cleared of any guilt or responsibility for the fraudulent claims so many questions remain as to the conduct of the DWP earlier on in the process. Why wasn’t I provided with a copy of the written explanation??? This presumably contained the information I required to defend myself in the MR process. Why did the DWP continue to insist that the “advance” was paid into an account “belonging” to me. They were adamant and immovable on this point for almost a year. I knew that the money didn’t go into an account “belonging” to me and if the DWP had carried out the most basic checks they too would have realised this. 

As regards the DWP, my case has been one characterised by gross negligence, maladministration, incompetence and potential malpractice on the part of the DWP. 

This is certainly not the end of the road for me. I am of course hugely relieved to have finally been cleared I will now have to campaign for a full retraction of their allegations, an apology and an explanation for what could have gone so badly wrong that I could have been forced to endure this situation for a few days short of a year. 

myDWPhell

NedS said:

myDWPhell said:

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT:

In a major development yesterday, I received a phone call from DWP Debt Management. Debt Management being the department which forced me to “agree” to a “repayment plan” - on the instructions of DWP Universal Credit. DWP Debt Management called to inform me that the money I had been FORCED to repay each month was to be refunded to me! The agent I spoke with provided me with information that suggested this was a result of a “change of decision” on the part of the DWP regarding my case. 

Following my call with DWP Debt Management I called the Tribunal for clarification of the status of my appeal. The Tribunal informed me that they had received a response from the DWP on 25/09/25 (the day before). The Tribunal confirmed that as of 25/09/25 the DWP had “changed their decision”. Their original decision being that “I” made the claim. I was informed that would receive a “lapsed letter” from the DWP in the coming days which would explain the situation. 

Somehow (miraculously), following my call with the Tribunal earlier on in the week where I was advised that it could take up to six months (or more) before I should expect to receive a response from the DWP, just a few days later the DWP issued their response and cleared me of responsibility. 

Somehow my case had rocketed its way to the top of the list and was dealt with within just a few days, rather than six months or more. 

I can only assume that it had something to do with the fact that the DWP were being bombarded by multiple major UK newspapers seeking comment and clarification regarding my case. 

DWP - NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE! 

Congratulations on the outcome.

DWP legal have now looked at your tribunal filing and decided to lapse the case in your favour, as presumably they either now agree that it was not you who made the claim, or they feel unable to provide sufficient proof that it was you to stand a realistic chance of winning the case at tribunal. Either way, a win for you.

It will be interesting to see how they contact you to notify you of their decision to lapse the appeal in your favour, as normally this letter would be uploaded to your UC claim (which you cannot access). I would see if you can get notification in writing from HMCTS that DWP have lapsed the appeal, as you may never receive anything in writing from DWP.

Thank you. Yes, a massive relief! 

As in my reply to Muttleythefrog. I think (and hope) it’s more a case of the absolutely massive amount of overwhelming and irrefutable evidence that I provided to the Tribunal. It really was an open and shut case. The volume and quality of substantive evidence I was able to provide was genuinely remarkable. As I also pointed out to Muttleythefrog this would have been the very first opportunity that the DWP would have had to view my evidence and supporting information because the DWP never provided me with the details of their allegations (in any way whatsoever). As a result I had never had the opportunity to provide any information and evidence in support of my case. 

So yes, hugely relieved but also furious and incandescent with rage that this situation was ever allowed to develop. It was such an open and shut case it should have been shut down almost as soon as I reported it. 

As for the “lapse letter”. The agent at the Tribunal I spoke with yesterday told me that I would receive a “lapse letter” from the DWP in the coming days. However, I’ll certainly take your advice and contact the Tribunal on Monday for further clarification on the points you raised. 

I was a bit curious about the term “lapse”, it almost seems a little vague and ambiguous. It almost sounds like it’s timed out. 

I’ll definitely share the details of the communication when I receive it. 

badmemory

Nothing like a bit of press attention to concentrate the mind