The DWP is now stressing me out, and probably many others wanting me to pay for loans I don't have!

Other conditions
1

Well, I woke up this morning like a spring chicken doing the “Highland Fling” (As if I could do that anyway!), then a large brown envelope came through the door!  Looked on the back, DWP, Belfast. “What do they want? They rarely write to me unless it’s a freeze on benefits or massive increase of a few pennies on benefits.

Opened it up and had a total SHOCK!!eek

A letter from them, actually the Social Fund Payment Department.

Dear Mr Anon, (keep my details hidden),

About your social fund payment

Some time ago, we told you that you would have to pay back the social fund payment at a later date. We have decided that you should now start paying back the £750.00 that you owe us.

Paying back the loan

We have decided that you will have to pay back £16.90 every week. We will take this from your EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT ALLOWANCE.

If there is anything you want to ask us about this, please get in touch with us. Our phone number and address are at the top of this letter.

Please keep this letter, as you may need to refer to it again.

Yours sincerely, 

Gary Marshall

Manager.

SF712

I phoned them with the following questions in hand!

My Questions to them:

1.       Why are you writing to me about a loan that was issued in 2005 – I don’t know about your calendars, but mine says it’s 2015, not 2005.

2.       Now you want to take £16.90 off me a week for a loan issued 10 years ago. Don’t you find this totally abnormal behaviour?

3.       Are all your computers a decade behind in time?

4.       Surely, you cannot claim back loans issued 10 years ago? I was interrupted here and told “Sir, some people have had a letter dating back 20 years when they had loans” – You cannot be serious!

5.       I phoned my bank, and they confirmed via the BACS System the DWP had deposited £750.00 on 16th September 2005. I can confirm this is true, however my bank cannot produce statements after 7 years, so I cannot confirm when the payments were taken out of my benefit.

So, I said what are you going to do about this, because I am disputing, why you are trying to get me to pay for the same loan again? – Sir this is not the same loan. “I said, repeat that please?” – She said the same again. Okay, then I wish to dispute the claim and I will forward all documentation proving that this Social Fund Loan was paid previously and no longer is owed by me.

Documents to be attached : Letter from DWP dated 28th April 2006. Showing Social Fund Loan of £750.00 to be taken at £16.90 – This letter clearly states that the payment was made weekly.

I also noted when I stated I have numerous letters and bank statements proving the benefit was paid and the amount WAS deducted from the weekly benefit. They took my phone number and were supposed to phone me back – Well, there recovery department! A 2 hour time-slot today, and a 1 hour time-slot tomorrow.

They cannot state I owe them now, I have many letters from the DWP to confirm they are wrong!

And people wonder why I am a hoarder!!  

2

I had a government leaflet through the door last week that said on the front 'Good news for people needing care!' Oh yay great, I thought with great distrust.

It says that sick people, if they own a house, will be able to have care and pay it back later by signing their house over to them basically. Great news eh. What good news. Yippee

3

What about people who don't own their home?

4

Hi Georgia,

Hows things in the Wilderness? lol  I mean The Moors!

I have not long got off the phone with the sister-in-law, she does part-time work for C.A.B - she said if we take all the paperwork down to her, she'll photocopy the lot and add a letter stating the fault is on their systems, and not a claiment error and if need be it will be taken further on the current evidence provided.

Oh, by the way, watch out for letters similar to mine the DWP are sending out to many Claiments and some are dating back 20 years!! Remember what I said in previous posts about DIrty Tricks, this is one of them. The only way out is you have to "prove your evidence beyond all reasonable doubt".

But the Claiments benefits must not be stopped when the error is typically showing as coming from the DWP.

An Old Guy That Lost His House!

I read about a guy of 83, whom had lost his wife, lost his house, fought for Britain in the World War II and all he has to his name is 3 medals of proof and a few pounds. The Government took his house to pay for his care in a home - A man that does all this and this coalition treats him like that! They really need to be ashamed of themselves.

Regards,

Les.

5

Lol it's not that wildery, we so have a shop. 

Oh hell that's so wrong on that old guy! It's disgusting. I'm gathering evidence for myself too, so wearing but I think it's good sharing this information amongst us. I wouldn't have known about the Care Ombudsmen unless a friend had told me and now they're helping me to right my case.

Bless you Les and loads of love; i

6

well done les

7

Well, so say the DWP Recovery Department, Birmingham is phoning me tomorrow between 9am and 10:03am - what those extra 3 mins are for I don't know, but I'll find out more tomorrow, either way. It will be a phone call or in the hands of CAB.

 

8

The trouble is Georgia, even though we are supposed to be in age of communication, that is whats broken in society! Communication breakdown in this country is one big joke!! Nobody, knows every thing because no one tells us whats going on, we have to dig our own paths to find out knowledge breakdowns.

9

Well, 20 mins left still no sign of a phone call from DWP Recovery, Birmingham. Either they know they are wrong, or they won't speak to me! 

10

Well, the DWP will not even class their own letters as written confirmation, they will only accept proof as in Bank Statements from 2005. But our bank statements only go back to 2007 online and at the bank. So, now I have to think of  another way unless I can find the Bank Statements, all because the DWP DO NOT ACCEPT THEIR OWN LETTERS AS PROOF!

A word of warning when you are disputing anything with the DWP. Make sure you log the phone call coming in or out like this:

Date:

Time of call:

Name: (They may not give you their surname but by law they must give you their First name)

Team Number: Not all centres use these, but if you ask they should give it to you.

Call Centre: The Call Centre they are from.

Reason for Call:

Duration of Call:

When they call you or you call them make sure you ask for the all the aforementioned. This will allow the person you speak to, to be reprimanded.

I'm still fighting this case....

The guy on the phone even said not even DWP headed letters are proof! This is not being taken lightly and nor will it be dropped. I am not disputing the loan amount, I am disputing having to pay for the same loan again!!! There's a difference!

11

hi les 

so sorry to hear  this it is so stressing for anyone 

but for people like us who are ill and already coping with so much 

its down right cruel.[when did we slip back to victorian times]

it seems the information on the dwp letters isent true either 

as it states on them please keep this letter in a safe place as it my be required for proof.

it seems we have to become like our grandparents and keep everything

my grandad had bills going back to the 1950s .i dont think he threw any bill or back statement away . you really dont need this stress. i hope you can find away to sort it . its a bloody disgrace .

12

I found a way, since the DWP will not accept their own letters as proof that the loan was paid way back in 2006, we have to find Bank Statements.

You then hit another issue, under the Data Protection Act banks are not allowed by law to print off statements that go back further than 7 years. 

But, I spoke to the Manager of our Bank, so there is no way even if it is my last hope to prove that a loan in 2005 was paid, because they want statements. Then he said, there is one way, transactions do go further back but by law we are not allowed to print them off, however we can let you come in to the branch and write the dates of the transactions you need and dates.

That's it, that is the proof I need to take this dispute with the DWP futher and prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the payments were made in 2005/2006. 

So, first thing Monday morning I'm going to the bank and getting the proof I need then forward it to CAB, and then take the case further with the DWP!! They will not win a case like this, and I found out this morning there is thousands of other Claiments they have done the same to in the UK, I am not the only one!!

My wife should have recorded the telephone conversation, my wife caught the recovery guy from the DWP many lies during a 15 minute call!!

I will update this case as we progress with these people that think they can treat us all like dirt!

When Started asking him for his name, team number, call centre and said I am logging this call he did go quiet for a few seconds! I wonder why?

13

Well, it looks like we have finally got it sorted and the DWP is in the wrong, I still need a few missing bank statements because the guy was stumped on a few questions, once we got it all fully backed up with the missing stataements, I'll need to have a word with my bank manager to get something confirmed, but it's not a big deal.

Some "little birdy" was lying this morning though - a few things he said did not add up, but we noted them down anyway.

Here's something people may not know about the DWP

If a sum of money is never paid normally it would be Statute Barred, but under the Act the DWP is exempt. Does this not say something?

14

yes one rule for them and another for us .

i am pleasesd things are seeming a little clearer.

15

There is one flaw in the system, and I've found the DWP is not EXEMPT if someone uses a "Debt Relief Order" it costs £90 per person, and works on any loan issued before 2012. So, if they tried to get you to pay £1,000 back you could pay £90 for a DRO and then the debt is written off by Law!

See, there are ways you can use the Government against itself, so you win!! They cannot by law pursue this debt ever again!

16

That's the first good news about the government I think I've ever heard!