A 61 year old pensioner from Doncaster has been awarded the maximum compensation, recommended under DWP Guidelines, as a compensatory payment for maladministration as well as receiving a written apology. This followed a 21 month battle with the authorities. It was the result of obtaining specialist legal advice from Ridley and Hall.

The case highlights the pressures that can be felt by pensioners and claimants when the authorities turn on them. It emphasises the need for them to obtain specialist legal advice.

Sangeeta Enright the Welfare Benefits Adviser at Ridley and Hall explained the background.
“My client was having difficulties with a Pension Credit Overpayment Appeal. She had tried to deal with the situation herself with no success for over 18 months.

“She had worked for 1 week in November 2010 and had provided the Pensions Service with all the relevant information before and after she did this work. However, she was asked to pay back 2 months’ worth of Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. She had appealed the decisions.

“She had received a series of decisions, some contradictory, from The Pensions Service, whose role it is to decide the law applicable in her situation, and from The Debt Management Department, whose role it is to make overpayment and recovery decisions.

The correspondence was voluminous, confusing, and upsetting for her. She was not seeking to diminish her week’s work in any way. The case made no progress through the appeals procedure for many months.

Letters of complaint were then sent by Ridley and Hall. After the maladministration was pointed out to them and a complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman was initiated, the Pensions Service took steps to unravel the whole affair. The matter then took 2 months to reach conclusion.

1. The Secretary of State agreed that in this case, because of the exceptional circumstances, any overpayment could be written off

2. The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Overpayments were written off.

3. Our client was paid £500 as a consolatory payment and received an apology in October 2012.

“I do not believe the system is operating properly. It would be almost impossible for anyone without a Benefits Adviser to understand the complicated decisions sent out by both departments. Many claimants may well have given up any dispute they have. We have had to intervene to force progress on this matter. I cannot emphasise enough, how upset our client has been, how it has affected her, normally robust, health and how hard she has worked herself to try and progress her own case.”

Commenting on the outcome the pensioner said”

“After 18 months of following the procedures laid down for making an appeal I felt that my difficulties with The Pension Service were simply going in circles.

I was feeling both hopeless and helpless after being bombarded with voluminous and contradictory letters from the Pension Service demanding repayment of money I knew I did not owe for periods of time I had not worked.

The Pension Service had ignored the evidence which I had submitted to them in the form of a letter from my previous employer, my pay slips and my P45.

“I would reply to each of their many contradictory letters and then another one would come with new and different dates I was supposed to have worked. I came to dread seeing a brown envelope on the mat.

I felt as if I was under siege, no one would listen… I just didn’t know how I could ever pay them. I was ready to give up and pay them money I could ill afford simply to stop the constant pressure from the authorities. It was having a negative effect on my health.

I was told to contact Ridley and Hall’s Welfare Benefits Adviser, Sangeeta Enright, for assistance.

Within less than 3 months Mrs Enright had brought the matter to a complete resolution. Since this victory, my energy is back to high and my normally positive outlook is back.”

For further information please contact Sangeeta Enright on 01484 538421

Benefits Advice under the Legal Help scheme is for assistance with disputes, complaints or appeals about benefits decisions. We can help with appeals about any welfare benefits, overpayments decisions, Social Fund Reviews, JSA sanctions, challenging DWP policies, Tax Credits (living together decisions or cases where the care of children is shared) and benefits for those near or at Pension age. In addition, if you, or a child you care for, have a Disability, please get in touch.