Contacting UC

I work for an LA & we have found getting any information via the helpline to be hit and miss depending on which service centre I talk to. Some centres can give me info whilst others only use security questions which is a bit difficult when I don’t have the customer with me!! Has anyone else had problems like this?

Yep same.  Variable within service centres as well.
Some staff comfortable with Implicit Consent, some deny its existence.
Regularly get asked if I am on the Apollo List still!
Some willing to share info with social landlords relating to HCE, some quite awkward.
Last week, was denied info even though I had submitted signed authority and they could see it on screen ... because they need to speak to the customer.
Northern Housing Consortium and National Housing Fed both been collecting statistics from social landlords about the ‘customer service’ side of things.

I’ve just phoned the UC Full Service phone number without the claimant being with me and was told that they cannot access the record without the claimant answering the security questions. I found this DWP guidance document but it is not for UC specifically.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-with-representatives-guidance-for-dwp-staff

It sounds like the UC computer system in some of the call centres is set up to prevent the call centre staff opening the record without the security questions - in which case implicit consent is not possible even if you get through to a member of staff who would otherwise be willing to talk to you.

Has anyone managed to get any info’ from UC via implicit consent, and, if so, how did you manage it?!

This is the latest update I have found regarding Universal Credit and data sharing:

http://nationalhousingfederation.newsweaver.com/uc/i3os5tf2340

I phoned UC again and got through to someone who didn’t even mention passwords and just did implicit consent with no hassle. A very inconsistent approach from the UC call centres at the moment it seems.