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DWP says no escalation numbers for UC
I sent an enquiry to the UC team about escalation numbers for problems - this was their response -
Are there going to be direct lines for external advisers to call in on with problems - like the current escalation numbers - for UC.
The UC Team has provided the following response:
The digital platform that supports Universal Credit full service is designed for claimants to be able to see for themselves the progress of any questions or queries they may have regarding their Universal Credit account.
Customer support groups will be able to support their customers, by being able to see full details of their account on line 24 hours a day. This will require the consent of the claimant and the claimant being present to be able to log on to their account together with the external adviser. This should resolve a majority of the queries without the need to contact either the work coach or the service centre. If the claimant needs to raise ask a question or seek clarification they can do so via their journal which will alert either the service centre or their work coach, and enable them to reply via the journal.
So the computer will sort it all out - provided you can have the client with you at all times…
Except the computer seems to be permanently down!
and what happens if the information on the computer is wrong?
It will be the claimant’s fault.
So if I have requested a reconsideration for a client and the DWP have ignored that for 6 weeks, all I need to do is bring my client to the office, provide them with a laptop, let them log in to the UC site, copy and paste my “where are the documents at?” pro-forma into the box then print a screen-grab or whatever for my file and ask my client to phone me when they get an answer.
Glad to see the digital age is making life so much easier.
After much effort we now have the national DWP Universal Credit Escalation Point telephone contact numbers V2 updated Feruary 2016.
Please email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you would like a copy.
Just to report some unexpectedlly positive feedback.Having been told by the UC escalation manager that her technical expert would call me back,I received a call within 10 minues from a very pleasant lady who was happy to give me her direct line number and their email address while confiding somewhat nervously that although she was aware her manager had told me that she was a technical expert, she did not feel that she was!
She spent 35 minues looking up the UC computer screens (there appear to be several different ones!) in order to give me the information that I was asking for and explaining how the UC sanctions and Hardship payment systems should work and suggesting what the customer could do to help get matters resolved.
and what happens if the information on the computer is wrong?
Complain to your local Data Protection Officer, give them a 28 day deadline to rectify their data and if it’s not sorted within that time complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
I’m half way down that road as we speak.
And for completion I must say that it worked.
“Dear DWP, your data’s wrong; this is why. Rectify it or on x/y/16 I’ll complain to the ICO.
Love n hugs
me”
And they rectified it.