withdrawing a live service claim

Hi

I’ve got a visit tomorrow morning where withdrawing a UC claim might be an option. Has anyone done it? I know in principle it’s doable where someone falls outside the gateway conditions but it’s a first for me so any hints’n'tips would be appreciated.

It’s a bit short notice for postcards so please rely here.

TIA

One of my clients in a full service area was able to successfully withdraw a UC claim but he did this very early on in the process basically at his first meeting with the job coach after making the claim! so it was only a few days into his first assessment period. He was undergoing an ESA MR then appeal for failure to attend his assessment, when his appeal was successful his ESA was reinstated from date of original ESA decision without any issue. 

I don’t have any experience of a client’s claim being withdrawn later on.

You say ‘digital service claim’ do you mean they live in a full service area of UC?  In which case the gateway conditions would not apply.  Do you want to tell us more about the circumstances?
In full service I have not come across anyone able to withdraw as all of them have needed UC in order access housing costs with no new HB claims.

We don’t abandon our gateway conditions until December…

Circs are, in brief, someone with valid med cert who would be much better on ESA than UC.

SarahJBatty - 09 May 2017 04:23 PM

You say ‘digital service claim’ do you mean they live in a full service area of UC?  In which case the gateway conditions would not apply.  Do you want to tell us more about the circumstances?
In full service I have not come across anyone able to withdraw as all of them have needed UC in order access housing costs with no new HB claims.

I meant live service…

Hi, I have similar Lobster Pot situation with a young woman (aged 19 at the time) who became a Job seeker when 20 weeks pregnant back in June 2016 - she was forced to go on UC by DWP ( we are in UC live area still with gateway conditions). Baby was born in November 2017 remaining on UC with CTC am CHB claims. This young woman because under 25 is missing out on the Income Support Lone Parent Rate which is £73.10 per wk compared to the UC Standard Allowance for under 25’s of £53.31 and would be better off on the old system with HB. On contacting DWP and asking to make a claim for IS they refuse. This young woman has also tried to make a claim for CTC but this has been turned down as she is on UC.

My question is what is the best way of closing down a UC claim as in phoning them they just say it is NOT possible - do we do it in writing? She has tried talking to her Job Coach who says it is impossible to close the claim down.
Any advice would be gratefully welcome as at present this young family are missing out.

VS - 12 May 2017 09:25 AM

remaining on UC with CTC am CHB claims.

Could you expand on this?

Is it a matter of presentation with DWP?

It is very well established through a long line of case law that no-one can be forced to have benefit they don’t want.  The claimant can say to DWP; “Thanks for all the UC, but I no longer wish to be a benefit claimant at all anymore.  I am going to try and make do without your help.  Please stop sending me benefit - I just don’t want it”.  The trick is NOT to say that you are doing this in order to engineer a switch to legacy benefits.

Then, having ceased to be a benefit claimant briefly, you change your mind and approach DWP all innocent-like, presenting yourself as a new claimant enquiring about support for lone parents.  You fail the UC gateway and claim IS instead.

But you do this at the optimum time of the month to minimize the period where you have no income.

This is great advice and makes perfect sense! Thanks a lot