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Is it a scam?
Dan, we have seen these letters in the past - they have been part of a genuine exercise - back of my mind says there was a thread about whether DWP could require claimants to move from a PO account (answer no).
However this could be a scam version? Cosham was our Benefit Centre for JSA/ESA etc but it closed over 18 months ago. But that’s not to say DWP arn’t using the site for other things?
Better safe than sorry!
It’s not a scam. When discussed previously I seemed to be in the minority for even thinking it looked a bit like one.
“You are now expected to use a bank .... Most people use one of these accounts ....”
I still find it curious that DWP don’t put the phone number from that letter somewhere on their website, to help allay suspicions (it is on the N. Ireland site though).
Couple of written answers yesterday in Parliament which confirm that claimants can use Post Office accounts until at least 2021 - but that they are writing to claimants to provide an alternative -
This seems to be all about pushing people in to doing something which is convenient to HMG, and not necessarily to the claimants themselves
The wording of the letter is interesting ‘You are now expected to use a bank (etc)’
Just enough to evade a charge of fibbing, but also just enough to make the recipient feel that they have no choice.
My local PO has a sign up telling people about the letter and stating ‘YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS’.
Back in April last year I spoke to someone called Christine Steele from a DWP “Project Team” which was at that time responsible for these letters. This was after I had a number of clients with learning disabilities who had been made very anxious about these letters. According to to my file note from then she just banged on about bank accounts being better and claimed that “lots of people” were thrilled to be told they could open an account. I asked her to provide some stats or evidence or that. I didn’t get any. She also suggested that her team should write to health and social care professionals to tell them they should be supporting their “customers” to open accounts and I apparently told her I thought that would be completely inappropriate.
I also asked her to give serious consideration to including a paragraph in the letters explaining there is no compulsion to open an account and no effect on benefits if none is opened.
Earlier this week I was at a meeting of local authority deputies and someone there said when they took on appointeeship for a client with a PO account they immediately close it as “you can’t use them any more”.
So the “nudging” works. But not with vulnerable claimants who are still being unnecessarily upset by these letters.
Hmm http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/regulation/7/made
Aggressive commercial practices
7.—(1) A commercial practice is aggressive if, in its factual context, taking account of all of its features and circumstances—
(a)it significantly impairs or is likely significantly to impair the average consumer’s freedom of choice or conduct in relation to the product concerned through the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence; and
(b)it thereby causes or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise.
A few more written answers today -
Around 900,000 letters have gone out so far - http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-10-23/108977
There is no geographical targeting - it is random - http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-10-23/108978
Dedicated (free) phone line available for advice - http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-10-23/109032