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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

UC deductions - what are you seeing?

KMJones
forum member

Early Warning System, Child Poverty Action Group

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Total Posts: 48

Joined: 23 October 2018

CPAG is preparing a report on UC deductions and we’d value any contributions from advisers.

The focus of the report will be on improving the UC system without legislative change. The impact of our report will be enhanced by any case studies that illustrate where things are going wrong, or right! If you have a case that would be of interest, please comment below or submit a case to our Early Warning System: http://www.cpag.org.uk/contactEWS

Issues we’re looking at (so far):

1. Wording of online content, messages and letters
Do you have screenshots or scans of confusing letters about debts? We’d love to see them!

2. Claimant’s view of UC account
Do you have examples of claimants struggling to understand their debt deductions?
Difficulties figuring out if rules have been followed in applying max rates, priority and number of deductions?
Problems with “queued” debts being invisible?

3. Interaction with debt management
Do your clients know who to contact to sort out their deductions?
Do those routes work?

4. Interaction with other systems
Have you seen problems with UC deductions in relation to other bodies?
E.g. Passported benefit refused because UC award is wiped out by deductions
E.g. Creditors having too little information or query routes to keep track of their debt

5. Discretion
Do you have examples of the DWP exercising or failing to exercise their discretion?
E.g. recovering overpayments that remain in dispute
E.g. reducing recovery rates or pausing recovery

Case studies are anonymised for reports and we’ll notify you if yours is included in the report as an illustrative example.

As ever, extremely grateful for any input direct from frontline advisers! It makes an incredible difference to our work - thank you in advance!

Jo_Smith
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Citizens Advice Hillingdon

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Total Posts: 325

Joined: 3 October 2018

1. I find the o/payment notices have improved slightly. I recall that previously (until about a year ago) the reasons for overpayment were either not included, or included in such general detail that it was hard to understand or advise properly. 

2. Rules about applying rates, priority and number of deductions are quite complex. Have not met a client who was aware of them, and quite often we’ve had to nudge UC to apply 15% rate instead of 25% as client wasn’t working (biggest issue when client on iro of SSP only or on mat leave, because they are “working”)
I will try to ask one of my clients what they can see in terms of information about overpayment in their online account.

3. Info about Debt Management is easy to find and they are OK now when it comes to call/on hold times. There was a real horror some time ago but this has been sorted. Staff there are helpful and often accept proposals of repayment amounts lower than 15%.

5. I have asked but I have never had an approval when requested for discretion not to recover overpayment that was disputed . In the case as per the attached screenshot, I made a strong case (client in a hospital, overpayment was clearly wrong, in fact the appeal was swiftly lapsed) but recovery was applied, reduced UC to mere pounds.

The biggest issue I find is the ping pong between UC and Debt Management regarding “DWP debt”. What is is for, how, how old is the debt etc. UC tells us they don’t know, go and ask Debt Mngmnt. Debt Mngmnt say we don’t know, we are only told to recover, go and ask UC. Rinse and repeat.

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bristol_1
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WRAMAS Bristol City Council

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Total Posts: 241

Joined: 7 September 2015

I have a deductions issue. My client is on UC with only the standard allowance and housing costs element. He has new style ESA in the assessment phase deducted, leaving only the housing costs element which is paid by APA to the LL. But, the rent APA is not being in full as there is a deduction for UC advances of £54.18 per month. This comprises recovery of a new claims advance which is being recovered over 12 months at £45.84 pcm and a budgeting advance recovered over 12 months at £8.34 pcm. We’ve already raised this as an issue because his new claims advance should be recovered over 24 months (£550 advance, divided by 24 is £22.92pcm) and he’s already had a 3-month deferment on this advance so they’ve refused to defer repayment again.

I can see the rules regarding priority between deductions, but is there nothing to stop this situation which is actively putting him at risk of eviction by reducing the payments of rent to the LL? I note that in reg 58 and the ADM, deductions are framed in such a way as to protect the ‘interests of the claimant’.
D2022 It will normally be in the interests of the claimant, to introduce third party deductions if there is 1. a history of persistent mis-spending and 2. a threat of eviction or repossession and 3. no other suitable method of dealing with the debt.
The deductions in place at the moment seem to go against his interests.
He is having to cover the £54.18 pcm shortfall plus £23.84 per week service charges, out of £77 a week income, plus whatever emergency funds we can get him - very tricky!