Suspension to UC Payments due to Referral to Risk Review Team

I am having a significant amount of clients who are having their Universal Credit payments stopped as their claim has been referred to the Risk Review Team ( sometimes referred to ask Enhanced Review Team)
Sometimes this results in the client not receiving payment for several months which obviously causes hardship and puts them at risk of homelessness due to rent arrears.
When the case is referred clients are sent a message to call the Risk Review Team- however their is no specific number- it is just the generic UC number- they are then told they will be contacted in two days, which 99 percent of the time they are not contacted and they just go round in circles.
The clients have complied with all requests to supply information- my understanding is payment should not be suspended if a claimant complies and also if it would cause hardship? ( which I would argue is all cases).
I have sent journal messages on their behalf asking for the issue to be dealt with urgently and for someone to contact myself but so far this has not helped. I have made a formal complaint on behalf of some clients which has resulted in them stating they will escalate the case but still no final outcome.
I have contacted the Member of Parliament for one client to see if they can help, e.g. write to Sec of State for Work and Pensions but have had no reply from them as yet.

Have other advisers come across this and do you have any advice on how to support clients when this happens?

Thanks

But what you’re saying can’t possibly be true because Neil Couling told Parliament that awards are only suspended where the claimant ‘fails to co-operate with the process’?

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/news/item/dwp-says-it-no-longer-suspends-cases-highlighted-as-at-risk-of-fraud-unless-claimant-fails-to-cooperate-with-the-process

BHCAC - 25 January 2024 02:42 PM

I am having a significant amount of clients who are having their Universal Credit payments stopped as their claim has been referred to the Risk Review Team ( sometimes referred to ask Enhanced Review Team)
Sometimes this results in the client not receiving payment for several months which obviously causes hardship and puts them at risk of homelessness due to rent arrears.
When the case is referred clients are sent a message to call the Risk Review Team- however their is no specific number- it is just the generic UC number- they are then told they will be contacted in two days, which 99 percent of the time they are not contacted and they just go round in circles.
The clients have complied with all requests to supply information- my understanding is payment should not be suspended if a claimant complies and also if it would cause hardship? ( which I would argue is all cases).
I have sent journal messages on their behalf asking for the issue to be dealt with urgently and for someone to contact myself but so far this has not helped. I have made a formal complaint on behalf of some clients which has resulted in them stating they will escalate the case but still no final outcome.
I have contacted the Member of Parliament for one client to see if they can help, e.g. write to Sec of State for Work and Pensions but have had no reply from them as yet.

Have other advisers come across this and do you have any advice on how to support clients when this happens?

Thanks

Do you want to email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))  me details re some of the claimants - I can raise via the UC stakeholder team, particularly in light of Neil Couling’s comments highlighted by Elliot

Hi BCHAC,

We went through a few months of that but it seems to have slightly died down now.

It was almost always Bulgarians, or other EEA nationals. The only thing we found was putting a lot of pressure via MP and similar escalation. Like you say, the message tells them they need to contact that team but then they can’t get through and calling the normal helpline doesn’t progress it.

Very difficult cases.

To give a less sardonic answer (sorry I am ill and grumpy), yes we are seeing these.

In a case I am aware of (but can take no credit for resolving), the client reported a change of housing costs and received what appears to be a standard form journal message a couple of hours later stating the following:

Hello, this is the Enhanced Review Team contacting you about your claim to Universal Credit. We believe you are not entitled to receive Universal Credit because we have doubts about the legitimacy of your claim. Accordingly we have suspended payment of your Universal Credit.

To resolve these doubts on your claim to Universal Credit, please contact 0800 328 5644 and ask to speak to the Enhanced Review Team. If we do not hear from you by [date], your claim will be terminated.

No attempt was made to contact the claimant before suspension and no explanation of what information was required or why was volunteered.

The claimant messaged UC immediately asking for further information and were promised a callback. When they were eventually called back, a bunch of arbitrary documents were demanded.

Thankfully in this case, the MPs office got involved, had them flagged as a vulnerable claimant and the suspension was lifted before any major damage was done. Notwithstanding the peremptory terms of the journal message, the ‘doubts’ turned out to be wholly unfounded.

Eliott- Your previous reply amused me as I was thinking the same thing. It feels like trying to deal with the Gestapo, it is all very cloak and dagger and their appears to be no detailed explanation as to why the claim has been suspended and no one to discuss it with.