hbinfopeter - 17 September 2018 04:03 PM
Following a lot of discussion about whether a person can abandon a UC claim and reclaim Housing Benefits or ask for the latter to be revised in certain circumstances, DWP has clarified its position very clearly in HB Circular A7:
8. It should be noted that once a claim to UC has been made the gateway to legacy benefits is closed. In practice, the UC claim triggers the termination notice (known as an HB Stop Notice). Even if a claimant withdraws or ends their UC claim (regardless of whether they have received payment), they cannot choose to claim, re-claim or seek re-instatement of a legacy benefit. This continues to apply irrespective of whether the legacy benefit termination has been actioned ‘on time’.
Oh yeah. We have a client who claimed and was paid one month UC. Then he or UC (disputed) decided that whichever one of them it was should stop the UC. UC stopped.
CTC stopped. HB stopped. IS continued and continues. IS told council to pay HB. Council accepted a new claim for HB. Seven months later council had second thoughts. HB now stopped again, council accepted that the HB payments are official error and unrecoverable.
Letter from IS confirming that it is being paid and has been paid “continuously since 2011”. Client placing lots of weight on this decision and convinced he will win CTC FTT and get his HB back.
I rang IS—“do you realise he claimed UC?” “Oh yes, we know and we are not changing our minds about paying him IS” “You do realise he was paid one month’s UC?” long pause “hold on”
Some time later—“yes well we will be sending him an IS overpayment for that period but we are going to carry on paying him”
Me: “and you are not going to send him an overpayment for the rest? (Ie about 8mths of IS since the UC claim) “No definitely not”
“OK I’m putting that on record so now you can’t”
No further info. That is pretty well verbatim. It niggles away at me. I feel I must be missing something.