Possible problem with PIP renewals

Not sure if this is a national or a local issue, but one of my colleagues has discovered that there has been a problem with the scanning of PIP renewal forms. She found this out as her client received a letter from PIP informing them their PIP claim was to stop as they had not returned their renewal form and phoned her in a rather distressed state. On enquiring with PIP, my colleague was told that they could see that the form had been returned in time but the way the form had been scanned into the system meant it was treated as a letter not a claim form so it automatically triggered the termination letter. What should happen is the bar code on the form is scanned and this tells the computer that the form has been returned and stops the subsequent “do not pass go” letters, but what actually happened (and they are aware that this was a problem affecting more than one claimant) was the barcode on the letter with the form was scanned which doesn’t stop the further letters. Cue distressed clients (numbers unknown).
Now normally an adviser may ring to check receipt, and some may be copied into correspondence anyway so can be pro-active, so this won’t have too large an impact other than substantial distress and 30mins+ of Vivaldi , but can vulnerable clients be expected to do this? It is worth adding that the helpline were unable to re-instate the claim, despite knowing the form had been timeously returned, and my colleague had to speak to a DM to get the client’s money re-instated, as they had to check the receipt date of the form etc..
My colleague has been assured that they are acting on this issue.
Just thought I’d raise awareness in case this is a nationwide issue rather than an isolated post-room incident.

I’ve had this happen.

They often don’t act on written reconsideration requests because it’s scanned but not actioned.

In one of my angrier moments regarding this I asked them for their processes in case I could pick up any jargon of use. I didn’t but here’s the link anyway.

Thanks for that Dan. Not exactly a clear process is it. Looks very much in this case as if there is a mislabelling of document type within the envelope perhaps because they are not using their envelope separators correctly. Or to put it in layman’s terms someone is scanning the wrong barcodes (human error?) so a form appears to be a letter and the computer issues a decision to the claimant without the input of a human,( albeit in the name of a case manager / decision maker), to stop their benefit before the HCPs get their chance to do so. Presumably once the DM gets round to looking at the form in their in-tray, they spot this and immediately re-instate and backdate the wrongly removed benefit?