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ESA sanctioned due to PIP fraud?? What??
I have a client who has had a decision to recover 14K in PIP as she got better and didn’t tell them.
Im appealing this on the basis they are recovering the lot from day 1 instead of when change was likely to have happened. Im going for a smaller recovery period/amount.
They told her they were going to prosecute, and she would probably go to jail unless she accepted a further penalty and agreed she failed to disclose. As she is terrified of going to jail she signed a declaration, which I have yet to see.
At the meeting they also told her they were going to give her a further punishment of a 40% sanction on her ESA for 4 weeks, and she agreed to that.
Now they’ve decided to sanction the lot, leaving her with no income at all for 4 weeks
When they talk about sanctioning 100% do they mean the whole lot, or 73.10 of the benefit, leaving other components in payment? She is on CBESA
Im appealing this sanction, but I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced similar. Im outraged!
[ Edited: 29 Aug 2019 at 02:21 pm by benefitsadviser ]This isn’t a sanction - at least not as commonly understood. Your client has accepted that they have committed a criminal offence, accepted an administrative penalty and had their benefit reduced as part of that penalty. See ADM B2.
Edit: Oh, and you can’t appeal simply on the basis that the offence which your client has admitted was not in fact committed - see Sch 2, para 27 of the D&A Regs 1999.
[ Edited: 29 Aug 2019 at 02:23 pm by Elliot Kent ]According to the regs (3ZA) (as I understand them) anyone not capable of any work related activity receives a 40% sanction instead of the 100. She is in the support group so I reckon, however DWP say it only applies on IRESA however she is on CBESA?? As her benefit is CBESA they can take the lot.
I cant find the distinction
I’ve had a similar case and I started from the point of asking for the specific evidence that the person had got better and not declared as well as from what specific date and why. A transcript of an IUC was finally provided and showed no such thing. Little evidence of any kind of failure and no basis for the threat of prosecution. Laughably so. Got both o/ps and both admin. penalties removed and all monies returned to claimant.
The bizarre aspect was that the DWP were so proud and confident in their IUC that the person who conducted the interview actually walked the transcript over to me in person.