Work and Pensions Committee asking if any evidence of problems getting through to DWP on phone - URGENT

The Work and Pensions Committee have contacted us prior to the evidence session with the Secretary of State tomorrow saying -

We’ve seen some anecdotal evidence on Twitter of people being unable to get through to DWP on the phone, and we were wondering if this is something you’ve seen or had any insight into?

We expect the Committee members might want to ask questions on this so as much information as you have on this would be really helpful please.

If anyone with any evidence or examples can reply this afternoon on this thread, then I will send the Committee a link to the thread so they can read it before they question Dr Coffey tomorrow morning.

Thanks

judging by posts on our internal forum, it’s been near impossible for several days now and will only be worse after last night’s announcement.

I had a client try to call ESA last Friday, and was on hold for ages then kept being cut off - she gave up.

You might want to join the FB page I admin Daphne:; Benefits for Boaters. Lots of people with no fixed abode all needing to verify UC claims over the phone and lots of people spending hours, if not days, trying to get through.

And if anyone else fancies helping out… I’m trying to organise supporting work and a good handful of panicking self employed people on FB…

Thanks

Tried ringing PIP - yesterday on hold 45 mins then cut off, tried again on hold 25 mins and cut off, then 50 mins and cut off.  This morning tried again - 20 mins and cut off, then 45 mins and got through but person on other end could not hear me, finally got through after another 30 min hold.

I tried ringing ESA last Tuesday on hold for 50 minutes before giving up. A colleague helped a client to make a PIP claim over the phone yesterday got cut off three times before it finally accepted the call and put her into the queue.

I called ESA enquiries yesterday was on hold for 60 minutes.
A client tried to call UC Helpline to make a New Style ESA claim yesterday 3 times between 8am and 10am and was put through to an engaged tone and then cut off.

Liam

last thursday and friday was helping a friend with multiple benefit problems, is - repeatedly cut off or engaged before being on hold for 1.15 hours then passed over to CA - gave up at 6pm after phone said about 2 hours 20
pip on friday, over an hour, but then good cause accepted on phone and ca claim done online, pip new claim never got through

I am sometimes cut off before I can get through.  When I can get through, it is in-between 45 minutes and 90 minutes for the PIP and ESA departments.

And not just the phones .... some feedback from Twitter:

I’ve had enough. I’ve been online since 11 am this morning, trying to sign up to Universal Credit. I was in a queue of 10’000 since this morning. I’ve just got on. What’s happened? Taken in circles, kicked out, started again, different Verification company, in a queue of 30’000.

https://twitter.com/cityeyrie/status/1242443388890292225

..... and replies under the main tweet include -

- This is absolutely insane, terribly unclear, incredibly stressful and upsetting, and there’s nowhere to ask for help. I’ve tried all day to do this.
- Jeez. All it tells you to do after that verification is to book an appointment for a Job Centre!! It’s bonkers.
- After finally getting through the Gov “Verify” methods, I get to the Universal Credit page… Only to be told I need to go to a Job Centre to prove who I am. I’ve been dealing with this all day, full time. I’m actually broken.
- I couldn’t even get the application to complete properly, it kept saying - you have to verify and every time I did, it just kept saying the same thing.
- In my case, after I put in my bank details, it took me to the page to verify everything, did that twice and it just kept returning to the same point. This is not going to work ...
- Total mare, even when you do get registered you have to ring for 1st appt. Been on hold for 2 hours and call just dropped. Seems to be happening to everyone.

I phoned the ESA claims at exactly 8am. It was 2 hours later I finally got through to be told there was no alternative but phoning to make a claim to ESA. There was no postal address to send the claim forms but everyone had to phone to make the claim. Previous to this I called regularly at differing times of the day and was totally unable to get through I was cut off or got an engaged signal every time.

Colleague texted me to say her friend started a online claim last night, was 19,559 in the queue didn’t get to verify her ID via Govt. verify until 2am ish.

CITA Friendplace since last week full of the above re: phone calls.

Colleague on HTC webchat inundated. As soon as she ended a webchat the system went ping and instantaneously another. 

Edited for typo!

Had a call from a colleague this morning from the local Somali community. He stated he had numerous clients who had lost access to their journal by forgetting or losing log-in details. He has tried on several occasions to get though on the UC helpline to try to get them re-access but was getting cut off after a long time on hold. I know their focus is on different areas at the moment, but can’t UC come up with an alternative form of contact e.g secure e-mail, a call back promise or at least a message of re-assurance on the helpline. Maybe a quick and simple triage process by an experienced member of staff might help?

120 minutes and 90 minutes to PIP yesterday.

Weirdly not short of things to do whilst I was on hold.

It’s already out there on the official DWP Propaganda feed, whoops I mean Press Office, twitter:

#UniversalCredit users are experiencing extended waiting times for http://GOV.UK Verify. We appreciate how frustrating this is and we are working to improve the situation as quickly as possible.

You also highlighted delays on the phone. We’re really sorry you’re having to wait. We’re experiencing a high volume of calls and staff are answering as quickly as possible. If you haven’t already, you should make an application online first and only call when directed to do so.

https://twitter.com/DWP/status/1242467829149863936

Latest from a couple of our advisers around 40mins ago- 
“Several clients today saying they have been trying to use the new automated phone system for ID verification but every time they get so far and then just get cut off… it’s making things very difficult!”

“Just had a cl trying to verify his id on line, he’s number 88,000 in the queue, approx”

I’ve got one example where someone’s been deflected onto JSA after a WCA failure. Sounds like the NICCs are met for NSJSA. No reason not to claim UC and would be better off but “she strongly advised me to avoid UC at all costs”. The claimant has no other means.

Deflecting from an overloaded system maybe?

To be fair, I’m not sure any system would have been able to cope well with such a seismic event. It’s completely unprecedented in my lifetime and I don;t doubt this is stretching the department to the very seams, especially given the huge staffing cuts they’ve had to make due to austerity.

And no doubt many DWP staff are self isolating or otherwise protecting themselves and may not be able to work from home.

Just spoken to cancer patient awaiting results by phone tomorrow re: further treatment. applied for UC and has been asked to make an appointment- been trying since 20/3/20 to get through on phone.

One might have thought DWP would have a contingency plan for, for example, a major IT failure and an alternative UC claim process (simplified paper claim form and/or email ‘intention to claim’ route) that could now be implemented alongside the on-line / phone process?

cant get through on even on our access numbers on calls or conference calls. these are clients with no money, no ability to do digital claim and extremely vulnerable.  they also cannot access jcp as closed and need appointment that they have to ring for, or not.

I’ve had several client in the last week trying to make NS-ESA/JSA claims and cannot get through on phone line to finish claims. The client’s are completely stuck for alternatives.

Clients reporting significant delays in verifying identities for new UC claims.  Cl waited 7 hours yesterday for slot to do this, was emailed at 11.30pm and missed slot - therefore had to join new queue.  Now in queue again with 20523 people in queue ahead.  DWP need to make this process easier and quicker.

Was calling UC this morning to ask about a new PSN as it’s supposed to be issued face to face, which would be impossible and each time it got past the message regarding accessing your online account “if you still wish to speak to somebody please hold” and each time the phone cut off at that point

I realise it’s now too late for the meeting with SSWP but I thought I’d weigh in anyway - on Monday and Tuesday I spoke to two new UC-claimant clients myself and was contacted by colleagues on behalf of two more who reported being unable to even join a queue on the UC helpline; they were hearing the engaged tone and/or being cut off.

I remain concerned too that in the midst of the DWP narrative of online self-service, the needs of those without digital skills and/or access continue to be completely ignored. Covid-19 measures have made it more likely that these clients will need to be allowed a non-digital claim (eg. you can’t get a friend or relative to comne round with their device and help you out) but I’ve seen nothing to indicate that this approach is being adopted.

Hi, we have been helping the mixed age couples to claim UC in time.  I have some due to have benefits stopped on 6 May.  I emailed the local liaison person at the DWP to ask what they are planning for them.  They have almost all needed phone claims so far but looking at this feed I see how impossible it is going to be for me to ask them to do that on their own or at all.

I am hoping they might just put a hold on stopping the legacy benefits until this is all over but not sure they will think to do it. 

Also scary because I’ve had two cases where the younger person was the claimant of legacy benefits but the claims were still stopped in error and I found out from HB who got the stop notices.  It was easy then to get them reinstated but not sure how much this has been happening in other places but up til now the couples have been told to claim UC and perhaps that worked then but now… 

Email from a Equity member:

‘I have had a lot of questions regarding UC . Do you need to phone to make an appointment? I got through last week and I have a phone appointment tomorrow . It is very unclear on the UC website with messages saying not to phone and not to attend interviews.  Many fellow choristers have told me they have been on hold for hours and then get cut off .’

In the evidence session for the Work and Pensions Committee today Peter Schofield said they were trialling making outbound calls instead - https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/news/item/verification-process-for-universal-credit-is-facing-capacity-challenges-as-477000-claims-are-made-in-just-nine-days

‘verification by the Department - while some claimants have been waiting ‘quite a while’ on the phone to make an appointment with the jobcentre, the DWP has begun to trial a process of making outbound calls instead and plans to roll this out further’.

Daphne are you able to clarify this bit please?

The DWP are trialing outbound call process. Is this to verify claimant’s Identity over the phone or to arrange an appointment at a jobcentre for UC claimant?

I only know what was said in the evidence hearing yesterday Andy - they seemed to be saying they would try and verify over the phone in outbound call - clip of the relevant bit below -

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/f4fa274e-9c0e-4a7a-a981-a9c3e49c1a5b?in=10:01:13&out=10:01:50

we have asked for proper guidance about the process for both digital and non-digital claims including the verification process