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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

Mandatory reconsideration only via specific form? 

ZoeHBF
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Welfare and Housing, Helen Bamber Foundation (London)

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Joined: 14 May 2017

One of our clients recently received a decision giving him LCW (decision 01/05), which we have submitted an MR regarding, to try and seek an LCWRA award. I normally just copy and paste an MR request onto the person’s journal, and this is accepted and registered to be reviewed. The original UC decision - as always - says, in the section about ‘if you disagree with our decision’: You, or someone who has the authority to act for you, can phone us or use your journal to request a written explanation. You will need to do this within one month of the date of this letter.”

However in this case for some reason, the JobCentre replied on the journal asking for documents supporting his MR to be uploaded to his journal, and then to be emailed to the JobCentre’s generic email address. They have now added this message to his journal, saying that I need to complete the online form, and then send to the UC freepost address (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/challenge-a-decision-made-by-the-department-for-work-and-pensions-dwp).

This feels really unnecessary to me, given that every other MR I’ve ever submitted for a client re: their UC has been submitted and then accepted via their journal. Is it possible to ignore this message, and ask via the journal that they just accept the MR that has already been placed on the journal and sent by email?

Ianb
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Macmillan benefits team, Citizens Advice Bristol

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And yet here
https://www.gov.uk/mandatory-reconsideration/how-to-ask-for-mandatory-reconsideration
it says
“If you get Universal Credit
If you get Universal Credit you can use your journal to ask for mandatory reconsideration.”

Mike Hughes
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service

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Both valid perspectives. My limited experience has been that UC are in the habit of routinely ignoring MR requests or not even understanding what they are. If using the official form helps them to that then I see no harm. Given the propensity for closing claims; losing journal entries then having a separate document which counts as the MR is also potentially a useful thing.

It’s one of the more straightforward forms too so I have been in the habit of using it across all benefits as my starting point.

You would be absolutely within your rights to kick off and complain that there’s no obligation to use the form but I guess it comes down to which battles you want to fight and why.

Va1der
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Welfare Rights Officer with SWAMP Glasgow

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I think it is an important point where you are dealing with an out of time appeal - where the claimant has in fact submitted a valid MR in time (and I think the bar for that is a pretty low “I want you to reconsider your decision, because…”) on the journal or by phone, and DWP have either neglected or refused to act on it.

For other cases, Mike’s approach is probably the path of least resistance. Especially considering staff incompetence seems to be endemic in DWP and unlikely to go away anytime soon - complaint or no.

ZoeHBF
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Welfare and Housing, Helen Bamber Foundation (London)

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Hi all, thanks so much for this - yes I have decided to not make this one of the battles I’m currently fighting, and have spent the morning filling out the form and printing out supporting documents etc. It’s just frustrating but so are many things I guess! Thanks, Zoe

sue1953
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Stevenage Citizens Advice Bureau

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I have never expereinced this problem but routinely have requests by clients ignored until I give them so wording to post on journal that sounds official. I can see why you’d give in and complete the form but it is so frustrating that DWP can’t just follow their own rules.