Complaints!

I used to think I knew how DWP complaints worked - and don’t get me wrong, it was never perfect - but increasingly I find that properly lodged complaints either don’t get any response at all, or are dealt with by a quick phone call to a client and a generally inadequate response.  I’m willing to stick my neck out and say that this seems to be a particular problem with Universal Credit (lodging complaints online, or by letter, or via MP….).

I noted that a new procedure was being trumpeted last year : -

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dwp-improves-complaints-handling

The escalation list shared to rightsnet indicates on the subject of complaints “Please note the relevant region, listed below, in the subject field of your email.”

Perhaps this is where the problem lies.  For those of us blessed to be living in the North West, we don’t appear to be included.  We used to have a functioning complaints team, and I remember being made aware that re-arranging was being done.  Perhaps they’ve forgotten about us?

What recent experience do other people have?  Any tips?  Is this a North West or national problem?

If you can’t get a decent response to a complaint, where does that leave us?

I did raise the failure to include north-west and this is the reply I had -

Apologies we omitted to mention North West Region; please do include this in the title of any complaints related to the North West area.

Tho that was version 17 and they still don’t seem to have corrected it for version 19!

Thanks Daphne.

Perhaps there’s a tray somewhere with two years of complaints?

ROBBO - 13 July 2021 11:49 AM

Thanks Daphne.

Perhaps there’s a tray somewhere with two years of complaints?

I expect this is just a regional dialect thing, but we call it a “bin” down here in the South East.

Tray/bin?  That sounds all very well.  If you’re French.

Arf.