Some universal loan applicants have been told that they will have to return the money they were entitled to to the Department of Labor and Pensions (DWP) for failing to comply with requests to verify their details, according to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) . .
The charity said the issue relates to people who made claims at the start of the coronavirus pandemic when personal identity checks were temporarily suspended.
CPAG said it appears that it was believed that people’s failure to respond to later requests for evidence resulted in their being ineligible for universal credit when they applied, which resulted in claims being suspended and repayment sought .
The Child Poverty Action Group said the problem relates to people who made claims at the start of the pandemic.
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It was said that some applicants who failed to provide identification upon request had closed their claims and received requests for repayment of “overpayments”.
In some cases, the DWP has agreed to garnish income statements with employers so that the money is automatically collected in installments, the charity said.
Claire Hall, attorney at CPAG, said: “As families are getting back on their feet, many of those who lost their jobs in the first pandemic outbreak are undergoing a second review by the DWP.
“Although people made legitimate claims for Universal Credit over 18 months ago, people have now received financially devastating debt notices simply because they couldn’t comply with requests for a quick review of their data.
“Families can only sit back and relax when the DWP urgently examines all cases in which they have issued an overpayment notice for failure to provide evidence and suspends the collection of these alleged debts until then.”
In one case the charity saw, a claimant called DWP to provide the requested proof of identity after receiving an overpayment of more than £ 13,000.
After the charity got involved, the overpayment notice was revised, effectively confirming the applicant’s eligibility for the money and restoring the universal loan eligibility.
The charity said the applicant failed to respond to the DWP’s attempts to contact him and missed a phone appointment because he suffered a close family loss and infected himself with the coronavirus.
Other cases are also known, including one where a graduate who applied for universal credit for a short period last year received an overpayment decision this year for apparently failing to provide the requested ID in December 2020. Since he wasn’t eligible for Universal Credit at the time, he didn’t look at the apparent application, the charity said.
DWP has partially adjusted its approach to identity verification during the pandemic to manage a significant surge in claims.
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A DWP spokesperson said: “At the beginning of the pandemic, we suspended certain verification processes because we could no longer see customers in person, and warned customers that we may return in the future to request this verification.
“Those who can demonstrate their entitlement within a reasonable period of time will not be asked to repay any funds. We have a responsibility to the taxpayer for ensuring that public money is properly spent. Hence, it is right and legitimate for us to attempt to reclaim payments that claimants did not receive.
“We have not been able to review the details of these case studies because we have not been provided with the information we need. We can do so if it is provided.”
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