contact for DWP specialist decision making team at Coatbridge

Hi, Does anyone have a contact phone number for Coatbridge?
I’m trying to find out why a Tribunal decision is not being implemented. The local DWP office have told me that because of the type of case it was, that Coatbridge prepared the submission and will be responsible for implementing the decision but that they casnnot give me a contact number.

Has anybody encountered this before?

I know of 01236 502981 and a fax of 01236 503134 from dealings with a previous client but that is from 2011. Worth a try?

That case involved a complex overpayment that was dealt with by Coatbridge. Blurb in their appeal submision referred to Coatbridge as the Fraud Investigation Service. They prepared the submission and responded to the judge’s directions on the case throughout but they referred actual the representation of the appeal to DWP locally.

Thanks for that, I will give the numebr a try. It’s a similiar scenario - LTAHW overpayment of IS, taken to crown court for fraud, Judge accepts a pleas of not guilty when the prosecution offer no evidence. There was a tribunal for the overpayment and the Judge found in my clients favour. The presnting officer told me that Coatbridge had written the submission and that his repsonsibility was simply to present for DWP and ensure Coatbridge get the decision notice.

in the meantime DWP debt management had been recovering from my client’s Carer’s Allowance. In the decision notice, the judge stated that entitlement to Income Support should never have ended and any recovered money should be returned. In the 6 weeks since the hearing the client has heard nothing. Debt management have said they will continue to recover until the decision making team tells them otherwise and the local DWP office tell me they are powerless to act and it is up to Coatbridge and I can’t have a number from them!

If you have any problems getting back the money they have already recovered then post back as it happened to a client of mine once and you wouldn’t believe (actually you probably would) the battle I had to get the money back.

I can beleive it! I called Coatbridge and was told that wilst they write submissions for complex overpayments and fraud cases, the actual decsion making is in Stirling. Someone will be calling me back apparantly.

I will keep posting as I’m sure this one will run and run!

apologies for poor spelling, It’s Friday and It’s been one of “those” days.

Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear.  I didn’t mean technical problems.  The DWP implemented the tribunal’s decision smartly enough, it just refused to repay the money it had already recovered.

ah yes. My client’s problem is getting them to stop recovering as well as refunding the money already recovered.

Still no call back!

Decision making on most DWP benefits is done by specialist teams based at Stirling and Merthyr Tydfil BCs (depends on which part of the country client lives in - roughly a north-south split). 

However, appeals and any reconsiderations after appeal submitted are done by a team at Coatbridge BC who really are the pits - take for ever to do anything, won’t prioritise, won’t talk to advisers, are rude on the phone, too often don’t seem to understand additional evidence submitted.  I get the impression that DWP staff elsewhere have had similar experiences with them.

It’s worth making a formal complaint about the way they (mis)handled your Tribunal case.

I got the impression that Coatbridge weren’t pleased to hear from me and couldn’t get their head round the fact that a Tribunal had allowed the appeal.

My client is very proactive and has been on to the local office threatening a complaint to her MP. She then got a call back saying that the local office have contacted HM Courts and Tribunals Service to request a copy of the decision notice. We have given them 2 weeks….

We have an update (well, sort of!). My client has received an Income Support claim form in the post with no letter attatched and no explanation. She is still having deductions of the no longer overpaid Income Support taken from her Carer’s Allowance payment.

More phone calls to follow and letter to the DWP’s litigation office if no joy!

my job is not boring.