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Claim closed following sanction
I’ve just spoken to a client. He was sanctioned for failing to engage. His housing officer has sent an appeal as he is a vulnerable person. For some reason the claim was closed and the housing officer has made a new claim online. My first questions is, at what point do the DWP close the claim following a sanction? His UC award includes both housing and child elements so I’m not sure why it was closed at all. My second question is, if the claim was closed because income exceeded entitlement (due to the sanction) for a period, can’t a rapid reclaim have been made over the phone?
There is no such thing as a claim being terminated due to a sanction, even if the sanction causes the award to be reduced to nil. The closure will be either due to not accepting a claimant commitment, or after a suspension due to not providing information/evidence when requested.
Thanks Charles. The CC was signed back in October and he re-engaged with the WC as soon as the sanction was imposed. I’m trying to get to the bottom of why it was closed and why the advice from the housing officer was so poor but as he’s an extremely vulnerable person, it’s difficult getting a clear picture due to his memory issues.