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Pension Credit just not received - I can’t get through to the right team?!
One of our clients was recently granted Pension Credit on 13/12, and was apparently sent payments on 16/12 and 06/01. I have enquired with him, and triple/quadruple checked the banking information I wrote in his original claim, and he has not received these payments (the first backdated to the beginning of his award, and the second his ongoing 4 weekly amount). He also sent me bank statements which show the dates the payments should have been paid on, and there’s nothing there from Pension Credit.
I have called PC so many times in the last two weeks to try and figure this out - they told him first to go to the bank and enquire, saying that the payments have not been returned and have gone through, which he has done, and the bank just gave him a statement showing the absence of PC payments - I’m not really sure what more the bank would be able to do to be honest?!
The people on the main claim line say that because it’s to do with bank details, we have to speak to a specific team, and have tried variously transferring me to that team and asking me to call the bank liaison team (on 0345 600 9591) which just rings for a little while and then hangs up.
I’m not really sure what to do about this - he’s been without income since his UC claim was closed in November when he reached State Pension Age and has completely used up his minimal savings, but should have received over £1550 from PC since mid-December!
Hi Zoe,
Poor administration form Pension Service is a sadly familiar story.
As this is an administration issue rather than an entitlement issue (that means you cannot pursue an MR or appeal), you could try helping your client to complain to his local MP.
The other suggestion would be to contact CPAG Judicial Review Team and see if they can help with drafting/providing a sample Letter Before Action to send to DWP Solicitors threatening Judicial Review proceedings.
Either avenue would normally get some kind of substantive response.
Best Regards
Chris
Hi Chris, thank you - as it’s my first time helping someone claim PC, I don’t know why I had hope that it would somehow be better than UC! I finally managed to get through to someone (when it depends on speaking to the person who is a sufficient amount of helpful) who has escalated this as a ‘missed payment’, apparently to be looked into in 3-5 working days…. and I’ve emailed his MP just to cover that base too, fingers crossed!
Hi, I am having no end of problems with PC issuing arrears in relation to someone who has passed away. They have had all the forms they sent out for over 2 months. NOK are finding all of this very distressing. Does anyone have any contact addresses to fast track a complaint or do I have to just write to the relevant office?
Hi Tarzier,
I would say complain to the local office address that you have, as you have to give them the opportunity to act on the complaint and resolve it.
When they do not resolve the complaint (and they probably will not), then you can quite properly complain to the local MP, for example, about their maladministration. Obviously, the more detailed you can help your clients to be, the more impact it can have, so copies of forms and a record of dates and means of contact with The Pension Service will help. Even then, Pension Service will be likely to drag matters out, so pre-warn your clients that there is no magic bullet answer to this. It is just attritional warfare.
Good luck
Best Regards
Chris
Hi, I am having no end of problems with PC issuing arrears in relation to someone who has passed away. They have had all the forms they sent out for over 2 months. NOK are finding all of this very distressing. Does anyone have any contact addresses to fast track a complaint or do I have to just write to the relevant office?
To be honest, two months isn’t an especially long delay here. I’d agree to write to the address that the previous forms were sent to asking for a progress report and ask for a reply within 21 days - you could explain that this is holding up probate (which is where I guess the anxiety is arising?).
If there’s no contact, then consider a complaint and escalation as above.
We also have no escalation points for Pensions Service and were at the point of using a JR preaction letter for one of our cases that has gone on for over 6 months, but our UC partnership manager helpfully said in a meeting that she had a contact in Pensions Service and, without being able to give us the details of her contact, she would forward our case on. It has been resolved (MR revised in our client’s favour) within a week.
Is your UC partnership manager worth a try?
A DWP Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader, phew, speaker at WRAC a couple of weeks ago said that they had been assured that Pensions Service had ‘caught up’ with everything by the end of November last year.