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Live to Full Service
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council
Total Posts: 1981
Joined: 12 October 2012
What experience of this so far out there in the wide world?
I have just dealt with a case in which a claimant who was moved from Support Group ESA on to Live Service UC (not by being found ffw- it was formation of a couple) is now being made to move from LSUC to Full Service.
When moved from ESA the claimant was told that she had to look for work, that if she was ill she had to hand in sick notes, and that a new WCA would be needed.
Took a while to sort it out.
Now she’s moving to Full Service she is allegedly being told that she’s got to look for work, that if she’s ill she has to hand in sick notes, and that a new WCA will be needed.
She also reports she has told UC that she is struggling with the whole process and needs help, but states that she has been told that ‘Disability doesn’t stop you filling a form in’ and that her claim will be closed if she does not comply.
Oh no, not again…....
According to my local JCP, Live Service claimants are sent a ‘Call to Action’ letter when there area goes Full Service.
The letter advises them that they need to change to Full Service and make their online claim and given a date to do it by. As long as they meet this deadline date and declare the same circumstances as under their Live Service claim the only action they need to repeat is provide proof of their ID. Claimants who have bee told to move over should not be asked to seek work.
When they start to make their Full Service claim they are asked if they are already on UC and then asked if they have been told to claim (ie. received the Call to Action letter). If they say no, they are told not to make a claim.
If someone does make a Full Service claim before they receive the letter, the system will not link up with their Live Service claim and they will be treat as though they are claiming for the first time - until things are sorted which can be weeks down the line.
If they make it when told to their two claims (Live & Full) will align eg. payment date, assessment period, elements should transfer.
A claimant can request help to make their online claim and their local JCP should do this - that’s what they have told me.
If they don’t make their Full Service claim by the deadline date given, sadly yes their Live Service claim will come to an end and payments will stop.
Hope this helps.
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council
Total Posts: 1981
Joined: 12 October 2012
I think what we have in the case that I gave is the usual gulf between what is supposed to happen and what actually happens. Time will tell if my pessimism is justified….
We were told client should get two warning letters before UC claim closed
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Citizens Advice Bridport & District
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Andrew Dutton - 04 July 2018 08:56 AMI think what we have in the case that I gave is the usual gulf between what is supposed to happen and what actually happens. Time will tell if my pessimism is justified….
DWP take on this below the last paragraph is particularly striking and attached stuff on ‘what is supposed to happen’.
Live Service to Full Service transfers overview
In this guidance, reference is made to the Universal Credit full service (FS). For clarity, full service has the same meaning as digital service.
All Live Service (LS) claimants will need to transfer to the full service from 3 months after FS goes live in a specified post-code area. This is known as A-Day.
Claimants do not have an ‘opt out’ option and must transfer to the FS in order to continue receiving Universal Credit.
A database has been developed to manage the claimant’s journey throughout the transfer process and should be updated when any action is taken with the claimant. This will begin when considering Call to Action (CTA) and will end when the first full payment on FS is made or the Universal Credit LS claim is terminated. Claimants will receive a letter when it is time for them to start their transfer activities; this is a UC492 / UC500 (Call to Action) letter.
It is important that this guidance is followed as written and the Work Coach (WC) does not adopt their own practice or ‘workarounds’. If there are any errors, omissions with this guidance, or improvements, suggestions that could be made, you should contact your Transfers Performance Manager (TPM ) or
File Attachments
- Transfers_from_Live_Service_to_Full_Service_v3.0_.pdf (File Size: 94KB - Downloads: 2484)
- 112_Transfer_from_Live_Service_to_Full_Service_WC_v8.0_.pdf (File Size: 328KB - Downloads: 2936)
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council
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Joined: 12 October 2012
Update- claimant was last paid on 14/6/18, due to be paid 14/7/18, told that she will not be paid until 9/6/18 and that it is a ‘new claim’.
This appears to be clean contrary to the guidance.
Claimant also told that she has LCW and not LCWRA, and UC are still insisting that a new WCA is required.
If this is how claimants in general are going to be treated, this is going to be a disaster.
I’m going to send this thread through to our UC contacts via stakeholders to see what can be done…
Andrew - UC are asking me which jobcentre is your case. Can you let me know and if there is any other info that you haven’t already included on the thread let me know so I can get back to them. Either post it here or DM me.
Cheers
Daphne
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council
Total Posts: 1981
Joined: 12 October 2012
I will compile more details and send by direct message. Client has given permission.
For general note - I’ve checked just in case this was a ‘new’ claim, (e.g. if client went over the time limit, claim closed, had to make a new claim) - but no.
So it would appear that guiddance has not been followed - ?
Client also says she told UC helpline quite clearly that she was struggling, and was offered no help, just told they would close her claim if she did not comply.
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Mental health & welfare rights service - Wolverhampton City Council
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a note to the wise
buried in the UC guidance is what to do if a person hands in a sick note. They will be encouraged to hand in sick notes at the outset of a claim.
If it is more than 8 weeks long it automatically triggers a new WCA; at least on one reading of the guidance which has been adopted by our local service centre.
month long sick notes while we sort out the LCWWRAE and the reg 19 transition into the Support Group will insulate people with healthy prognosis periods from triggering reassessment.
DWP have today updated landlord guidance to highlight that (at point 1.2) -
To successfully transfer claimants to the full service, claimants must re–declare their housing costs. For claimants in Social Rented Sector properties the landlord will need to re verify their housing costs for payment to continue.
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council
Total Posts: 1981
Joined: 12 October 2012
Daphne - 10 July 2018 03:48 PMDWP have today updated landlord guidance to highlight that (at point 1.2) -
To successfully transfer claimants to the full service, claimants must re–declare their housing costs. For claimants in Social Rented Sector properties the landlord will need to re verify their housing costs for payment to continue.
Recipe
For
Chaos
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Universal Credit Specialist, Hornsey Housing Trust
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Joined: 10 July 2018
I have just started as a UC “Specialist”, no really, at Hornsey Housing Trust. Have seen people on live service build up horrendous arrears, as they are on zero hours contracts. Tenants will be evicted, no doubt about that.
I have been in conversation with some of the UC contacts via stakeholders and they are keen to hear of any other cases that are going wrong on live service to full service transfer. They want NInos so they can look at the cases and use them for training purposes. Can you DM me any cases you have with a brief synopsis of what’s happened and the NIno.
Thanks, Daphne
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Universal Credit Specialist, Hornsey Housing Trust
Total Posts: 2
Joined: 10 July 2018
When I do, I will let you know, thanks.
Gary
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Generalist Adviser, Southwark Citizens Advice Bureau
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Joined: 21 January 2016
Daphne - 12 July 2018 09:41 AMI have been in conversation with some of the UC contacts via stakeholders and they are keen to hear of any other cases that are going wrong on live service to full service transfer. They want NInos so they can look at the cases and use them for training purposes. Can you DM me any cases you have with a brief synopsis of what’s happened and the NIno.
Thanks, Daphne
i thought UC wasn’t going to use NINOs. In the early days of being FS I asked a DWp staff member why not use NINOs and she said “because they are full of fraud”.
But now, increasingly, NINOs are how people are identified. Whoever would have thought it?