Benefits

[stillawakeat4amagain]

Sorry another benefit one, after talking to citizens advice today I found out that I have been being paid £140 a week too little for the last 4 years. I got home and called the DWP who confirmed that yes it's the wrong rate and ammended it to what it should be from now on.

When she checked the notes she said someone had wrote on there that we don't qualify for the £140 a week when there is only 1 criteria. She said they may not back pay this as it can be seen as I should have checked, but same breath she said they were calling people and going through the claims but as it had been incorrectly marked then we would never have known about it.

Anyone know if they will backdate and what the maximum is they will pay out, as this money is what we should have been getting for years and it's their mistake.

Ty for reading can answer questions if needed.

It would help to know all the benefits you receive, if you have a partner and what benefits they receive, what the £140 a week is, and what happened 4 years ago which meant you should have started receiving it.

If it's the Severe Disability Premium (couple's rate of which is just under £140) then they should backdate it to the date you became eligible. There is no maximum length of time they will go back or amount of money they will pay out as far as I know. There is more than one criteria for the SDP so probably not that actually, but whatever it is might be treated the same. The people working in the DWP call centres are not necessarily the best informed, amazingly.

When I say partner, I mean one you live with. Or any other adult you might live with.

I posted a similar issue within the Money Matters section recently. DWP advised me payments would only be backdated to two years ago. I should have been getting it since 2018 and this is being investigated now because I’ve flagged it up. Human error on their part.

They are now investigating and planning on listening to a call I made. The employee looked through the notes on his system, saw I had rang in and told them I was in receipt of the higher rate of PIP and as such, as of a specific date and time 6 years ago (of me making that call & the info being logged) the money SHOULD have been paid.

Within 2 days I was credited the 2 years backpayment. I’ve been told the investigation will take a minimum of 3 mths.

Yeah it's the sdp part of ESA, someone on the same date my partner started receiving PIP wrote on the application not eligible, I'm so annoyed as this is someone's mistake and a big one it looks like. Have been told that I will get it in my next pay so I know I'm eligible for it.
@flourella

@WTCCTC yes funny enough this is from 2018 too

There's more than 1 criteria to be eligible for SDP. You have to live alone, no-one gets carer's allowance (or carer's element of UC) for looking after you, and you must receive a qualifying benefit such as the daily living component of PIP.

Some people are ignored when considering whether you live alone for example, children, and anyone else receiving a qualifying benefit.

www.gov.uk/disability-premiums/eligibility

If you are eligible as PP has said, it should be backdated all the way to when you became eligible.

I repeat….for clarity…..at the moment we all feel it should be backdated, yes, but until DWP admit they made clerical errors and someone pressed the wrong button on the keyboard, we won’t see a penny going back before 2020 🙁

Similar to what’s now happening to me right now:

I receive income support since 2018 and pip enhanced rate mobility component since jan 2021 (nothing for care so don’t qualify for the sdp)

I was supposed to have the basic disability premium (£36.20 per week) added to my award automatically in January but it wasn’t done. I didn’t even know about it but recently when I was going through my finances with stepchange they mentioned I should be getting it.

I called DWP last Thursday and received a message on Monday saying they will be paying the arrears in my account within 7 days.

So you and your partner have an income-related ESA couple's claim, and your partner started getting PIP four years ago? I take from that that you were already getting PIP (or possibly could still be on DLA)? And you have both continued to receive a qualifying disability benefit and meet all the other criteria over the last 4 years?

If that's the case, you are entitled to back pay going all the way back to the date of your partner's PIP award. Call them back and bloody tell them!

@WelfareRights yeah both myself and partner receive PIP and are eligible for it as it's now been updated and will get this premium from my next payment.

@flourella yes exactly right.

I'm just unsure how much they will back pay if there's a limit on the actual amount. As it works out a lot of money and is life changing for us. The woman I spoke to today said to call them back in about 3 weeks.

I'm just so annoyed with them as we have gone weeks where we haven't been able to afford much food etc this amount is massive for us.