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Original poster

UC claims review team

38 replies

unicornwonders · 31/10/2023 07:23

hi, thanks in advance for any advice that can be given.
i’ve seen messages circulating about an enhanced review team however i’ve received a message on my journal but it’s different it says it’s just from the UC claims review team and that they will contact me within 7 days to check i’m being paid the right amount and i may have to upload documents etc. why is my message different to everyone else’s and what will i have to provide? will i still get paid in the meantime. i’m an extremely anxious person so this has been on my mind all night as i got it at near enough 7pm yesterday. Has anyone else gone through this if so what was the outcome

OP posts:
DelusionalBrilliance · 31/10/2023 07:29

Are you working at all?

Original poster
unicornwonders · 31/10/2023 07:40

@DelusionalBrilliance no i’m a carer to my autistic daughter and have disabilities as well, claim is from before covid and i had to verify everything at the start so very confused. my message is different to the ones who got the enhanced review one

OP posts:
Terfosaurus · 31/10/2023 07:42

There was a thread about this a couple of months ago, I was going to link it but couldn't find it.

I had to upload my ID, tenancy agreement, council tax bill, utility bill, proof that DCs (over 16) were in education, 4 months bank statements.

Most people of the other thread seemed to have to do the same and it was straightforward. For some reason (I think the change of surname that we did meaning some things were in s different name) mine was a bit more complicated. For some unknown reason they removed DC from the claim. I had 2 in person meetings, 1 telephone appointment, left 5 messages in my journal and made 2 phone calls before they paid me the child element last month. I eventually got it a month late!

That all makes it sound scary and awful, but I'm the only person I know who seems to have had an issue.

Original poster
unicornwonders · 31/10/2023 07:46

@Terfosaurus are you working? they make it sound really scary how they word it all and not knowing if your going to get paid. i hope it’s sorted quickly. Did they make comments on your bank statement? like why you was spending money on things etc or was it just to make sure nothing else was coming in?

OP posts:
Terfosaurus · 31/10/2023 07:52

No I'm not working at the moment. Other than the missing child element I did get paid.

They did ask me on the telephone what some payments were, but she kept reiterating that they weren't trying to catch me out, and that there are no rules about what I spend it on. So I'm not really sure what the point was.

For example she asked "on the 31st May you paid £x to M Bloggs. What was that?"
It was my rent.

I guess they'd be more interested in money going in than money coming out.

Original poster
unicornwonders · 31/10/2023 08:05

@Terfosaurus thank you for the info really hoping it gets sorted, how long did it take them to make contact after message in journal? sorry for all the questions just very stressed

OP posts:
Terfosaurus · 31/10/2023 08:06

Less than a week iirc.

CiderJolly · 31/10/2023 08:10

They are just verifying everything is declared correctly, so if it is and you have all the documents ready to upload then you have nothing to worry about. I would start getting your documents ready now. Tenancy agreement, a utility or council tax bill from the last 3 mths in your name at the address etc.

This is all standard and they really don’t care what you spend your money on.

Original poster
unicornwonders · 31/10/2023 08:13

@CiderJolly got birth certificates, ID, council tax bill etc ready i’ve had to request a copy of my tenancy agreement from my LL as i can’t find it anywhere but there hopefully going to email me that today.

OP posts:
CiderJolly · 31/10/2023 08:28

That’s good, keep chasing with your landlord , don’t let them forget. If you have any issues uploading take it all into the job centre and ask for help.

Original poster
unicornwonders · 31/10/2023 16:07

@Terfosaurus @CiderJolly i had a phone call today requesting ID and 4 months bank statement. i uploaded this. how long did you guys wait after providing evidence? i was told i’d have a phone call to ask me a few questions once i had sent everything in. i’m just really anxious when it comes to finances

OP posts:
CiderJolly · 31/10/2023 21:03

I don’t know the timescales but I would imagine they work through them as quickly as possible.

Honestly, there is nothing to worry about as long as you’ve reported everything correctly.

Original poster
unicornwonders · 02/11/2023 16:45

they send the documents i sent we’re fine but i don’t have my interview/ review for over a week. did anyone else take this long?

OP posts:
Original poster
unicornwonders · 02/11/2023 16:46

and did you guys still get paid? they said it wouldn’t effect payment but not sure

OP posts:
Fuckeditup1 · 02/11/2023 16:52

Why can they request to see bank statements of what you’ve spent your money on

Original poster
unicornwonders · 02/11/2023 16:57

i have no idea but they did

OP posts:
Terfosaurus · 02/11/2023 17:06

unicornwonders · 02/11/2023 16:45

they send the documents i sent we’re fine but i don’t have my interview/ review for over a week. did anyone else take this long?

It was about a week for me from uploading documents and having the call.

I think they ask to see the bank statements to check you don't have other income rather than to check you don't spend all the money on hair and nails.

CiderJolly · 03/11/2023 11:15

Fuckeditup1 · 02/11/2023 16:52

Why can they request to see bank statements of what you’ve spent your money on

It’s probably to check income and total balance etc

It is intrusive but if you’re willing to accept the money then you’ve no choice but to comply with checks. There is a lot of fraud so they’re just reviewing claims to make sure all is ok. The ones that don’t comply will likely get suspended. Better to just comply. They are just people doing their jobs like many of us- you’d be surprised at how many DWP staff have to claim UC themselves.

Original poster
unicornwonders · 04/11/2023 07:16

i’ve sent it all over the day they asked but my phone call isn’t for over a week so i’m worried about my payments although they’ve not said mine is suspended

OP posts:
Thejackrussellsrule · 04/11/2023 08:24

I work for DWP. The UC review team are going over all the claims made over the Covid period, UC had a massive amount of new claims in a relatively short time, everyone who was available was drafted in to help with claims, people weren't asked to provide evidence of what they were reporting due to the volume of claims, this inevitably led to some fraud.

So the UCR team are going over all these claims, your payments continue as normal during the checking period, if anything is incorrect, you'll be asked to report it correctly.

They are only interested in your spending if you have capital that you're trying to get down in order to claim more benefits (so unusual spending)

Original poster
unicornwonders · 04/11/2023 14:28

@Thejackrussellsrule my claim was from before covid (2018) i’ve seen some people get enhanced review team but mines literally just IC claim reviews. they never said anything about my payments just i’d have to provide evidence(i have) and have a phone call(just over a week) so my payments should still go through ok? they said my bank statements and ID were satisfactory and that was it

OP posts:
Dana81 · 04/11/2023 18:51

Thejackrussellsrule · 04/11/2023 08:24

I work for DWP. The UC review team are going over all the claims made over the Covid period, UC had a massive amount of new claims in a relatively short time, everyone who was available was drafted in to help with claims, people weren't asked to provide evidence of what they were reporting due to the volume of claims, this inevitably led to some fraud.

So the UCR team are going over all these claims, your payments continue as normal during the checking period, if anything is incorrect, you'll be asked to report it correctly.

They are only interested in your spending if you have capital that you're trying to get down in order to claim more benefits (so unusual spending)

Hello I have a new claim only for 5 months , I had everything checked face to face at jobcentre and now I have my payments stopped . From what I read online even on this forum there are so many people who have their payments stopped and some waiting for months , Is the UCR team the same as Enhanced review team ? Thank you

Squimbo · 05/11/2023 13:17

Hello, I have received the same message on my journal :( my anxiety and panic are through the roof, I feel sick and can't breathe I have my phone call on Tuesday, please can you tell me what it was like and what they asked for , what they need sending? I can't go out at the moment as I'm sick and Im so worried, what I have to print and send etc and was everything ok or where they intimidating? Thanks 🙏 I would really appreciate it if you could tell me what they ask and need so I'm kind of ready 😭😭

Original poster
unicornwonders · 13/11/2023 15:14

i’ve waited two weeks and still no interview just keep getting told in due course has anyone else had this i’m getting really stressed.

OP posts:
Dana81 · 14/11/2023 12:29

unicornwonders · 13/11/2023 15:14

i’ve waited two weeks and still no interview just keep getting told in due course has anyone else had this i’m getting really stressed.

But they didnt stop your payments right ?They suspended our claim and stopped our payments until they do these checks so this is a huge stress , my husband now working 70 + hours because these checks might take a long time ,they dont say how long and we need to pay our rent/bills . I asked in my journal and the enhanced review team told me they sent our documents for secondary checks , there were lots of documents they requested .

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