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I am new here as from today, so hope you can help me. Thank you for the welcome.
I applied with my Mum in September 2013 for Pension Credit shortly after my Dad passed away.
As we disclosed that my Mum would be in receipt of my Dad's private pension it was calculated that my Mum would not receive Pension Credit Guarantee but Savings Credit.
They worked out she would only be in receipt of about £3 per week but nevertheless qualified for it. Housing and Council Tax benefit were informed and everything was hunky dory!
Everything was done and when my Mum eventually had all the paper work through with my Dad's Private Pension, a copy of that was sent to them too.
In March this year, she received a letter stating that they would telephone her to reassess her claim.
They stated that after my Mum had provided them with all income details that she would no longer qualify for Savings Credit. Reason being that she was in receipt of my Dad's Private Pension!!
My Mum rang me very upset and I immediately rang them to query.
They said that this resulted in an overpayment of £1,600 and they planned to recover.
I explained to them that this was disclosed to them upon claiming on the phone and went on to explain that due to my Dad's pension my Mum would not qualify for Pension Credit Guaranteed BUT would qualify for Savings Credit.
The Call taker said that there would be a letter in the post and we could appeal then.
The letter came in the post eventually and I read it and understood that we could ask for a reconsideration.
This was done and about 2 weeks later received a letter stating that it was unsuccessful due to "failure to notifying them of change" and we could appeal. They stated that phone calls were checked as I had requested, and even that I had declared the Private Pension on the phone, no confirmation of it had been received!! We did everything at the time!!
This was last week. I have prepared my letter of appeal but have not sent it yet as I have been ill this week.
This week my poor Mum has received various letters in the post from the Council's Housing Benefit and Council Tax section stating numerous changes so prompted her to ring them as none of them made any sense. She was told that her State Pension was decreasing end of this month and she should have had a letter explaining, she had received nothing. She was also told that she would not qualify for much HB or CTB as her Severe Disablement Allowance that she was in receipt of stopped her from getting anymore HB or CTB. Her Severe Disablement Allowance stopped in 2013 when my Dad passed away and changed to State Pension, so she was no longer in receipt of SDA.
So she rang the DWP and asked why. They informed her that Pension Credit were recovering £46.37 a week from her State Pension as from end of May!!!
My Mum has had the shock of her life!!! And if Housing Benefit will try and recover it too, this will be the end of her. She is 72 years old, disabled and has never owed a penny in her life to anyone. So you can imagine how she and I feel.
Is there anything I can do to add to my appeal? What I can't understand is how it took them nearly 3 and a half years to contact my Mum for a reassessment, is this normal?
Thanks
I applied with my Mum in September 2013 for Pension Credit shortly after my Dad passed away.
As we disclosed that my Mum would be in receipt of my Dad's private pension it was calculated that my Mum would not receive Pension Credit Guarantee but Savings Credit.
They worked out she would only be in receipt of about £3 per week but nevertheless qualified for it. Housing and Council Tax benefit were informed and everything was hunky dory!
Everything was done and when my Mum eventually had all the paper work through with my Dad's Private Pension, a copy of that was sent to them too.
In March this year, she received a letter stating that they would telephone her to reassess her claim.
They stated that after my Mum had provided them with all income details that she would no longer qualify for Savings Credit. Reason being that she was in receipt of my Dad's Private Pension!!
My Mum rang me very upset and I immediately rang them to query.
They said that this resulted in an overpayment of £1,600 and they planned to recover.
I explained to them that this was disclosed to them upon claiming on the phone and went on to explain that due to my Dad's pension my Mum would not qualify for Pension Credit Guaranteed BUT would qualify for Savings Credit.
The Call taker said that there would be a letter in the post and we could appeal then.
The letter came in the post eventually and I read it and understood that we could ask for a reconsideration.
This was done and about 2 weeks later received a letter stating that it was unsuccessful due to "failure to notifying them of change" and we could appeal. They stated that phone calls were checked as I had requested, and even that I had declared the Private Pension on the phone, no confirmation of it had been received!! We did everything at the time!!
This was last week. I have prepared my letter of appeal but have not sent it yet as I have been ill this week.
This week my poor Mum has received various letters in the post from the Council's Housing Benefit and Council Tax section stating numerous changes so prompted her to ring them as none of them made any sense. She was told that her State Pension was decreasing end of this month and she should have had a letter explaining, she had received nothing. She was also told that she would not qualify for much HB or CTB as her Severe Disablement Allowance that she was in receipt of stopped her from getting anymore HB or CTB. Her Severe Disablement Allowance stopped in 2013 when my Dad passed away and changed to State Pension, so she was no longer in receipt of SDA.
So she rang the DWP and asked why. They informed her that Pension Credit were recovering £46.37 a week from her State Pension as from end of May!!!
My Mum has had the shock of her life!!! And if Housing Benefit will try and recover it too, this will be the end of her. She is 72 years old, disabled and has never owed a penny in her life to anyone. So you can imagine how she and I feel.
Is there anything I can do to add to my appeal? What I can't understand is how it took them nearly 3 and a half years to contact my Mum for a reassessment, is this normal?
Thanks
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