new and about to tangle with the DWP

[Twiggy]

Re: new and about to tangle with the DWP

We don't know if the AIP was 5 years or indefinite, the DWP letter she received in 2012 just said 'you have an assessed income period'

We seem to have got 2004 statements from Lloyds, and Post Office Card account for 2004 and it turns out that her PO Savings account wasn't opened until several years later.

[des8]

Re: new and about to tangle with the DWP

We don't know if the AIP was 5 years or indefinite, the DWP letter she received in 2012 just said 'you have an assessed income period'
If no end date is shown it was probably indefinite
We seem to have got 2004 statements from Lloyds, and Post Office Card account for 2004 and it turns out that her PO Savings account wasn't opened until several years later.

Indefinite is quite likely as your mother in law was almost 90 when she received that 2012 letter.

[Twiggy]

Re: new and about to tangle with the DWP

Just making a quick update:
Quick is hardly the word for it though - having sent off the info required by DWP, we waited, and waited, and waited some more.
Today we got a phone call from DWP asking for more information, namely they spotted monthly income from a National Savings pensioner bond listed in her bank statement for 2004 so now want us to trace that bond and get the details.
Also they picked up on a large deposit (5k) made into her savings account in 2009 and want to know where that came from.
So now we've got even more detective work to do and hope that NSandI keep records for as long as the others.
DWP really do seem to take the attitude that something is bound to be wrong and we've got to prove otherwise.

[Twiggy]

Re: new and about to tangle with the DWP

Just making a quick update:
Quick is hardly the word for it though - having sent off the info required by DWP, we waited, and waited, and waited some more.
Today we got a phone call from DWP asking for more information, namely they spotted monthly income from a National Savings pensioner bond listed in her bank statement for 2004 so now want us to trace that bond and get the details.
Also they picked up on a large deposit (5k) made into her savings account in 2009 and want to know where that came from.
So now we've got even more detective work to do and hope that NSandI keep records for as long as the others.
DWP really do seem to take the attitude that something is bound to be wrong and we've got to prove otherwise.

The FINAL update:

We managed to find the last lot of information that DWP requested - we noted that the bank specifically now state that they can only provide records up to 6 years previous, so we sneaked in under the wire on that one (records from 2004).
We were assured that their decision would come in 4 weeks, but after about 6 we phoned again and told another couple of weeks, then FINALLY today we got an 'all clear'.
Their wording on the letter states that the assets in the estate were compared with current records and assets were correctly taken into account ... 'This concludes our enquiry'
Â*