‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

[Kati]

From RIGHTSNET.

It looks like the DWP are writing to people who use a Post Office account to receive their benefits demanding they change to a 'normal' bank account. According to the letter (attached) more than 8 out of 10 people have their benefits paid into a bank, building society or Credit Union account.

[leclerc]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

do we know why they are writing to people about PO account? Is it that this type of account is being closed?

[Kati]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

Currently we pay your benefits or tax credits into a Post Office card account. But we now expect you to use a bank, building society or credit union account. Most people already do this.

A bit different from what they say on GovUK

How and when your benefits are paid

Benefits are usually paid straight into your bank, building society or credit union account - if you don’t have one you could get paid using a Post Office card account.

[Kati]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

do we know why they are writing to people about PO account? Is it that this type of account is being closed?

not as far as I know :noidea:

The Post Office still says they do them - http://www.postoffice.co.uk/post-office-card-account

[des8]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

.... and when "free" banking disappears guess who'll be having to pay to access their miniscule benefits, and where the profits will be going

[Amethyst]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

I haven't heard anything from Post Office Card Account peeps... there were some contract issues with them last year which I'll check on but I use my card account every week ( child benefit and child/working tax credits when I'm entitled to them ) and would really be quite resistant to having those payments paid into a bank.

The letter doesn't say you HAVE to change to a bank/credit union account but the job centres/dwp have a bit of history trying to get people to have bank accounts. I did have some stuff on policy from the DWP via an FOI when they were arguing you weren't allowed to receive benefits by anything but a bank account a couple years back ( if I can find them I'll post them) and I was arguing it wasn't in the rules and they weren't allowed to pressure people into opening bank accounts.

We don't know how widespread it is.... yet - they are probably just doing batches to try engineer a slow change over so the contract can be ditched. 1.3 million POcard holders are pensioners out of 2.8 million POcard holders overall ( figures March 2015 I believe)

[Amethyst]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

I wouldn't worry too much about impending doom of PO cards, they've been trying for years....

2008 - http://www.legalbeagles.co.uk/forums...ntract-delayed

2008 https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/reque...#incoming-1216

2008 - https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/reque...%2008.doc.html

2010 - http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...o-stop-by-2010

2011 - http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...of-girocheques
2011 - http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...24-May-2011%29

2013 - https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/reque...ponse.pdf.html



2014 - http://legalbeagles.info/bbc-news-po...uture-secured/


( still can't find what I'm looking for though )

The Post Office Card Account

The Post Office Card Account can only be used to accept electronic payments of benefits, state pension or tax credit payments. At the moment the account is operated through the Post Office (by J.P Morgan Europe Ltd).

However this arrangement is at present being renegotiated and will be renewed or under a new contract from 2010. An announcement of who will run the contract is imminent and the government are being pressed for a decision.

The account only allows cash withdrawals. There is no facility for standing orders or direct debits and therefore the customer can not go overdrawn or incur charges. Also the opening of the account is simple as there are no credit checks.

At the present time the account allows 4.3 million customers access to their pensions and benefits through the post office network which is obviously important in many rural areas. For many pensioners and those on low incomes the POCA is the only way they can access their benefits. This account is also an important option for those people who are unable to, or chose not to operate a conventional bank account.

The POCA is a vital part of the Post Office business. If the Post office loses the business in 2010, it could potentially take away £1billion pounds worth of business. Therefore the Post offices would find it even harder to survive in their current form. At the moment 1 in 4 visits made to the Post office each week are made by POCA holders. They can of course withdraw cash and pay household bills at the same time.

Citizens Advice in Scotland and other parts of the country are particularly concerned that if the DWP ends support for the POCA it may reduce vital options to CAB clients and compromise efforts to promote financial inclusivity.

In Scotland in particular 12% of people do not have a bank account. The POCA offers a viable alternative to these people. Its simple concept and the fact that there is no possibility of going overdrawn is very attractive as well as the fact that it is universally available to anyone on benefits.

It has been recommended that if the account is withdrawn then the opening of a basic account will have to be made easier. The conventional banking network often has a reluctance to offer these basic accounts or alternatively makes the applications unnecessarily complicated.

Also basic bank accounts should be more suitable for people receiving pensions or benefits.

There also should be free access to all basic bank accounts at all Post offices.

There also would need to be support for the transition between accounts.

The government is of course legally obliged to tender competitively for the product as it has to take the interests of the tax payer into account. This process is underway and a decision is expected very soon. The government has made it clear that any replacement account would need to be available on a national basis. The Post office has put in a strong bid and I attach a press release from the NFSP and a letter to Gordon Brown from the Secretary George Thomson.I also attach a letter from the DWP to Leighton Andrews of the Welsh Assembly.

Update 13thNovember 2008

The Post Office will continue to run the card account which distributes benefits to 4.3 million claimants. It had faced competition for running the Post Office Card Account from a private firm, but ministers have decided to close the bidding process. Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell told MPs he would do "nothing to put the network at risk". The National Federation of Sub Post Masters had warned 3,000 post offices would close if the contract was lost. The account, used by more than four million people, was brought in to end the need for giros and payment books for pensioners and benefit claimants, while still allowing them to use post offices to collect money. The Post Office had faced competition to run it from the private company PayPoint, who said they were "disappointed by this decision". 'Viability' Mr Purnell's announcement comes two weeks earlier than expected after criticism from MPs that delays in deciding if the Post Office would retain the contract were "destabilising". He told MPs the account was "central to the viability of the network" and said the next contract would run initially from April 2010 to March 2015 with "the possibility of an extension beyond that".

Comment:

This seems to be a social as well as an economic decision as the bidding process was supposed to protect the interest of the taxpayer. However the stability of the continuation of the contract is to the benefit of PO employees and inhabitants of rural areas.

[Amethyst]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

Arrghhh so frustrated, I remember I asked them how much it cost to make a DWP payment by Giro, to PO account and to a bank account - and for their policies on what DWP staff should say to new claimants etc ... so if anyone happens across it let me know before I drive myself batty.

Found this from 2007 via rightsnet
"Bank credit costs 1p per transaction compared to 68p per foil of order book and £1.47 per giro cheque.'''

Post Office card accounts cost the gov't. 30p per payment.... apparently

"In Department of Work & Pensions documents leaked to this newspaper, DWP staff are told: "We need to pay most of these customers into bank accounts which cost 1p, rather than into Post Office card accounts which cost up to 30 times more. You should be aiming to get nine out of 10 new claimants [to use] bank accounts, with a small proportion paid through Post Office card accounts."''

[Nibbler]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

I wouldn't worry too much about impending doom of PO cards, they've been trying for years....

Yes, quite a few times I've more or less assumed they were gone given the messages from DWP people got, only to find people still had them.

[Amethyst]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

That letter they are sending out is extremely misleading even though they don't say you MUST they make it sound like you MUST ... it actually says they 'expect' you to have a bank account. There is no REQUIREMENT to have a bank account. If there were the government would have to provide a UTILITY bank account with no charges, fees or risk of that money being swiped by bank charges, scammers, errors, mistake etc.

Post Office account is perfect for lots of people who just want to take their benefits out in cash and don't want to pay things by DD/SO use debit cards etc. Personally I have a basic bank account as well, because life is just getting too complicated not to be able to use bill payments or debit cards and paying your bills over the counter is getting expensive. But I know that my child benefit is completely safe and it goes in on a Monday and I take it out in cash ( and dish it straight out to the kids for their dinner money for the week usually ) but whatever happens with my bank (lloyds) that money is always safe.

[Kati]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

I get my CB paid into a PO account ... and I'm not likely to change that in the near future either!! The PO is just at the end of the street and I pay my paper bill there (so it's easier to just go in and do both at the same time).

I have a basic bank account and a savings account with TSB too (internet banking is great for bills :lol but having my CB paid in to a different account makes it easier to SAVE money in case of emergencies :nod:

[Becky1981]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

I received this letter so called the number and changed account details.
a week or so later my benefits did not go into either the old or new account, when I called up to ask why the bank details on file were not mine, not even the same bank and an investigation is ongoing.
the job centre/all involved say this is near impossible and suspect me of doing this myself!!!
i have googled the phone number and post code on this letter ( exactly same as letter shown) and neither check out, is this letter genuine?

[Kati]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

I received this letter so called the number and changed account details.
a week or so later my benefits did not go into either the old or new account, when I called up to ask why the bank details on file were not mine, not even the same bank and an investigation is ongoing.
the job centre/all involved say this is near impossible and suspect me of doing this myself!!!
i have googled the phone number and post code on this letter ( exactly same as letter shown) and neither check out, is this letter genuine?

Have you put in a formal complaint Becky?? Did you get your money repaid??

[Brian 1961]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

Have you put in a formal complaint Becky?? Did you get your money repaid??

Please change your payment account letter DWP
As regards this letter from the DWP ,, I have had a meeting with my local Post Office branch officer today and this is the information you need.
The Post Office states that the existing Card account meets the criteria that the DWP require to pay your benefits and is "Fit for purpose" , the service isn't due to be phased out until 2021 -23 and unless there was a mandatory reason to impose the change then a customer is not obliged to comply.
The Post Office advised me to contact the DWP which I have done.
The DWP confirmed that I can indeed keep using the Card account and that I am NOT obliged to set up another account to replace it !!! , they state that the letter is being circulated now in order to encourage people who are WILLING to make the change voluntarily , they then took my details and updated my notes stating that I did not wish to change and that was that.

The shocking thing here is that the Post Office themselves seemed confused by the letter , I asked the DWP to contact my branch Manager to clarify the situation and they said they would but the DWP insisted that Post Office Branches were informed about this QUOTE !!! "Some time ago".

Anyway just ring the DWP and politely tell them that you don't want to change and that's it !! , the Lady I spoke to was pleasant and it's no big deal
Hope this helps
Brian

[Moonshine]

Re: ‘Please change your payment account’ letter - DWP

Hi everyone I'm a newbie.

I have also received these letters, one last year and one this year. The one this year is more demanding.

I found this post via google when doing research regarding these letters and they are fake. I also used who-phone.co.uk to look up the phone numbers and other people have reported that it is a scam.

I have tried to ring C.A.B but just get load so recorded messages, so in the end I rang my local trading standards and they said it's fraud and I have to ring the police, so did. I was given another number for Action fraud.

Last year when I received this letter and my friend phone up for me while I was present the woman said the reason why I had to change was that the PO only had contact with the dwp for 9 years.

So when I got another letter end of June I rang up the post office after see this thread here. I was told to ignore the letters and that loads of people had been ringing up for the same reason. They also told me that if the PO were going close the accounts their company would tell their customers in writing.

I also found out that their so called free phone number on the letters, 0800 085 7133 are premium rate number calls.

So the fake dwp person asked could they ring me back and I said no. I asked my friend to tell them that I was recording the phone call, so I think that is why she asked if they could call me back. I have speaker phone so still would of recorded the phone call.

So under no circumstances reply to these letters or fill out the attach form they send you.

Even people with bank accounts have been rang up and told that the dwp have over paid them and they have to give them their details only to find their bank account has been completely clear out.

I hope they catch these scum bags.