5. Mr C complains that DWP failed to create and issue any documentation relating to his Universal Credit (UC) advance payment from October 2022. He also complains that telephone agents failed to take ownership and raise his complaints in August 2023.
6. Mr C tells us that he was made anxious by the letter from DWP Debt Management and frustrated by how DWP dealt with his concerns.
7. Mr C would like changes to the administration of the advance payment system and an apology for the impact on him.
8. Mr C made a claim for UC in late September 2022. At the beginning of October 2022, he received an advance payment of £300 repayable over a period of 24 months, with each repayment being deducted from his UC benefit.
9. Mr C found employment and in July 2023 his UC claim was closed. There was an outstanding balance of £250 on the UC advance loan. In August 2023, the Debt Management department at DWP wrote to Mr C and asked him to arrange to repay the outstanding balance.
10. Mr C contacted Debt Management to ask why he owed DWP £250 and was told it was an outstanding balance from the UC advance loan. He was told to contact the UC department if he needed further information about the balance.
11. Mr C complained to DWP in August 2023 about the letter he had received from Debt Management and disputed the outstanding balance. He received a response in September 2023 that explained when the loan had been made and that given he had only paid £50 back he was responsible for the outstanding balance.
12. Mr C was not satisfied with the response and brought his complaint to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE). The ICE completed its investigation in August 2024and did not uphold his complaint.
13. Mr C brought his complaint to our Office in October 2024.
DWP failed to create and issue documentation
17. Mr C told us that he did not sign an agreement, and no documentation was issued, in relation to a loan that DWP said he had received. He did not get any requests for payment from UC, only a letter demanding repayment from Debt Management.
18. The records show that Mr C called DWP at the beginning of October 2022 to request an advance payment of UC as he needed financial assistance to pay bills and buy necessities. A journal entry (an online journal where the claimant and DWP can exchange messages and information) that same day shows that his request was approved. Shortly after, Mr C wrote that he had received a message confirming he had ‘been awarded New Claim Advance Support Payment as of October 2022 which need to be repaid within 24 months at the rate of £12.50 per month’.
19. We asked DWP if documentation needed to be completed and signed by the claimant and if copies of those documents were then sent to the claimant for their records.
20. It told us, as explained on its website, that a claimant can apply for the advance payment in three different ways:
• by submitting a request in their journal
• by requesting it at the local jobcentre
• by calling the UC helpline.
21. It explained that, in Mr C’s case, he called the Helpline and agreed to the loan verbally. It also explained that there is no legislation or guidance that says documents need to be issued. The New Claim Guidance explains:
If a claimant satisfies the conditions for a New Claim Advance, they have the choice to claim it online. If it is awarded, it will be recorded in the ‘Advances’ page and in ‘Claimant history.’ Where an offer for a New Claim Advance has been made, this must be recorded in ‘Claimant history.’ If a claimant refuses the offer, this must also be recorded in ‘Claimant history.’
22. We can appreciate that when Mr C received the letter from Debt Management he was surprised as he did not recall the advance payment. He did not have any paperwork to refer to so initially believed it may be an error that he owed £250.
23. The evidence shows that Mr C received the advance payment, and received a message explaining the terms of repayment. By agreeing to it verbally and having it recorded in his journal, there was no need for DWP to issue any documents or for Mr C to sign any.
24. We have seen that DWP acted in line with its New Claim Guidance and so there are no indications anything went wrong here. We will therefore not take any further action on this part of the complaint.
Telephone agents failed to take ownership of the complaint
25. The letter from Debt Management to Mr C in August 2023 told him he had a debt and provided him with a website where he could get more information and manage the debt. Mr C called Debt Management twice to discuss the content of the letter. We listened to the calls he made.
26. The call handler explained to him that its department is tasked with collecting a debt but does not have the information of how the debt arose. He was told that he would need to contact UC directly if he disagreed with the debt and he was given a number to call.
27. The Debt Management customer service standards say:If you think the overpayment decision is wrongIf you need more information, please ask the benefit office that notified you how they made the decision.
28. Mr C complained to DWP, and he was contacted by the complaints team at the end of August 2023. The notes for that call say that the concerns were discussed to clarify exactly what Mr C wanted DWP to consider. We note those concerns were addressed in the letter that followed in September 2023.
29. The Complaint Standards say:
Colleagues actively listen and demonstrate a clear understanding of what the main issues are for the service user who has made the complaint, and the outcomes they seek.
30. We can appreciate Mr C would have liked to have got answers during the calls to Debt management and was frustrated not to. We are sorry to hear that. We can see that the call handler acted in line with the standards by directing Mr C to contact the UC department to get a more detailed explanation and to allow him to challenge the debt.
31. We can then see that DWP acted in line with the complaint standards in showing a clear understanding of the issues and how Mr C told it he was impacted by them. Therefore, there are no indications anything went wrong here.
32. We acknowledge that Mr C was disappointed with the DWP’s handling of his advance payment and complaint. We hope that by showing it has acted in line with its Standards he is able to appreciate that it provided the service that it says it will provide.
1. We have carefully considered Mr C’s complaint about The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
2. We are sorry to hear that he was frustrated and disappointed with the service he received from the DWP. The matters he brought to it caused him anxiety and frustration and we are sorry to hear that is the case.
3. We have considered all the evidence and have found that the DWP acted in line with its guidance and standards when it handled Mr C’s advance payment and complaint.
4. We will not take any further action on his complaint to us, and we appreciate this will be disappointing for him to hear. We explain below how we reached our decision.