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Adjournment Notice

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1 month 2 weeks ago #288886 by learntorun
Adjournment Notice was created by learntorun
I was accused by the DWP of not notifying them of a change of circumstance which was my husbands NHS pension from 2012. I know that we had send a letter informing them of this in 2012, but they deny receiving it and again it would have been sent tracked delivery by us in any event. They claim that because I did not notify them we now owe over £14,000.
In 2017 I was asked to supply statements from 2017 on another matter,and I duly supplied them with the statements.
After involving my MP in 2023 (as I remember Donald recommended we do this) as the DWP were ignoring my letters regarding the overpayment, and because of his intevention, I was able to finally appeal the DWP mandatory decision to the Tribunal in 2023 regarding the overpayment. The Tribunal requested documents from the DWP and they failed to produce them in 2023. I then received notification from the Tribunal that the DWP were not pursuing the matter. I am trying to find the exact wording of this notification from the Tribunal and have requested all documentation from them. As I had believed the matter was now concluded.
I received documentation a couple of days ago from the Court, stating that the hearing did not go ahead in 2023. I am at a loss as to why they have left it so long in informing me of this. This is an extract from part of a notice from the courts:

To Mrs C
The tribunal has adjourned consideration of your appeal in order to see if copies can be obtained of the bank statements you say were provided to the DWP in 2017;
The tribunal has requested the DWP to provide these, if they have them.
However, if you are able to provide copies of the bank statements that were sent to the DWP in 2017, please send those to HMCTS Sutton within 28 days of the date of this Notice.

In 2017, bank statements were sent to DWP, which will have shown income coming into the household which would've included my husband’s NHS pension.
Unbelievably, I have found copies of these statements sent to the DWP and even the handwritten letter by a solicitor, we had engaged at the time who drafted a letter for us to send the statements to the DWP. He advised us to highlight payments in the statements, including the pension payments. We were so concerned at the time which is why we had asked the solicitor to help us.
I would be extremely grateful if you could advise on the best way forward. Should I send these statements now or wait to hear from the courts to see if the DWP have sent them to them? Thank you once again for all your help

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1 month 2 weeks ago - 1 month 2 weeks ago #288887 by LL26
Replied by LL26 on topic Adjournment Notice
Hi learntorun,
Every party to a tribunal appeal, ie both yourself and DWP have a duty to cooperate with the Tribunal, this is set down within the Tribunal Rules. On that basis you should definitely send everything you have. Make sure you keep the originals and send copies. Send these in ASAP.
Overpayment cases are often quite complex, and you may wish to see advice from a specialist benefits adviser on this. Good luck.
LL26

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 1 month 2 weeks ago by LL26.

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1 month 2 weeks ago #288888 by learntorun
Replied by learntorun on topic Adjournment Notice
thanks for this. I would be grateful if you could advise why you think i was not informed that the hearing had not gone ahead last year and only now i have been informed, but led to believe the matter was closed. i am going to request all emails from the court to me. The statements have been requested from DWP and not me. I have no obligation to send them as it is just by chance I have some of the statements and in any case the DWP can request them from my bank. Would it be possible for Gordon just to look at this tomorrow. I am so concerned as to why after a year I am still waiting for a decision from the Court. Should I contact my MP?

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1 month 2 weeks ago #288889 by learntorun
Replied by learntorun on topic Adjournment Notice
Thank you for your reply. I am concerned that the court did not notify me last year that the hearing had not gone ahead when i was led to believe from one of their emails that the matter had been concluded. i have requested this information from them which will give me clarity. It is only by chance that i found some of the statements. The court have asked the DWP to supply this information and only asked me if i have them to send them - it is some 7 years ago this information was sent to them and most people would not have kept them. The DWP can request this information from my bank in any event. I would be grateful if you believe that the courts are acting unreasonably in not letting me know that the matter is still ongoing and why they have only now contacted me.
Thank you again

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1 month 2 weeks ago #288892 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Adjournment Notice
l

From your original post, you say that a Decision was made by the DWP that you had been overpaid £14,000.

Was a Decision Letter sent to you stating this?

Are deductions being made from your current benefits to recover the money? If not, have they ever done so?

You asked for an MR which I assume failed and then appealed the Decision.

You say that you then received notice from the Tribunal Service, ignoring letters requesting bank statements, that the DWP was not pursuing the matter.

Was this in a letter and do you still have it?

Did you ever receive confirmation of this from the DWP?

As I see it, this is your appeal and it can only be cancelled by you OR the DWP revising the Decision being appealed in your favour.

If the latter has not happened and deductions are being made then it would seem to be in your interest to provide the TS with the documentation they are asking for.

But, before doing so I think you need to clarify some of the questions I have raised above.

Also, we can only reply based on the information you have posted, there may be things you have omitted or considered as not relevant that in fact may be, so I strongly recommend that you follow LL's advice and get face-to-face assistance from a trained advisor. See

advicelocal.uk/

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: learntorun

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1 month 1 week ago #288976 by learntorun
Replied by learntorun on topic Adjournment Notice
Thank you Gordon and LL for this. I spoke to someone at the Tribunal Service yesterday and apparently I have 3 appeals running for me. There was an overpayment of £228 and this is the appeal that was lapsed on the 27th of June 20, 2023 wholly in my favour. The overpayment of £14000 is still ongoing although the DWP are not deducting anything at the moment. They had started to reduct payments but stopped this when I submitted my appeal.

I will send to the TS the statements as you both suggested. Thank you once again for your help.

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