DWP Post processing problems

Hi just to let everyone know the DWP has mentioned a serious delay in processing mail.

Last week I received a strange text allegedly from the DWP regarding my ESA. All it said was following my querry, my payment will be made on this date. Which was strange because I hadn't dealt with ESA for many, many years and cocerned that it may be fraud or a spoof contacted the DWP. After several days we managed to get through only to discover that it was a hiccup caused by all things - my PIP being stopped!
We had not received any letters or phone calls to tell us this. The contact centre although helpfull could not tell me why my PIP had been stopped.

Over the next few days we tried to get through to the PIP contact centre 14 times but could not get through. The on Saturday my daughter went shopping and found her bank account had not been credited with her Carers Allowance. On a long shot, she called the PIP contact centre and by a miracle it was answered on a Saturday.

The DWP member said that my PIP renewal had been put on the system 7 days after the deadline but this is due to a 14 day delay in the scanning. Because of this delay my PIP and daughters Carers allowance had been cancelled. The operator put my claim through for a mandatory reconsideration and told us to contact them on Monday.

This morning, I received a text from the DWP that my mandatory reconsideration may take 10 weeks before we get a response. 90 minutes in a queue this morning we are told that the DWP has been experiencing significant issues processing claims and mail. So much so, that they have put in place an emergency system (??) to handle issues like this.

Considering the issues over Covid and the DWP's own issues over processing, in my simplistic mind, you would think they would adjust their own rules - like they do regularly.

So in the meantime, I am facing the potential of losing my benefit, Motability car and my daughters carers allowance because of a DWP issue.

Hi Sospan. That's disgusting! Please if you can manage to, write to your MP with exactly what you have told us here. They may or may not choose to help, but if they are deluged with the truth about DWP they will more likely act than if not. And a deluge is made up of many individual raindrops like yours!
If you feel really strong knowing we all back you here, if you don't get a good response from the MP, why not copy it and your letter to the press? Inactive MPs will hate bad publicity. Do keep us posted, sending you energy!
Best wishes,
Denby

Hi Sospan,
I am sorry this has happened to you- its outrageous!
I totally agree with denby's suggestion to contact your MP about this, the process is hard enough as it is without the DWP penalising you for their own internal post processing failures!

Sending all good wishes,

Gaddy