Didn't know where to put this. It's PIP related. Apologies for the Echo link.
at any time.
People in receipt of Personal Independent Payment (PIP) could be owed thousands in back payments due to a change in the law.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is conducting a review of PIP claimants to identify who may be owed up to £13,000 in benefits as a result of the law change.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit for people who need help because of a long-term illness or disability.
Not everyone who may be eligible for these extra payments will be contacted and the DWP haven't yet outlined how they will identify and contact claimants, reports advice website Benefits and Work.
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The independent benefits advice website said: "The search is the result of a Supreme Court decision in July which found that the DWP had not been awarding the correct points to some claimants with mental health conditions who need prompting or social support to engage in face-to-face [situations] with other people.
"Some claimants will have missed out on awards of the standard daily living component since April 2016 and will be entitled to around £13,000 in back payments of PIP."
In some cases, eligible claimants due the award may also be entitled to back payments of means-tested benefits premiums, reports the Daily Record.
The website added: "Others who claimed more recently, or who should have got the enhanced rate but only received the standard rate, will be entitled to smaller but still substantial sums."
Those who may have missed out include:
People who have regular meetings with a mental health professional, without which they would not be able to manage face-to-face encounters
People who need the input of particular friends or relatives with experience of supporting them in social situations, rather than just any well-meaning friend or relative, to help them manage face-to-face encounters.
The DWP search will date back to April 2016 for potentially affected people, including claimants who didn’t receive any award for PIP.
Benefits and Work is concerned that some people will be overlooked, including those who made a claim before April 2016 and those whose award was made by a tribunal.
The DWP does not “have the power to change tribunal decisions on the grounds of an error of law and you will need to contact the DWP yourself in these circumstances,” they advised.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/pip-claimants-could-owed-up-19175328?fbclid=IwAR2l2t-UVXpcThszJ1q4iS46HgFeGaIjZDy-15vlcbjqm47nzYT229EN9T8
I first applied back in 2014 and was immediately put on the enhanced rate, initially for a period of two years. However they reassessed me in 2015 and dropped me to the standard rate, saying they had consulted with my psychiatrist. Of course they hadn't, but I was only losing £30 a week and I felt it would be too stressful to appeal it, as I still had the severe disability premium in ESA, and I felt the money would benefit somebody else more.
I'm not sure I could be arsed chasing this down and I don't know anybody who could do it for me currently. I prefer to avoid this kind of crap these days.
