DWP giving compensation to Universal Credit claimants forced to repay money

Recoverable Hardship payments are exigency loans from the DWP to Universal Credit claimants whose benefits had been chopped arsenic a effect of sanctions

A Department for Work and Pension (DWP) strategy which provides compensation payments to radical who were wrongly forced to repay Hardship Loans has been extended.

Recoverable Hardship payments are exigency loans from the DWP to Universal Credit claimants whose benefits had been chopped arsenic a effect of sanctions. Under the rules, you had to repay the afloat magnitude nary substance what.

This meant the benefits section outright refused requests from individuals to waive oregon reappraisal the complaint of repayments. However, successful 2021, it was ruled that this was wrong, and a strategy was acceptable up to compensate those who had been affected.

This week, the DWP extended this compensation strategy aft it emerged that conscionable 1 exertion had been palmy since it was implemented. Overall, conscionable 3 radical applied. One claimant felt her outgo was ignored and contacted solicitors to motorboat a judicial review. Osborne Law says this suggests that galore others who were eligible whitethorn person missed out.

Osbornes Law represented the lawsuit who received a authorisation from the DWP aft they didn't comply with the Claimant Commitment for their Universal Credit. This claimant did not ever be her Job Centre appointments owed to sick health.

Emma Vincent Miller, a nationalist instrumentality specializer astatine Osbornes Law, said: "More than fractional of these sanctions were subsequently overturned, yet erstwhile she applied to the Hardship Payment Refund Scheme, her exertion was ignored until the eleventh hr erstwhile she was forced to progressive solicitors. Despite having been repaid what she was owed, my lawsuit was determined to marque definite that others were not ignored and truthful decided to bring a judicial review, which led to the DWP agreeing to re-run the scheme.”

If you deliberation you person been impacted, you tin inquire DWP to reappraisal its determination not to halt the repayment of your Hardship Payment if each of the pursuing apply:

• Between January, 1, 2014 and January, 11, 2021 you asked Universal Credit oregon DWP Debt Management to waive the repayment of a hardship payment, oregon reconsider the complaint of recovery, and
• DWP refused your petition oregon refused to see the request

Alongside this, you volition besides request to amusement that either:

• You could not spend to repay the hardship outgo astatine that time, or
• It had a important effect astatine the clip connected your oregon your family’s wellness oregon wellbeing – this means that it caused a wellness information oregon made a wellness information worse

Osbornes Law says grounds tin see things specified arsenic slope statements, accusation astir loans oregon letters from creditors, and supporting statements from aesculapian professionals. If you bash not person this information, the radical says it is inactive worthy applying.

You tin use by filling successful an exertion form, which you tin get from the DWP's website here. You volition past request to nonstop this signifier to: Freepost DWP UNIVERSAL CREDIT FULL SERVICE. The deadline for applications is May 4 2025. For further information, telephone the Universal Credit Recoverable Hardship Payment strategy helpline connected 0800 158 5557.