‘Appallingly bad’ software may cause lost PIP letters, says whistleblower
The Department for Work and Pensions office in London.
Reblogged on request from a reader:
Vital letters that tell disabled people they have to transfer to the government’s new disability benefit are being lost in the system, leading to them losing financial support for months on end, according to a whistleblower.
Rebecca*, who has asked to remain anonymous, works for Serco, the company paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to run the helpline that deals with all new claims for personal independence payment (PIP).
Rebecca has told Disability News Service (DNS) that she believes the missing letters are probably the result of the “appallingly bad” PIP CS software designed for DWP by another private sector outsourcing giant, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (motto: Tomorrow Belongs to the Fast).
Her evidence backs up the testimony of Patricia Sadowski, a single mother with six-year-old twins, who told DNS last week how DWP stripped her of her disability living allowance (DLA) – which she had been granted through a lifetime award – after missing the deadline to apply for PIP.
DWP has told Sadowski that it sent her a letter last November, telling her she had just 28 days to make a PIP claim, and then another letter six weeks later, three days before Christmas, to remind her that if she did not put in a PIP claim her DLA would be terminated.
She says she did not receive either of the letters. Her DLA was then stopped when she failed to submit a claim for PIP.
Source: ‘Appallingly bad’ software may cause lost PIP letters, says whistleblower
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knowing the track record of this government,cynical or not,i tend to think that this is a deliberate manipulation by govt to not send letters out,therefore making sure that claimants know nothing about the deadline,therefore missing out on payments by missing the PIP deadline.
how many other readers on here would tend to think that ?
Letter telling her she had 28 days to apply and follow up with another letter 42 later! What is the logic of this. Looks like a lie,
No, that seems about right for the DWP.
I take it you’ve had no experience of it, then?
All deliberately done by the tories and the dwp, this is one of their devious ideas in action!
Sadly, I’m NOT shocked!!
All who cover it up, should be named, shamed and fired….
The entire sickness and disability benefit system has been thoroughly corrupted by corporate influence to such a degree I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it actually costs more to administer than actual payouts to claimants these days. It’s a total nightmare for claimants like myself these days so stressful it makes you feel like a criminal for just being ill/disabled. What the hell are we going to do about it?
I favor a crowdfunding exercise to ‘encourage’ insiders to share their knowledge of underhand practices. Whistle blowing, & collecting evidence of this would not contradict any Disclosure Notices they have signed if they believe it is being done to wrongfully deprive claimants of benefits, an entitlement written into law.
They also deny receiving letters. After failing to contact my doctor prior to my assessment I sent a doctors letter to them prior to mandatory reconsideration after receiving 0 points from the assessors lies, fabrications and her own personal diagnosis on her submitted form. I checked to make sure they received the letter and they claimed they had not. They agreed to wait for a copy to arrive but made the consideration the next day making no changes. When I called to complain and ask why they didn’t wait they said “we don’t have to” a few days later I had a call saying the letter had arrived and they were going to ask the DM to have another look so don’t make an appeal application. Two weeks later I had a letter informing me that nothing was ever going to change because the reconsideration had been done and it was an informal request to have another look. And by the way you have now missed the deadline for an appeal.
If I were you I’d take this to Citizens Advice.
People are forever saying they have not received a variety of letters regarding Government issues, including situations when the letters are hand delivered by. Five years ago I issued to letters to somebody who I was dealing with and he denied ever receiving them, when I advised them that I had Personally delivered them to his address of record he called me a liar! He returned the letter “Not known at this address” but he forgot to disguise his handwriting as I already had a sample due to his handwritten letter of complaint.