JSA Sanction information (2) Updates

https://respectfulbenefits.forumotion.com/t2633-jsa-sanction-information

Summary:

Oneman received a nefarious actively seeking employment disallowance, plus a sanction.  A Hardship claim was refused and the only option was to claim UC, which O refused.

The appeal was won without having to go to a Tribunal  It was one of the most protacted cases I have ever been involved with in the past several years.

Due to the errors and omissions a complaint was lodged.  The allegations were denied!  

I have been down the ICE route and all except one case have resulted in a positive outcome to date, but the process is onerous and it can take at least 2 years to reach a resolution.

I was inspired by the lady who took ATOS to court, she can be found here:

https://www.s4me.info/threads/news-article-court-orders-atos-to-pay-disabled-woman-%C2%A35-000-over-dishonest-pip-assessment.1623/page-2

ATOS did not defend the case.

A law student friend helped her with the preparation of her case.  I believe this man has since died.  

There is no legal aid for these type of cases, so Plaintiffs are on their own.

Oneman and I decided the County Court route was worth a gamble. The letter before action has already been sent.

As dboy points out, this case throws up many interesting points:

dboy wrote:Thanks for update,

Absolutely good luck to both of you hopefully it wont go to court and they act on your Letter before claim be interesting to see if they do challenge in court.

Be a fantastic win if they did challenge and lost, it be the start of a trickle or even flood.

You know this whole case throws up many interesting and important points I would like to see the whole process documented from the beginning to end with as much detail as possible obviously respecting users privacy as it encompasses so many areas for a legacy claimant and would be a great roadmap to follow for those who might be faced with the same issues.

I think as the numbers of JSA claimants declines there will be a point in time when there will be small hardcore group of long term unemployed determined to cling onto JSA for as long as possible.

Resistance is never futile, it's just a pain in the butt.

Just hoping I am not conscripted to the next phase of the cull.

Into the valley of death rode the 10,000

https://respectfulbenefits.forumotion.com/t2633p50-jsa-sanction-information#8678

Let's see what happens!

For anyone thinking about pursuing a dispute via the County Court, this progress update may be helpful:

Oneman and I met up to discuss the case and to check the evidence.  There is a great deal of supporting documents to assist the claim.  O is very organised!  

In order to pursue a County Court claim, there has to be maladministration/a tortious act or omission which results in unlawful delay/significant inconvenience/pain and/or suffering.

Tort: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort

Criminal cases, such as, fraud and harassment must be proven ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.  A civil case is decided on the preponderance of the evidence" i.e. it is more likely than not that something occurred in a certain way.

DWP didn’t overturn its decision regarding the complaint.  It considered the County Court route was disproportionate and unreasonable!  The Director General advised O to progress the matter via ICE.  Mmm…

The claim form has been issued.

No Court fees are payable:  Court and Tribunal Fees – Do I have to pay them?
https://www.stepchange.org/Portals/0/DI&A%20images/EX160.pdf

In this case, the only foreseeable risk is the cost for the other sides travel expenses if the claim does not succeed.  

Helpful references:
https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/taking-legal-action/small-claims/making-a-small-claim/

Free or affordable legal help:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/taking-legal-action/small-claims/making-a-small-claim/

P.S.  I am unavailable for questions at this time.

Non Deficere

O has contacted me with some good news. Part of the claim has been settled before the hearing!

Several hundred pounds are now flying into O's account today!

That is absolutely brilliant news. Well done ND and O.

Thanks Caker!

Another County Court Case involving inaccurate statements:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-shropshire-47324221

A family whose daughter died after being denied the main disability benefit have been awarded £10,000 in damages.

Victoria Smith, 33, of Market Drayton, passed away last July just weeks after being told she was not eligible for Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

Her family sued Capita for making inaccurate statements on Ms Smith's health assessment.

Very upsetting read.

For those following this thread, the current update is as follows:

The County Court papers were served on the SSWP a few days ago.

The claim is being defended, which was expected.

I wish you and oneman well. I am certainly eager for updates.

Very interesting times!

The SoS is considering a 'strike out' application!

Non Deficere wrote:The SoS is considering a 'strike out' application!

Hmm...a quick Google tells me "By reliance on the Civil Procedure Rules you are able to apply to the court under Part 3.4 to strike out any claim where the other party’s “Statement of Case discloses no reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the claim”."

So is the SoS saying your case is without any merit and therefore should be struck out?

ABC wrote:

Non Deficere wrote:The SoS is considering a 'strike out' application!

Hmm...a quick Google tells me "By reliance on the Civil Procedure Rules you are able to apply to the court under Part 3.4 to strike out any claim where the other party’s “Statement of Case discloses no reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the claim”."

So is the SoS saying your case is without any merit and therefore should be struck out?

It is not all over until the fat lady sings!



A very similar case...

https://disabilityrights.org.uk/images/DWPletters/kurtagja-v-dwp-full.pdf

I'm still looking through it but this stood out to me

38.
c. The Case which Claimant brings before this court is not
one which could have been brought before the FTT;
d. The reason why the matters raised here were not raised
before the FTT are because they could not have been, the
FTT would not have had jurisdiction to consider them, and
had they been raised, the FTT would have dismissed them;

Is the corollary that, in general, had the claimant not gone through the FTT first this case would have been dismissed on the grounds that the normal procedure wasn't followed? In other words, is a claimant not allowed to bypass normal procedure and go straight to county court? And is that not what you are doing in this case?

In O's case there was no need to go the FtT.

This case is about misfeasance in public office which is a tort in law and can be heard in the county court.

Well nearly 4 weeks has elapsed and no news to date.

We did not blink in regards to the SoS's kind offer to waive costs if we withdrew the claim!

they could be using the reference its been settled out of court with the huge back payments been done to ones account

a dirty way so it never goes to court for a hearing

even im watching this episode ones been through hell and back in here area

Hi Gadily,

We are claiming for damages.

Update:

The initial claim was struck out.  However, the Judge has agreed to our request to re-instate the claim under different circumstances.  The cost is £255.00.  We will be applying for 'Help with Fees' again.

Well done for getting that struck out claim reinstated. I hope it goes well. I am watching with interest.

Any updates ND?

Work is still in progress ABC.