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epeated that information and gave the time limits for applying for the bereavement payment and allowance. We concluded that it was unreasonable of Jobcentre Plus not to have ensured that Coroners’ Offices provided correct information about possible entitlement to bereavement benefit. Instead, they allowed a situation to continue over a long period whereby the information given out by Coroners’ Offices was inadequate and incorrect. That was maladministrative, and resulted in one group of potential claimants being placed at a disadvantage compared with another. In Mrs M’s case, by the time she became aware of her entitlement to bereavement allowance she did not qualify for the full amount. Outcome As a result of our recommendations, Jobcentre Plus: • paid £1,411.38 to Mrs M (an amount equivalent to the bereavement allowance lost), plus £204.68 interest; • paid her compensation of £100; and • agreed that a senior officer would send an apology for the inconvenience and upset caused. We upheld Mrs M’s complaint and concluded our investigation in September 2008. Putting things right: complaints and learning from DWP | March 2009 59
Mr E’s complaint about Jobcentre Plus In Mr E’s case, Jobcentre Plus took too narrow a view of their own responsibilities, providing his daughter with information about only one of the benefits to which Mr E might have been entitled. The failure to offer an interview, in line with their normal practice, also meant that Mr E did not receive the joined-up service that Jobcentre Plus aim to deliver. Background to the complaint Mr E’s wife passed away in November 2003. His daughter (Ms D) telephoned Jobcentre Plus to ask if her father was entitled to any help with the funeral costs. She was correctly told that he did not qualify for help towards the funeral costs from the social fund. (Although Mr E was not entitled to a funeral expenses payment from the social fund – because neither he nor his late wife were in receipt of a qualifying benefit – he could have been entitled to a lump sum bereavement payment of £2,000.) Ms D accepted what she was told and neither she nor her father made any further enquiries. In early 2005 one of Mr E’s friends told him that he had received bereavement benefit, and on 3 March Mr E asked Jobcentre Plus to review his case. Mr E and Ms D were interviewed by Jobcentre Plus about the possible poor advice received in 2003. In addition to the interview, Jobcentre Plus’s special payments team asked the local Business Manager for her comments about Mr E’s complaint. The Business Manager said that: ‘On checking with Social Fund officers it is evident that individual officers have varying levels of awareness of bereavement benefit and it is not the norm to advise about other benefits unless asked. If a customer calls to the office to report a death, normal practice is to conduct an interview and advise the customer of the benefits available. A disparity of service appears to have occurred in this case and I feel that the customer should be believed and a special payment made to recompense the loss of award.’ In spite of these comments, Jobcentre Plus rejected Mr E’s request for compensation, on the grounds that there was no evidence that Ms D had been misdirected. What we investigated The Ombudsman received Mr E’s complaint in March 2006. We investigated Mr E’s complaint that Jobcentre Plus had failed to advise Ms D about claiming bereavement payment, and had then refused to compensate him. What our investigation found One of the Principles of Good Administration (‘Being customer focused’) is relevant here. A department should aim to provide accurate, complete and understandable information about their service; they should aim to ensure that customers are clear about their entitlements; and they should deal with people in a co-ordinated way, referring them to other sources of help if they themselves cannot help. DWP’s own internal guidance highlights the importance of, where appropriate, providing specific advice tailored to a customer’s individual circumstances and requirements. 60 Putting things right: complaints and learning from DWP | March 2009
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