Benefit recipients could be receiving a refund if they spot a specific code from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on bank statements. When the department issues a refund, it usually appears on the summary of your recent transactions with the sum and the letters: “DWP RFD”, The Mirror reports.
Refunds may be given out by the DWP for various reasons. These include underpayments that result in you not getting benefits you’re entitled to in the full amount. You people may also be able to get a refund they’ve received a hardship payment in the past. The DWP offers “hardship payments” to claimants of Universal Credit whose benefits have been reduced as a result of sanctions or fraud penalties.
For people experiencing financial hardship due to a sanction, the payments can provide temporary relief for essential expenses whilst helping to keep their benefit reduction costs manageable.
They’re intended to cover essential costs, but have to be repaid at the end of the sanction period.
But some people who were given a hardship payment between January 1, 2014 and January 11, 2021, could be eligible for a refund if they requested a reassessment of their payments from the DWP and the application was either rejected or overlooked, as per the outlet.
To qualify for a hardship payment, claimants must:
- Have been sanctioned and had their Universal Credit payment reduced at 100% of their standard allowance (50% or more if in a couple).
- Be 18 or older (16 if the reduction is due to a fraud penalty).
- Be experiencing financial hardship and struggling to cover essential needs like food, heating, hygiene, or housing costs not covered by Universal Credit.
- Have explored all possible sources of support and cut back on non-essential spending.
- Have complied with any work requirements or the compliance conditions for sanctions.
Applications can be made by either:
- Contacting the work coach at the person’s local Jobcentre
- Using the Universal Credit online journal
- Calling the Universal Credit helpline.
Applicants should expect to demonstrate efforts they’ve made to find other support, any savings or income sources, as well as essential costs that can’t be met.
You will be contacted by the DWP within six weeks of getting your application to confirm its receipt, and a decision may take up to 13 weeks to arrive.
Hardship payments cover up to 60% of a person’s sanctioned amount per day and vary depending on your individual circumstance. For example:
- If a person is sanctioned at a rate of £10.40 per day, their hardship payment will be calculated at 60% of this rate, or £6.15 per day.
- This payment is available for each day of hardship within the assessment period, and people can be given it until their next payment or until their sanction ends, whichever is earlier.
You can find out more about hardship payments eligibility, requirements, and deadlines here.
