You Said - We did

Notification letters are difficult to understand

• We write and attach covering letters where there are a lot of notification letters or there are complicated calculations or overpayments
• We check all letters before they are sent

You were unhappy with the wording of the overpayment notification letter as it said ‘you did not tell us about the change’

• Overpayment notification letter has been changed to say ‘because I was not aware of the change in your circumstances at the time they occurred’

Self Employed claims are difficult to make

• We have redesigned and simplified the self employed claim form
• We have trained all staff on how to deal with self employed claims
• We review all self employed claims on a regular basis (as a minimum annually)

You said you have to provide the same evidence to more than one Department

• 
  We liaise with all Departments that we are allowed to, to try to obtain evidence before we contact you
• We have trained staff to only request evidence from customers when it is not available from another source or Department

Make the claim form easier to understand

• We review the form on an annual basis
• We have gained the Plain English accreditation
• We recognise that the form can be difficult to understand. So where the form is incomplete we phone the customer to explain what information is still outstanding and if required we offer an interview with a Benefit Officer at the Council Offices or a home visit
• We now also have an intelligent claim form available for completion on the Council’s web pages

Documentation sometimes has to be provided more than once. Excess documentation is sometimes requested

• Training on what evidence is required and acceptable is now provided to all staff on an annual basis

Letters asking for information on my claim are confusing

• All staff have been advised to telephone customers where a telephone number is available in order to explain the information that is required for the claim
• The application form has been updated to capture how customers would like to be contacted by phone, e-mail or letter
• Training on what evidence is required and acceptable is now provided to all staff on an annual basis

You didn’t offer me a Home Visit

• The Customer Service Team have been reminded to offer a home visit where the customer is unable to visit the Council Office’s, parish offices or the Bordon and Alton information offices
• The team have been reminded to check the personal circumstances of customers and to offer a home visit where they think it is appropriate
• These services are advertised on the website and on our further information request letters

We should process claims for benefit quicker

• We have reviewed our working practices so that new claims are prioritised each day
• We now have a dedicated interview room available in the reception area at Penns Place where a Benefit Officer will undertake the interview and process straight forward new claims while the customer waits
• Since April this year we have reduced the time it takes to process a claim for benefit from an average of 25 days to an average of 17 days
• Since April this year the percentage of new claims decided within 14 days of  receipt of all required information has increased from 85% to a year to date average of 94%

We should process changes in circumstances quicker

• We have reviewed our working practices so that changes in circumstances can now be taken over the phone where appropriate
• We now have a dedicated interview room available in the reception area at Penns Place where a Benefit Officer will undertake the interview and process straight forward changes in circumstances while the customer waits
• Since April this year we have reduced the time it takes to process a change in circumstances from an average of 13 days to an average of 10 days

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