Successful Legacy Benefits Appeals Compensation Scheme
If you had to move to Universal Credit because of a decision that was later found to be incorrect, you may be entitled to a one-off payment. The payment will cover the money you lost because you could not return to your old benefit.
Eligibility
You may be due for compensation if all the following apply:
- you have proof that you were getting one or more of these benefits - Housing Benefit, tax credits (Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit), income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Income Support
- a decision was made to end one of these benefits, and your payments ended
- because of that decision, you successfully claimed Universal Credit within one month of your benefit ending
- the amount of Universal Credit you were entitled to was less than what you got from your benefit before the move
- you challenged the decision that stopped your benefit, and won, meaning you should have continued getting your old benefit instead of claiming Universal Credit when you did
Check your eligibility
You can check if you are due compensation by using the eligibility checker for Successful Legacy Benefit Appeals.
What you’ll get and how you’re paid
If you are due compensation, you'll get a one-off lump sum payment.
The lump sum will be worked out by taking your biggest monthly loss and multiplying it by 12.
This will be paid into the same account your Universal Credit is paid into.
How to apply
To apply:
or
- speak to a member of staff at your local Jobs & Benefits office.
After you apply
Your application will be assessed by the Department for Communities (DfC).
You may be contacted by DfC if more information is needed.
You will get a decision about your application within six weeks of DfC receiving it.
For any other queries, call the Universal Credit Service Centre and follow the instructions to talk to the Successful Legacy Benefits Appeals Compensation team.