Deadline: one month
Ask within one month of the date of the decision. If you're late, explain why. You can still ask up to 13 months later if you have a good reason.
Mandatory reconsideration request Name: [your full name] National Insurance number: [your NI number] Date of birth: [your date of birth] Address: [your address] I am asking for a mandatory reconsideration of the decision dated [date], about my Universal Credit for the assessment period [start date] to [end date]. What I think is wrong [Explain which part of the decision is wrong and why. For example: My earnings for this assessment period were counted as £[amount]. They should have been £[amount], because I paid £[amount] into my personal pension with [provider] on [date]. My scheme is a registered pension scheme under section 153 of the Finance Act 2004, and payments I make myself are relievable pension contributions under section 188. Regulation 55(5)(a) of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 says they must be deducted from my earnings (see also Advice for Decision Making, paragraphs H3170 to H3173). I reported the payment in my journal on [date] and uploaded my evidence on [date].] What I am asking for Please change the decision so that [for example: my earnings are counted as £[amount]], and pay me any money I am owed as a result. Evidence [List what you are attaching, for example: confirmation from my pension provider dated [date]; my bank statement showing the payment on [date].] If you decide not to change the decision, please send me a mandatory reconsideration notice so that I can appeal. [Your name] [Date]
Tips
- Use your Universal Credit journal if you can. It's quick, and it gives you a dated record.
- Challenge the award for a specific assessment period. A reconsideration needs a decision to look at. Each monthly award is one, so name the assessment period (the monthly period the payment covers) and the date of your Universal Credit statement.
- For pension payments, try the monthly routine first. Normally your evidence is checked and your earnings amended without a reconsideration. Use this when DWP refuses, or the award stays wrong. See reporting pension payments.
- Stick to facts and figures. Say exactly which number is wrong and what it should be.
- Only send new evidence. Don't resend documents DWP already has, but you can refer to them by date.
- Keep the notice. The mandatory reconsideration notice starts the one-month clock for an appeal.
- If you're posting it, put your name, date of birth and National Insurance number on every page, and keep proof of postage.
For the full process, including appeals, see what to do when DWP gets it wrong.