Six years unnoticed, six months to fix: how specialist advice secured £23,000 for a Hillingdon resident
Sarah (not her real name) is a Hillingdon resident. She had been on Universal Credit since 2019, doing her best to make sense of a benefits system that never quite added up. What she didn't know was that she had been underpaid for more than six years.
The problem nobody could see
When Sarah moved from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) onto Universal Credit in November 2019, the assessment recognising her limited capability for work should have carried over automatically. It never did. It wasn't her fault, and there was nothing she could have done differently. The error sat quietly inside DWP's system, invisible to anyone without the right expertise.
Spotting the thread
Joanna, who leads our Macmillan Project, noticed a small clue: a deduction on Sarah's very first Universal Credit payment, linked to her old ESA award. To most people that line would mean nothing. To Joanna, it was the thread that unravelled the whole error.
Six months of persistence
What followed was months of technical, often frustrating advocacy. Joanna formally requested a revision on the grounds of official error, citing the exact regulation that should have protected Sarah's award from the start. When DWP wrongly insisted a fit note was needed, she pushed back with legislation and DWP's own guidance. When the case stalled, she escalated to Mandatory Reconsideration. When that stalled too, she prepared a Tribunal appeal, ready to argue that further delay would not serve justice.
The outcome
DWP agreed that Sarah should have received the higher support from the very beginning of her claim. In 2026, due to persistent ongoing casework, her award was backdated in full, securing £23,000.
A result of this size is rare. Most backdated claims involve much smaller sums, and this reflects an unusually long-running error. But the story behind it is not rare at all.
Why advice services matter
Sarah didn't miss her own underpayment because she wasn't paying attention. She missed it because the system is too complex for almost anyone to navigate alone. Finding the error took specialist knowledge, and fixing it took months of persistence, evidence and challenge that no individual should be expected to manage by themselves.
Behind cases like this are advisers who understand ever-changing regulations and know when DWP has got it wrong. That expertise is not easily replaced. We carry out ongoing casework with everyone who accesses our projects, making sure we support people to the best of our ability, for as long as it takes. When advice services are cut or underfunded, it isn't efficiency that is gained. It's cases like Sarah's that go undiscovered.
Not sure if we can help?
Our services have changed, but we are still supporting historic cases. If you think you may have been underpaid or missed out on support in the past, or you're unsure whether we can help, get in touch:
Free Advice Line: 0808 278 7893
Email: [email protected]
About the Macmillan Project
Citizens Advice Hillingdon's Macmillan Project, delivered in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, helps local people affected by cancer access benefits, grants and financial support. Whether you are a patient, a carer or a bereaved family member, you don't have to face it alone.
Website and self-referral form: www.hillingdoncab.org.uk
Dedicated project line (call and leave a message): 07497 366146
Email: [email protected]
National and local support
Macmillan Support Line: open 7 days a week, 8am to 8pm. Call free on 0808 808 00 00 or visit www.macmillan.org.uk
Hillingdon Samaritans: available 24/7. Call 116 123
Emergency mental health support: the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust provides a 24/7 Single Point of Access. Call 0800 0234 650 or 0800 328 4444 at any time
Hillingdon Care and Support Directory: https://careandsupport.hillingdon.gov.uk
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