MMcD

I think you may be jumping to an erroneous conclusion with regard to why your payments stopped:

Frozen pensioners: we shouldn't have to prove we're still alive - Telegraph

If you read that article you'll see that the UK does not usually send out and require return of a Proof of Life Certificate from those living in the US.

Also, when such a form is required - notarization is unecessary; they simply require a witness signature on the document:

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-...d/how-to-claim

But again - it looks like this form has nothing to do with your situation and your missing cheques.

BTW: Those missing benefits come from money you've worked hard, over a lifetime, to earn. You are absolutely entitled to it!
It's not a "handout" and you should not feel apologetic about needing or receiving it.
Indeed - whoever screwed up with regard to your continued receipt of timely payments - probably owes you an apology. (Though everything is computerized - so it's not going to be a specific individual....)

Moreover - depending upon what you learn has been the cause of the cessation of your payments - you may possibly be in a position to request compensation for what this screw up has cost you (eg interest on the funds withheld plus possible loss in £ to $ conversion value).

scot47

How can you prove that you are not dead ?

dunroving

Knock hard on the coffin lid.

LondonSquirrel

My dad died in 1986 and my mum receives a small pension as his widow.

Last year out of the blue for the first time ever she received a letter from the pension provider that she had to fill in to confirm she has never remarried nor cohabited with anyone.

I'm guessing had she not obliged the pension would have been stopped.

Slightly OT but I think it is possible they (UK Pensions Service) could send out random forms to fill in to confirm you still are alive.

As others have said this seems the most likely explanation.

Another one is that the bank have changed the OP's account number, which he needed to communicate to the Pensions Service. I know from working in payroll that banks will sometimes do a transfer internally for a certain period, and only when they stop, the employee comes to us to query why their salary has not been paid into their account. They usually assume the bank informed us directly but of course banks don't do that.

DH's US bank changed hands several times eventually becoming Bank of America. Just wondered if the OP failed to realise his bank had been taken over.

mikelincs

As the USA and UK share details about deaths, it's just possible that someone with the same name, living in the same are as the OP's registered address could have died, ad that might have triggered a request from the pensions people to the OP to respond showing he was still in the land of the living, but as he seems to be continually travelling they would have had difficulty contacting him, and might just have assumed that the person they had been informed about was, in fact, the OP. The fact that he had not noticed and complained about the lack of any payments would also have convinced them.

The OP is now setting up on-line banking so he can check his account from anywhere, but people do need to check their accounts. How were the banks sending him statements? here in the UK I do on-line, but I ket an e mail from my bank when a new statement is ready, and if I don't check it I would receive a reminder.

MMcD

It 'is possible', but seems unlikely:
See link to Daily Telegraph I posted above which specifically says that these letters are only sent to those living abroad in countries which do not have a financial exchange agreement with the UK.

The US is not one of those countries. ( It does have such an agreement)

Apparently (and weirdly....if I understand correctly - Canada does not ....and I think those who've posted here that they received such a letter, do reside in Canada ....tho could be mistaken....

Yes! I was also thinking that the fault may well lie with the bank. Course no one has taken over Citibank (yet)...and OP says it's been his bank for 25 years....but his account number might still have changed (different kind of account opened replacing the old)

As a sidenote: I somehow feel very invested in OP's plight - having dealt from afar (LA to UK) with the maddening, frustrating scenario of getting to the bottom of and straightening out a seemingly unravelable Gordian knot of financial entanglement involving both private pensions (plural) as well as State Pension. It required pro-active, indefatigable determination and endurance. A Herculean effort.

I hope he perseveres.

dkveuro

Got through to lady a DWP at 11:40am local time Friday. She said they had sent a 'Life Certificate' and had no reply. The Certificate has to be sent to DWP though the mail.

She said they would email me a PDF Certificate to print out.

Now for the details...............

For the last three days I was redialing 011 44 191 21 87 77. Sometimes the call would be interrupted "Your call cannot be completed. Please check the number and dial again."
sometimes it would say "Your international call cannot be completed. Please check the number and dial again."

I found out from a telephone engineer friend here that the interrupts are automatic if there is any problem on the routing such as congestion, call volume overload, broken circuit or satellite link interruption.....in other words, any problem. So you won't know what is going on.

Although I often checked the redial number it was always correct. I also tried +44 191 21 87 77. Same interrupts and often a rapid busy signal just as before.

My ex called DWP for me and they sent her a Life Certificate next day....she's in Ipswich UK !

For those of you saying you got through no trouble, I'm calling BS. The international capacity into UK from USA is unable to cope with call volume and being as there is no queing (?) ....your call is a lottery.

If DWP is understaffed...which it is, and morning Trans Atlantic call volume is high, which it is, beginning the work day in the USA, then your chances of getting your call answered on the first try is like winning the PCH lottery.

To those of you who said the DWP would not talk to anyone else about my situation .....WRONG !

They told my ex, they had sent me a Certificate and had no reply and would resend a Certificate if I would write to them with my NI number and current address.

They told my daughter the same, plus call volume is high and keep calling....and to contact me to let me know they will only accept mail-in Certificates and will send me a email PDF as soon as I contact them.

DWP said they will send me a PDF to print and send in no later than this coming Monday
Wether that is true or not remains to be seen.

I went to a site about the USD/GBP exchange rates and currently it is low and dropping.
August 2014 it was 1.71 to the pound. Now it's 1.58. I estimate that if they (DWP.) don't remit at the exchange rate that was on the 28th of each month as per normal. I'm going to be loosing an average of 15 to 10 cents on the dollar..... and on $4200.00 as of March 2015 that's too much.

Maybe some of you math experts might post the actual loss over August 2014 to March 2015. I believe my UK amount is around 400 pounds a month.

My last cheque in July 2014 was $714.00.

Corrections continued....CITIBANK is used by UK.GOV to forward the dollar amount to us US residing ex-pats claiming pensions. I do not have an account with them. My account is with a local bank for the last 25 years and my mailing address is unchanged for 25 years. It is a P.O Box in the local post office ...secure and keyed.

If you are needing to call DWP from USA or Canada...expect to get frustrated. The person answering the call will not commit to anything other than your NI number and when you left the UK and email address. I guess they have a script to follow.

Just enter +44 191 21 87 77 or 011 44 191 21 87 77 and keep pressing the redial button if you hear anything other than a voice from DWP. It is a menu you will hear first of all.
I think I pressed 1....but listen carefully . They have a another number if you have hearing problems.

regards

dk




.....

LondonSquirrel

My husband's mom calls us in the UK all the time and gets through first time no problem. Don't know what company you are using for the calls, but myself I've never had a problem calling the UK from the USA or calling the USA from the UK.

The bank account problem was just a suggestion. You were asking for (free) help so some of us took time out to offer ideas. No need to gloat that idea was wrong.

The life certificate idea did turn out to be right. So we didn't do too badly at trying to help.

I must admit that if I were you, the first thing I would say is thank you.

The DWP may have spoken to your relatives but it was not an unusual assumption that they would likely not speak to anyone but yourself. I know in my job in payroll, we won't speak to anyone except the employee about their pay, unless they officially give permission. I guess with UK Pensions, they are used to people in very far-flung places having trouble getting into contact which is why they will speak to the family about it.

mikelincs

Yres, but the contact with other people was just to say that they had sent a life certificate, and would send them one in the post to forward, at no time did they discus the problem or say OK we will start paying. It still boils down to the OP not checking his bank account and not noticing for 7 months that the payments had stopped.

dkveuro

Both of my calls to my ex and my daughter in the UK where answered immediately using the same cell phone..

My phone company is AT&T cellular.

I have already offered my thanks to those who posted help in previous posts..

As far as 'free' is concerned, I thought this was a voluntary site where members post links or volunteered first hand information about problems the OP of that thread was having.. Do you also post to those who are asking about their immigration visas....which generally need professional expert interpretation, they should be grateful for 'free' advice. ?

An 'assumption' is not fact. I have posted 'facts' as I know them..

Giving information to someone other than the applicant is obviously not supposed to happen but, telling a caller how best the applicant can go about getting information is not disseminating personal information.

You sound like my second ex...your name Dale by any chance?

regards

dk

.

dkveuro

...........and finally I am sending my heart felt thanks to those of you who offered advice.

I understand posts can and do often not reflect the tone in which it is meant and if anyone feels offended by my post/s please accept my profound apologies. At no time do i ever wish to offend in any way. This week has been fraut with stress and for that reason alone you may have felt stung by my post/s....in which case my apologies.


regards

dk

mikelincs

People on here do give advice on immigration, in all the different country forums. Some of those posting ARE immigration professionals, others have gone through the immigration process. Many of them are only giving advice that could be easily found out if the asker used the BE Wiki, or may well be to point out that what the poster wishes to do is eother illegal or very suspect. Giving advice to the person in the UK who has 5 GCSEs and wants to get on a plane with his/her ESTA, find a job, buy a house in the US will save a lot of problems and money.

Pulaski

I'm calling BS on you calling BS. I call my mother an average of maybe once a week and I can't recall the last time it didn't connect. In fact I'd like to say in 13 years it has never happened, but it it might have, but it would be very rare. I certainly can't remember the last time a call to the UK didn't connect. If you think I am getting through because I have won a lottery then I wish winning the lottery was as easy!

And FWIW it's worth I call fairly often during the week, mornings and afternoons East Coast time, as well as on the weekend.
So you're calling on your cell phone? ..... It is far more likely IMO that the capacity issue is in your local cell transmitter - receiver than in the transatlantic fibre-optic phone cable. The phone companies are forever adding cells/ cell towers as use of cell phones grows and grows.

BTW I hope you're using a "calling service" such as onesuite.com. I call my mother from my cell phone and it costs me only 1c(ish) per minute over the cost of "cell minutes" to call the UK. ...... And for me cell minutes are effectively "free" because I only use a tiny fraction of the minutes each month and so most of my minutes are lost 12 months after I purchased them.

Mallory

All the numbers you quoted have 9 numbers to them. All the numbers I use to call the UK have 10 numbers (after the 44, and leaving off the 0)?

Pulaski

I was thinking the same thing.