A Glasgow man has had a Universal Credit sanction overturned after he reached out to his MP.
The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, contacted the DWP in September after he received the penalty to ask for it to be reviewed.
He missed a single Job Centre meeting after he slept in due to his late night preparations for an interview before.
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The man contacted the DWP one hour after the missed appointment and offered to attend later in the day however he received no response.
The agency imposed a penalty in the form of £11 a day over the course of 25 days, totalling £275.
Dialogue between Glasgow Central MP Alison Thewliss and the DWP the sanction was lifted and the original amount paid was received.
The relieved man said: “I am so delighted to have had this Universal Credit sanction overturned. This situation has been extremely stressful, and I am so relieved to be able to receive this money.
“After leaving university, it has been difficult enough trying to pay the rent without sanctions such as these being put upon me.
“The difficult thing for me was knowing the work and effort I was putting in to try and get a job and having all this work thrown right back in my face by an unfair sanction made the situation even worse.
“Alison and her team made the process of getting this sanction overturned as stress-free as it possibly could be, and I can’t thank them enough for this.
“I hope that others who might be in a similar situation will be able to see that there is hope and I would urge anyone to contact their local MP if they are experiencing issues of their own.”
SNP MP Alison Thewliss added: “When the constituent first approached my office, it was clear that the sanction imposed upon him was extremely unfair.
“My team were able to contact the DWP and received a response advising that, as expected the constituent would receive the original amount.
"If constituents have been sanctioned and feel this is unfair, they are entitled to ask the decision is looked at again. This is known as a Mandatory Reconsideration.
“Frustratingly, this very small issue caused the DWP to react disproportionately – I am glad they have accepted this was wrong.
“I also want to give a huge thanks to the constituent, who has been so patient during all of this. I can imagine this would have been a distressing time for him, and I’m so glad he was able to have the sanction overturned and receive the money he was rightfully owed.
“My team are always available for constituents to contact us, not only on DWP issues, and I urge anyone to do so on any matter during this difficult cost-of-living crisis.”
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