Home > Publications > Selected cases — Parliamentary > Selected Cases and Summaries of Completed Investigations - October 1998 - March 1999 > C.682/96
Sixth Report Session 1998-99
Volume 2
OCTOBER 1998 - MARCH 1999
The full report of selected cases
Summary of selected cases
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY
Misleading information about eligibility for medical cover while living abroad
Mr H made enquiries of the Department of Social Security (DSS) about medical cover, both before and after moving to live in Spain in March 1987. DSS dealt poorly with his enquiries, giving him incomplete information in a letter of 30 January 1987 and incorrect information in letters of 18 May and 19 July 1988. Their omission of important information from their letter of 30 January 1987 was not crucial because a leaflet which they sent at the same time contained all that Mr H needed to know; but the incorrect information given to him in 1988 stopped him from making a successful claim to sickness/invalidity benefit which he otherwise would have made and which would have conferred entitlement to medical cover. After the Ombudsman's intervention, DSS awarded Mr H an ex gratia payment of £35,648.74 to replace his lost statutory entitlement to benefit, and an ex gratia payment of £3,901.98 to meet the cost of medical insurance which he had incurred, plus interest on that sum of £909.86. DSS undertook also to pay interest on the sum of £35,648.74 which, once calculated, was likely to amount to between £9,500 and £10,000. In addition DSS undertook either to award Class 1 national insurance credits to Mr H in respect of the period from 21 March 1988 to 9 October 1996 (the period of lost statutory entitlement to benefit) and to refund, with interest, the Class 3 (voluntary) contributions which he had paid for that period; or to reimburse him the cost of the Class 3 contributions with compensation for the loss of use of the money. Back to top
Previous < Contents > Next
Full text of this investigation
|
