The complaint
Thomas and his daughter Charlotte complained that the Windrush Compensation Scheme had not properly addressed their claims for losses suffered as a result of the Windrush scandal. Nor had they addressed the claim of Thomas's late wife Caroline.
Background
71-year-old Thomas was seven when he came to the UK from St Lucia in 1960. He married Caroline, a British citizen, in 1975.
After working for over 40 years, Thomas was made redundant in June 2017. He was unable to start a new job as he did not have documentation to prove he could live and work in the UK. He was forced to live on his savings and cash in his private pension, worth around £14,000.
Following the Windrush scandal, Thomas was granted the right to live and work in the UK and returned to work in 2018. Within a few weeks, his wife Caroline was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer and later a brain tumour.
In July 2019 Thomas made a claim to the Scheme for loss of access to employment and the impact this had on his life. After several reviews, he accepted an offer in January 2021.
Caroline, then 64, applied for compensation in August 2021 when she had around six months to live. The Scheme fast-tracked her claim so she could sort out her affairs, including her funeral. But it did not look at all the evidence she gave them.
Caroline passed away in November 2021 before her claim was settled, and Thomas accepted a revised offer a month after her death. The Scheme then contacted the family seeking detailed financial information for an urgent payment to cover funeral costs, causing unnecessary and avoidable stress.
What we found
We upheld this complaint. We found that the Scheme did not handle Thomas's claim properly. It also failed to properly consider its decision to leave out his private pension loss.
The Scheme's decisions and communication about pensions were confusing and inconsistent. Thomas did not get the compensation he was owed. The lengthy review process caused Thomas and Caroline to suffer financial hardship for longer than they should have.
For Caroline's claim, we found the Scheme did not properly consider the evidence she had provided. The Scheme also mishandled communication about a funeral costs payment and did so insensitively. Failings in the way the Home Office handled the complaint compounded the family's distress and meant they missed out on precious time with Caroline ahead of her death.
This investigation follows our 2024 report which found that in some cases the Scheme was making wrong decisions and withholding payments. This included wrongly telling people they were not eligible for compensation and not looking at all the evidence provided.
Putting it right
We recommended that the Scheme:
- apologise to Thomas and Charlotte
- review its complaint handling and communication
- reconsider its decision to exclude compensation for Thomas's pension loss.
The Home Office agreed to comply with our recommendations. Thomas and Charlotte received £25,000 between them.
The Home Office also said it would review its decision to exclude private pension losses from claims more widely. This could mean others are entitled to more compensation.