RLS Items (Info)
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When the Royal Mail is unable to deliver a notice or an item of correspondence to an address, they will return it and provide a reason for not being able to deliver it. The undelivered item will be returned because the address is
- Illegible
Or
Note: Items marked DLO will be treated in the same way as items marked RLS
The post room staff will then firmly attach the envelope to the returned correspondence before forwarding it on to the relevant section.
Illegible addresses
Where the address is illegible, the returned item should be
- Correctly addressed and reissued
RLS items
When the Royal Mail is unable to deliver to an address, an RLS signal must be set on the computer against the claimant’s address. This will highlight that a problem exists with delivering to the address. If possible, new address details should be sought using the Access to DWP Data (ADD) system, in order to reissue the correspondence.
When a new address is obtained for a claim which is pre award or post award, the details must be recorded on the computer to ensure that future correspondence is issued to the correct address. Once the address is amended you will have to manually remove the RLS signal.
Note: You must not amend the address or insert a note in Application Notes on a Rejected or Withdrawn claim as this will resurrect the claim
If new address details cannot be traced on ADD or by telephoning the claimant, the correspondence must be discarded in confidential waste.
If you set the RLS signal after an award notice was issued
- The reminder notice will be inhibited
And
- A work item will be created on the ‘Household RLS’ Work List
If you want to issue a reminder notice after the RLS signal has been set you must do so manually. Follow the guidance in Issuing A Manual Notice
Note: For award and decision (rejection) notices where the claimant has not received the original notice you must issue a duplicate notice. This will restart the award reminder cycle for unsigned award notices
