Claimant / Appointee RLS Annual Declaration (Info)
There is an Action Guide for this subject, click on 'Next Page' to access it
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
- Returned Letter Service ( RLS)
Notes:
- Items marked Dead Letter Office ( DLO) will be treated in the same way as items marked RLS
- Items may be returned undelivered if the address is overseas and the country has not been included in the address
You will be aware that an address is RLS because
- The Annual Declaration form is returned for reason RLS
Or
- A Work List item has been created on the 'Household RLS' Work List because the Annual Declaration form was not issued due to the claimant’s address being RLS
Where the address is RLS and the Annual Declaration is selected for issue an entry is created on the 'Household RLS' Work List. In these cases the computer cancels any direct payments
When an item is returned RLS, you must check if any of the following signals have been set
- 'SCO'
- 'Compliance'
- 'Claim Under Enquiry'
- 'Inhibited'
If they have, you must contact the Claimant Compliance Officer (CCO) to
- Tell them that an item has been returned RLS
And
- Provide them with the new address details if you obtain them. This is in case they have already sent manual correspondence to the RLS address
Annual Declaration RLS
When the Royal Mail is unable to deliver to an address and the address cannot be identified, you must
- Set an RLS signal on the computer against the claimant’s address. This will highlight that a problem exists with delivering correspondence to the address
- Try to obtain new address details, so that the correspondence can be re-issued
- Check the Access to DWP Data (ADD) system. If you cannot find the new address, telephone the claimant, follow the guidance in Contacting The Claimant
And, when new address details are obtained
- Change the address details already on the computer with the new ones to ensure that future correspondence is issued to the correct address. Once the address is amended, you must remove the RLS signal and a new Annual Declaration will be issued to the claimant
If an Annual Declaration is issued and is returned RLS and a new address cannot be obtained, you must set an action date on the computer
Note: If the claimant provides the correct address at a later date, the payments will be automatically re-instated
For more information, follow the guidance in
