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UK: Capita seeks to reverse 'reputational damage' after death of (agoraphobia & fibro) claimant (from brain haemorrhage)

Discussion in ''Conditions related to ME/CFS' news and research' started by MeSci, Aug 6, 2019.

  1. MeSci

    MeSci Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Capita seeks to reverse 'reputational damage' after death of claimant

    By Michael Buchanan

    Social affairs correspondent, BBC News

    Benefit-assessment company Capita is going to court to try to reverse the "reputational damage" it says it suffered after a claimant died.

    Victoria Smith died months after her personal independence payments were stopped following a Capita assessment.

    The outsourcing company was ordered to pay £10,000 in damages over its handling of her disability claim.

    It was found to have made incorrect statements but wants the county court verdict set aside and the case reheard.

    More at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49208240
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 6, 2019
    JaneL, Sly Saint, Yessica and 13 others like this.
  2. Lisa108

    Lisa108 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Capita PR guys meeting: "Wonder how we could present our company as even more incompetent and greedy..."
     
    JaneL, alktipping, Louie41 and 13 others like this.
  3. James Morris-Lent

    James Morris-Lent Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Can someone explain what Capita is? I tried to look it up but I don't get it.
     
    Louie41, Annamaria and Skycloud like this.
  4. Skycloud

    Skycloud Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Capita are a private company who are under contract to assess claims for state social security benefits (“welfare”) by the UK government on their behalf. That’s basically it, and that’s why Capita were taken to court and not the government, if that’s what you were wondering?
     
    JaneL, alktipping, Louie41 and 7 others like this.
  5. chrisb

    chrisb Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    If they cannot employ people to open the post and read a County Court summons informing them that judgment may be entered in default of appearance or defence, it is hardly surprising that they do not employ people capable of complex decision making.

    They certainly know how to go about restoring their reputation...or, perhaps, confirming it.
     
    JaneL, alktipping, Louie41 and 8 others like this.
  6. James Morris-Lent

    James Morris-Lent Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    I see, that makes sense, thank you. Well, the reality doesn't seem to make much sense, but your answer does.

    What's confusing me when trying to read about it is that they seem to do... everything? Not just welfare/healthcare - like it's sort of a privatized comprehensive bureaucracy that the state contracts? Is that accurate? I know that goes beyond discussion of their direct impact on illness/disability, but it's striking to me - probably because our whole system functions differently in the USA, so I can't think of any analogous corporation.
     
    JaneL, alktipping, Louie41 and 4 others like this.
  7. NelliePledge

    NelliePledge Moderator Staff Member

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  8. Skycloud

    Skycloud Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Since the govt first decided to outsource in this way (it’s been both Labour Party and Conservative party policy) large companies with many fingers in many pies have risen up. There is a lot of money to be made from government contracts on terms that can be unduly favourable to the company. G4S is another such company; they famously bungled the aspects of security that were their responsibility the UK Olympics.

    I would say more but shhhh!! politics!! :speechless:
     
    JaneL, alktipping, Louie41 and 10 others like this.
  9. feeb

    feeb Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Location:
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    Yes. They're notorious for doing it all equally badly, too. Private Eye magazine doesn't call them "Crapita" for nothing!

    That wikipedia page @Nellie posted is incredible. It's just a litany of failures, but successive governments have been addicted to throwing money at them hand over fist.

    Edit: even the BBC article has this in it:

    "We're so incompetent that we don't even have a functioning email system, so we can't possibly be blamed for our incompetence in the benefits assessments we do that are killing people". Unbelievable.
     
    JaneL, Sarah94, alktipping and 16 others like this.
  10. Sly Saint

    Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    see also Maximus and Atos
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_Capability_Assessment
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Independence_Payment

    DWP figures show PIP complaints against Atos and Capita continue to rise
    June 27 2019
    https://www.disabilitynewsservice.c...nts-against-atos-and-capita-continue-to-rise/

    eta:
    Capita also got the contract to fit ankle-tags for released prisoners.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2019
    JaneL, alktipping, Louie41 and 10 others like this.
  11. NelliePledge

    NelliePledge Moderator Staff Member

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    I hope they get shredded by the lawyers
     
    JaneL, alktipping, Louie41 and 11 others like this.
  12. Peter Trewhitt

    Peter Trewhitt Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    It makes sense if you think of them as companies that developed specifically to make the most of government contracts, rather than companies the grew out of work in one particular field or with a specific service area.

    There is some evidence that they had a specific brief to reduce the number of people on benefit, and that staff even had quotas towards achieving this.
     
    JaneL, alktipping, SallyC and 12 others like this.
  13. NelliePledge

    NelliePledge Moderator Staff Member

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    During the 80s & 90s there was a big emphasis on reducing the size of the public sector bureaucracy- all these companies developed to provide the private sector bureaucracy that enabled government ministers to achieve that. Examples like Capita 4G etc demonstrate that private sector bureaucracy is no more effective than public sector bureaucracy - which anyone who has had any dealings with a bank or insurance company is fully aware of already.

    ETA - I declare an interest as I am a retired public sector worker who has recently had dealings with the bureaucracy of a bank and an insurance company as well as DWP.
     
    JaneL, alktipping, SallyC and 10 others like this.
  14. ukxmrv

    ukxmrv Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    It sounds like they want to judgement put aside

    https://www.gov.uk/county-court-judgments-ccj-for-debt/if-you-dont-owe-the-money

    "You can do this if you did not receive, or did not respond to, the original claim from the court saying you owed the money."

    I've taken people to the small claims court in the county court system and someone tried to use this defense before. The court was scathing about it at the new hearing.
     
    JaneL, alktipping, Louie41 and 5 others like this.
  15. DokaGirl

    DokaGirl Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    @Peter Trewhitt

    I agree that there very likely is a plan to reduce claimants. Tragically, these systems often see the ends justify the means. Company bonuses for cutting off the sick and disabled are the end goals.
     
  16. alktipping

    alktipping Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    I see it as the government preferring to give taxpayers money to parasitic industries rather than have a meaningful welfare system . or to create a welfare system so full of holes that those who can afford it will foolishly pay insurance companies for income protection plans as well as health care plans after all you do not often see front page news of insurance companies flatly and fraudulently refusing to pay out on their policies which have more get out clause in the small print than actual policy .
     
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  17. Esther12

    Esther12 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    This whole story is really grim. The UK is a bit crap.
     
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  18. Annamaria

    Annamaria Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    No, the insurance companies keep off the front pages by using non-disclosure agreements in cases where they do actually make a settlement.
     
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  19. Annamaria

    Annamaria Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Just a bit??
     
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  20. Sarah94

    Sarah94 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    To be fair, I don't see how this woman's death from a brain haemorrhage can be Capita's fault.
     

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