Warning on benefit payments as government contract for postcard accounts comes to an end
Lanarkshire residents who receive DWP or HMRC payments to a postcard account risk losing access to their money from December.
The Post Office Card (POCa) account has been a way for benefit seekers to get their money back since 2003 and was introduced to provide a “simple†banking facility for those who do not have access to regular bank accounts.
However, the UK government’s contract with the Post for this service will end on November 30, which means a phase-out of the services is almost complete.
The option will no longer be available from December 1.
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At its peak, around 900,000 people across the UK were using the Post Office to collect payments, but over the past three years, the DWP and HMRC have written to applicants and urged them to charge for the benefits. and pensions directly to a bank account.
HMRC recently warned tax credit applicants that the POCa deadline is approaching and urged its customers to use the renewal pack to enter updated payment information, including an account change, such as bank details.
The POCa service closed to new applicants for DWP benefits, including people who had reached state retirement age and were eligible to apply, on May 11 of this year.
After November, your benefits or state pension payments won’t stop and your payment dates won’t change.
The only change is that you will no longer be able to use a postcard account to withdraw your money.
If you still use a POCa to recover all benefit from DWP or HMRC, you should open a bank account as soon as possible and notify the relevant department of the change in payment information.
People can find out more about the letter you will receive and the action you need to take here.
You can also contact the post office contact center on 0345 722 3344.
