Compensation Recovery Unit
The Compensation Recovery Unit recovers social security benefits in certain compensation cases and NHS costs in certain injury cases.
The Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU), as part of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), works with insurance companies, solicitors and any DWP customers, to recover:
- amounts of social security benefits paid as a result of an accident, injury or disease, if a compensation payment has been made (the Compensation Recovery Scheme)
- costs incurred by NHS hospitals and Ambulance Trusts for treatment from injuries from road traffic accidents and personal injury claims (Recovery of NHS Charges)
On this page
- Registering a compensation claim
- CRU e-service
- Contact CRU
- How to make a CRU payment
- Guidance and forms
- Bulletins
- Performance
- If you’ve claimed compensation
Registering a compensation claim
Compensators who receive a claim for compensation must send form CRU1 to the CRU within 14 days to register the claim. Registering the claim does not mean that you have accepted liability for the accident, injury or disease.
Please include a National Insurance number on form CRU1 to help us:
- decide if there are any recoverable benefits
- deal with urgent certificate requests
Go to CRU forms.
Acknowledgement of your registration
We will send you an acknowledgement form when you register a claim. You will need to return this acknowledgement form to us when you apply for a certificate.
Transfer of responsibility
If you are a solicitor who has taken over responsibility for a case that has already been registered, please send us form CRU1 (Sol). If you subsequently return responsibility to the insurer, please send us form CRU1 (Rep).
CRU e-service
You can use the CRU e-service if your company cannot use any of the following services:
- CRIF (Cache PI)
- Experian (Claims Underwriting Exchange (CUE))
- Insurance Services Office (ISO – Claims Outcome Adviser)
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
Please do not use the CRU e-service if your company already has another electronic link with CRU.
Go to the Compensation Recovery Unit e-service.
How it works
Compensators and their representatives can use the CRU e-service to:
- request a certificate for a claim that has already been registered
- notify the result of a claim that has already been registered
- check a previous e-service transaction
We will issue a certificate by post to the address we hold for the compensator within 28 days of receiving the request.
Contact the CRU e-service
If you have any questions about the CRU e-service, email us at cru.udt@dwp.gov.uk
How to make a CRU payment
You’ll be asked to make payments to the DWP CRU once the claim is settled.
DWP CRU bank account to be used for payments
| Account name | Sort code | Account number |
|---|---|---|
| DWP CRU | 60 70 80 | 10027432 |
Email addresses for remittances
Please provide the CRU reference when you email a remittance slip to the CRU to tell us a payment is being made. Or you can provide the CRU reference with the payment.
Email address to be used to send remittances to is CRU.Banking@dwp.gov.uk.
Contact CRU
If you wish to contact us, use the phone number shown on the letter you have received from us. Alternatively you can email or write to us.
If you have a speech or hearing impairment our office has the Text Relay facility. The Text Relay number will be at the top of any letter we send you. The Text Relay number will be 18001 followed by the phone number.
Video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users - check you can use the service.
Contacts for claims that have been registered
| Subject | |
|---|---|
| Request certificate | cru.highvolumeareacertificates@dwp.gov.uk |
| Notify settlement | cru.highvolumeareasettlements@dwp.gov.uk |
| Personal injury claims | cru.assessmentsA-Z@dwp.gov.uk |
| Disease claims | cru.specialistoperations@dwp.gov.uk |
| Clinical negligence claims | cru.clinicalnegligence@dwp.gov.uk |
| NHS cases | cru.nhsops@dwp.gov.uk |
| Reviews | cru.reviews@dwp.gov.uk |
| Dispute resolution team and reviews | cru.appeals1@dwp.gov.uk |
| National recoupment team | recoupment.CRU@dwp.gov.uk |
Customer feedback team
| Subject | |
|---|---|
| Feedback on guidance and legislation | CRU.CustomerFeedback@dwp.gov.uk |
Freedom of Information
If you have a request under the Freedom of Information Act that is specific to CRU, email cru.foi@dwp.gov.uk.
Our address
Debt Centre Washington
Compensation Recovery Unit
Post Handling Site B
Wolverhampton
WV99 2FR
Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
See the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
Compensation Recovery in Northern Ireland
Guidance and forms
Guidance and forms for compensators and their representatives.
Bulletins
Information for CRU customers including compensators, their representatives and personal injury claims managers.
Performance
CRU publishes data on its performance and on recoveries under the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme.
- Compensation Recovery Unit customer satisfaction survey 2019
- Compensation Recovery Unit customer satisfaction survey 2018
- Compensation Recovery Unit customer satisfaction survey 2017
- Compensation Recovery Unit customer satisfaction survey 2014
- Compensation Recovery Unit performance data
- Recovery data for the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme
- Compensation Recovery Unit customer satisfaction survey 2011
If you've claimed compensation
These guides are for people who have claimed compensation.
Last updated 15 June 2020 + show all updates
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Added a link to the Video Relay Service (VRS).
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The quickest way to contact the Compensation Recovery Unit during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is by email or post. Phone numbers have been removed to reflect this.
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Added the Compensation Recovery Unit customer satisfaction survey 2019.
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Added the Compensation Recovery Unit customer satisfaction survey 2018.
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Revised contact CRU phone numbers for: contacts for claims that have been registered, customer feedback team and right of access requests. Changed made to CRU address, too.
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Removed Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) Customer Service Managers contact information due to restructuring to our debt centre. New contact information will be added at a later date.
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Updated CRU contacts for Customer service managers for disease, assessments customer service managers and Universal Credit.
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Compensation Recovery Unit customer satisfaction survey 2018 added to the collection.
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Revised Contact CRU, Customer service managers by removing 'Compensation and personal injury cases' section and adding contact to 'Assessments customer service manager' list.
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Updated customer service manager information.
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Compensation Recovery Unit have been having problems with electronic files since Monday, 1 July 2018. We are working to fix the problem and will let you know when we have. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
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Changed fax number for CRU Clinical negligence claims to 0191 225 2645.
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Revised CRU contact information for Customer Service Managers (Disease, Universal Credit and Customer feedback team manager).
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Revised CRU contact information for 'Dispute resolution team and reviews'.
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Revised CRU contact information for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.
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Changed 'DWP CRU bank account to be used for payments' details.
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Updated Customer Service Manager for diseases and added contact for Universal Credit.
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Revised Data Protection phone number to: 0191 225 2547.
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Added new CRU email address for Clinical Negligence.
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Added a note stating the CRU e-service will be unavailable from 8pm on Friday 9 December to 3:05am on Saturday 10 December.
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Updated Customer Service Manager (compensation and personal injury cases and customer feedback team manager) and data protection contact details.
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Added new CRU email address for Freedom of Information requests.
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Changed Data protection and Freedom of Information phone number
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CRU customer feedback team telephone number changed to: 019 225 2347.
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Updated Contact CRU 'Customer Service Managers' - NHS and Clinical Negligence and Disease.
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Updated 'Contacts for claims that have been registered' - NHS cases and 'Customer Service Manager' - NHS cases.
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Added new CRU postal address.
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Changes to Customer Service Managers.
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Added section: How to make a CRU payment.
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Added contact email address for notifying CRU settlements.
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Published a report of findings from the 2014 customer satisfaction survey.
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First published.