Hi all, I wrote a book last year and it was picked up by a publisher and was published in February of this year 2014 and has been doing pretty well, it is available worldwide. I run a Facebook page which went crazy popular and it has now got over 100,000 likes. I was approached by a publisher to write a book on the subject of Wicca which I did. I have been on benefits since being made redundant last March 2013. When my book was published I had a case worker who I saw regularly to help me get back into work and I asked her about the book and what I need to do and she said I shouldn't worry it is more a case of paying tax on it at the end of the year as long as my savings or earnings don't go past £6000. Well the book hasn't made £6000 yet I get a monthly payment from the publishers for royalties of the sales and e-book sales, it started out as about £600 but has now whittled down to about £250 a month. I am also on a work program called A4E which everyone knows about the book I even took a signed copy in for one of the advisers as she was interested in Wicca. I have always been totally open about the book with both the dole and A4E. I often told the person signing me on I had a book and they would say 'Oh good for you I will look it up' and nothing more said. Now I have been sent a Customer Compliance Interview letter and it has got me a bit worried. Also I have lived with a guy for about 20 years, just a joint tenant he is one of my oldest friends and neither can afford a place of our own, so we share. It has been brought up time and time again if we are living together as partners and after house visits they have been satisfied we are not partners. I am gay and he is straight. But he does not have a bank account so gets his wages or benefits or whatever money put into my account as it makes it easier because the rent and most house hold bills are paid direct debit from my account. I am worried as the Customer Compliance wants to see my bank statements that it will bring up the old are you living together as partners and especially with him using my bank account they may not believe we are not partners. I am very worried over this whole thing and don't know where I stand legally. Can I just not go to the interview and sign off if I can find a job quickly?

Hi, I just wondered whether anybody can help me with this. I am in the Support Group of ESA and I am also in receipt of both the care component and mobility component of PIP. I received a letter today from my local job centre saying I have to attend a work-focused interview with a view to helping me back into employment. I telephoned them to ask what it was for and why I was being called in for a work-focused interview whilst in the Support Group and they said it is because there is a new advisor at the job centre and she is calling people in “for a chat, just to get to know them”. As far as I’m aware the DWP don’t call you in for a chat, just to get to know you. I’m really worried now that they’re going to try to force me into work or sanction me because I’m not capable of working. They said on the phone I had to attend or it will affect my benefits. Anybody any ideas why this might have happened and what I can do about it?

I have just been for my first Jobcentre Plus interview this week .Transferring from ESA to JSA.I can only describe it as "like being strip searched at an airport !" Well done JobcentrePlus West Derby Liverpool.

Hi all, My sister attended her interview today with he DWP compliance officer. They wanted to see her because she negligently failed to inform them of her savings when she claimed benefits. I honestly think she's losing her mind because she keeps forgetting things and lands herself in trouble. She has zero understanding of the benefit rules (I'm no expert) and never knew how much savings or capital one is allowed to have before qualifying for benefits. She has worked her whole life apart from this 16 months. Anyway, the DWP want full bank statements during the period she was on benefits, theres's definitely been an overpayment. She claimed for around 16 months. She's now told me she will refuse to bring bank statements and will voluntarily offer to repay all the benefits she's received. Is this even possible ? She is now working and just wants to get on with life. She's worried they will take her to court so she just want to repay everything rather than stress. What do you guys think? Can she just offer to repay everything to make the DWP go away? She doesn't know the full amount but given her high rent , income support etc, I'm assuming it's around £17K. The whole family is stressing about this as we are worried about her wellbeing. Many thanks for any imput.

Hi all, hope you can help. My sister has been invited to attend an interview with a compliance officer at the Jobcentre. I rang them on her behalf and was advised this was due to undeclared capital but they would not give me the full details. When she claimed Income Support, she forgot to mention some money in her account, over £6k and I can imagine this is the reason for the interview. She is really worried and is feeling suicidal. She has never broken the law and this was definitely not intentional given her mental state. This is the worst thing that could ever happen to her as she has suffered from years of depression and anxiety ( she is still taking anti depressants ) and has just gone back to work and signed off benefits. She also has children with special educational needs and is worried if they will be taken away and so on. My question is, if she offers immediate repayment of any overpayment, will they still take her to court ?. She is in pieces and is even considering leaving her job. Also , how is this type of interview conducted, is it the same as an Interview under caution? . I am working and not able to go with her at the interview and am worried she will have a breakdown as she can't stop crying. Any advice would be really appreciated, many thanks. Liyanne

Dear all, In mid-May I was stopped by an inspector after touching into a station and was caught using my friend’s 18+ oyster which has a monthly travel card on, I initially remained quiet because I thought I was under arrest. The inspector then threatened me if I kept quiet she will call the police and the police will ask me the questions, I did not know if she has the right to do so but I flustered upon hearing possible police intervention and obeyed. She then took her notebook out and asked me a series of questions, while another guy went to get the oyster history printout of both oyster cards she found in my holder (I was carrying my friend’s oyster and my old photocard which I kept as souvenir after its expiry). She also got another lady to take my address and call someone else up to check the validity of my address. I cooperated and answered all her questions honestly, however I received rather racist comments during the interview which obviously was not recorded in her notes. At the end of interview she pulled out a small rectangular yellow card and read the words out to me, it was along the line of “you are not under arrest and you do not have to stay with me”. I am certain about the “you do not have to stay with me” part because I clearly remember feeling very confused. She then added a question to her notebook and asked me “I read these words out to you [motion towards yellow card], yes or no?”, to which I said “yes” because, well, she did. She read her notes out and asked me to sign at the bottom, in her notes she said I deliberately tried to hide my friend’s oyster by giving her my old oyster first, which does not match the facts because she opened my oyster holder herself (without my permission!) and found my friend’s oyster before I took my old oyster out. By no means was I trying to hide anything so I immediately disagreed with her, and she changed her notes into a neutral statement of me presenting her with two oysters. However when I got the prosecution letter earlier this week, the statement of facts clearly says I initially showed my old oyster and before presenting my friend’s oyster when being asked. The typed version of notes from her notebook, which does not have my signature, also incorrectly says she cautioned me before asking me any questions. Apart from this she also changed my answer to one of her questions, from “my friend bought it (the pass)” to “I asked my friend to buy it (the monthly travelcard) for me”. I am very very worried now, what could/should I do? If I write to them to ask for settlement out of court, would this indirectly means I agree with the evidences? If I do so and they do not accept my offer of settling out of court, would I still be able to choose to plead not guilty and would the letter I wrote make any difference to the trial? Would the omission of caution make any difference to the validity to the statement? If I knew I did not have to stay with the inspector before answering any questions at the very least I would have kept my mouth shut! I have read through a lot of threads on this forum but don’t seem to find a similar case, thank you very much for everyone’s patience and time to read my entire post up to here. Any help would be gratefully appreciated, thank you very much in advance!

Anyone know what these are all about. I signed on wed saw work coach advisor where i switched the to new work plan booklet, and was made an apportment to see a esf families provision advisor next straight after next signing. Did not sound like anything to worry about but thought i see if any knew what its all about. Thanks

Afternoon all Well, I have landed myself an interview for a job I really want - it is this Friday at 11.00am and I have been short listed with four other people. I have to do a presentation BUT not sure on what yet, I am told when I get there and it will be for 10 minutes and then a 30 minute interview. Generally I am a confident person in interviews but the nerves are kicking in already because it has been so long since I have had an interview and it is worse because I really want the job. Not done any prep yet as don't want to drive myself mad with worry so will do some tomorrow and on Thursday i.e. mission statement, bit about the organisation etc. I think the most scary part is I am anxious because I want to get off this JSA regime and off benefits so don't want to come across as desperate. Just made sure my suit still fits and it does, phew! I suppose whatever happens it is experience - I either come out thinking I have done OK or bang my head against the wall wondering why I totally blew it! Arrrghhhhh!

Have been on ESA in the WRAG for a few months now with depression/anxiety. Still not good at all but battling with it making sure I do the therapy, take the drugs and go to my WFIs. I've been really stressed for a week or so as I have my next WFI tomorrow and now to top it off I got a letter today telling me I have to go to a Compliance interview next week too. Does this mean someone's accused me of doing something wrong? This is all just getting too much.

Hi, can someone help with this please/ I got a letter today from DWP asking for me to go to a interview because my circumstances may have changed and to ensure my payments are correct. It goes on to say I agreed to tell them immediately if the circumstances relating to my benefit entitlement changed, IT HAS NOT! It then goes on to say an unreported change in circumstances any over payment will have to be paid back and further I may be liable for financial penalties . Anyone advise please TIA

Hi everyone, I have received a letter with an appointment for an Customer Compliance interview to take place next week. From what I have read there's nothing to worry about if I have nothing to hide, so I'm not worried and haven't even bothered with legal advice. I have collected/printed my bank statements and all the documentation they want to see already, all arranged in a folder ready for their perusal. My situation is quite straighforward, unlike some I've seen in other posts with partners and children involved, so I can't see there being any potential for complications in my case. I do have a concern, however: 1) I find it intrusive to my privacy for someone to comb through all my transactions and be able to see what I bought from where. I'd imagine they're more interested in seeing what goes in and how much money I have in total. No problem, it's all there black on white. I don't even have a problem with them seeing how much I spend, but I'm sure anyone who has nothing to hide still has normal card transactions that are intimate and personal. Am I being unreasonable in feeling which underwear shop I use and what subscriptions I have should really be private? Ultimately the answer I'm looking for is very specific, and nobody at the DWP seems to know the answer: Can I redact my statements so that they still show the balance and how much has gone in and been spent, but not necessarily the transaction details? I'm talking small amounts, nothing over a few dozen quid. Thanks in advance!

How far back are you actually required to show statements ( I've read both 4 months & 6 ) or does it vary on the person ? thanks, mike

Hello, This is my first post and I'm so grateful to have found this site and really hoping that someone may be able to help me. I have been asked to attend an Interview Under Caution on Monday and need to prepare myself. My story is that last year I was living in rented accommodation that I could no longer afford so was looking for a private tenancy for myself and young daughter. My neighbour who was a friend offered to rent me two bedrooms, a living room, bathroom and shared kitchen. I gladly accepted and moved in on the 1st March 2013. I was working 23 hours at the time and received WTC, CTC, CB and HB. I notified them of my move and completed a tenancy agreement with my local authority stating what I received for my rent etc. In October 2013, I left my job to pursue further training in which I am in the assessment stages and hope to be qualified and working by late Summer. I declared myself self-employed from 1st January 2014 and notified both HMRC and LA. The relationship between myself and my landlord developed over late last year and his divorce was finalised in December 2013. I have to attend the interview as they believe I am living with my partner. My question is, what defines a couple? I pay rent to him every month and I pay for everything with regards to my daughter, groceries, my debts, car etc myself. He does not support me in anyway financially. So what are we doing wrong in the eyes of the law?? I am so confused and unsure what they are going to ask and present to me as evidence?? Please help!

Hello People Got a compliance interview at the Job center tomorrow. Requesting ID and Bank statements. Now this is worrying me. Nothing i am aware of i have done wrong. I have claimed JSA for over 2 years now and in that time i have not been paid a penny, on any benefits. They tell me i am signing for my stamp. However i get letters from the DWP in Newcastle saying i owe them for stamps not paid (in the period i have signed.!!) I am married with two chilren 15 and 17 of which my wife works and this counteracts any payment i would get from DWP. So i sign every 2 weeks just for a stamp.!!? Now i am led to believe a compliance interview is a 1st step to confirm information before a interview under caution. Now I don't have a passport and don't have a driving license. Bank statement ok. If i am requested to get these do they pay the fee or does it come out of my pocket? If they have something to investigate surely i have nothing to pay back... ? I had also been on the work program which was useless and have only just come off that. Very confused and very stressed at this i can see why a lot of people get upset. Any advice please help. Thank you

Hi the physically and mentally disabled lady i care for has been called in for a customer compliance interview again. The last was 6 months ago. Received a text 2 weeks ago saying shes to attend the local jcp despite them being aware of her disabilities. We managed to postpone that one and emailed the area manager for jcp explaining the above and that also the interview fell the day after our 5yo was having heart surgery in Bristol. We also called the local number and the woman said a home visit or telephone interview will be arranged instead. However yesterday we receive another text telling the lady to attend an interview on Monday 14th April. So again we phone up and speak to the actual officer who was so rude and dismissive of her disabilities i couldnt believe a human could stoop so low. She was told she can bring someone with her but if she doesnt attend on monday her income support will be stopped. Can anyone please advise? I have searched the forum and seen of people having telephone interviews - indeed we've had a home visit in May 2011 - but this particular CC officer is refusing to do either. She said Income Support had asked them to call her in - however we called IS right away only to be told they had no issue whatsoever with the claim and nor had they asked CC to call her in. Is there guidlines or anything at all as the thought of leaving the house is literally terrifying to her one of her mental conditions is Agorphobia, and physically she would have to take so much of her morphene and diazepam to do the trip she'd be a virtual zombie. Any help very very much appreciated

Hey so today i got a letter from DWP titledcustomer compliance interview...I have no idea what this is about. My circumstancs have not changed however the letter indicates this. I had an appt on my last signing date...regular interview where i needed to bring in my passport,birth certificate, driving licence, bank statments and proof of bills if i pay any which i don't. I have seen several threads regarding his....are DWP doing random spot checks? Asi said nothing has changed in regards to my claim, though on that last appt on my bank statement he noticed a payment from Bedford Hospital however this was paid training/induction ready for when I begin employment with them however this is going to be some time away. When i explained this he seemed OK with the answer I gave and didn't question further. Secondly I have an ISA which again he notice on my statement when I was making transactions between my current and isa. I don't think at time of my claim I didn't mention the ISA, so could this be another reason? They know of it now as I gave proof of that ISA and that was that...no more questions asked of it, plus that ISA doesn't have much in it. Those are the only two things i can think of, however not many questions were asked. So it leads me to think its a random spot check cause i also got a call three weeks ago making sure my circumstances were the , following the call i got a letter to say I received the call and my claim has been updated. So...do I worry? Because I am!!!

Hello, Looking for some advise on a current situation. My wife is in the ESA support group. I have now been added on to the claim and a week later I've received a Work Focused Interview letter. I am my wifes carer although I do not claim carers allowance (i don't even know if I can). She gets the enhanced disability premium but I have no idea what that is with regards to if it enables me to claim carers allowance? The problem is I need to attend to my wife 24/7, everything from morning till night I do for my wife, exhausting sometimes but I do it because she is my wife and she is not well. My wife also received a letter saying I am to have the work focused interview and to consent yes/no by signature to discussing her benefits with me in order to calculate if we would be better off if I went into a paid job. I cannot undertake any work or even be away from home for more than an hour due to my wifes disabilities/illnesses. I've tried to keep this short and simple at the moment but if more info is needed I can go into it further. anyone advise? Thank you.

Hi I wonder if anyone can help in advising me? I had a WCA with atoz nearly 2 years ago. They failed me, benefits stopped, I appealed and won my tribunal on mental factors, then put on ESA (WRAG). Just had a letter from ATOZ calling me in for a second interview only this time face-to-face only (no physical exam). Does anyone know why this is? and as its face-to-face only is it still assessed on points gained? I still suffer with mental health problems and heavily medicated and Im worried how this will come over at the interview. Thanks

I picked up the attached reports about a jobcentre manager trying to stop a claimant being accompanied at an interview from the WDTK site, and wondered whether anyone had any experience of this type of disgraceful behaviour themselves:- http://edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk/ (27 02 2014) or, http://freepdfhosting.com/344a9e2b3f.pdf

I'm new here and am not too sure if this is the right section for this. I have been sent a letter from the DWP with a time and date when they will phone to carry out a Customer Compliance Interview over the phone. I've read on this site that these are generated by a computer and are unlikely to be specifically aim at me on suspicion that I've done something wrong. I've also read that they focus on your bank accounts etc but unless they have acquired these by some other means they are not going to have them to view at the interview. If anyone has had these prearranged interviews, over the phone, I would be interested to know what they actually ask. I have a speech impediment and suffer from depression and poor sleep patterns and I don't take even mild pressure at all well. This usually results in me being almost mute. I have also read that they don't familiarize themselves with the client's details (I have found in the past with other things this to be true) so having to convey my situation at the outset is going to be stressful. Can anyone advise on this?......and I hope I can find this when I return...

Hey all. Just had an appointment with my lovely WP (Sarina Russo) adviser who totally lives in the real world. While he was pleased with my updated CV/cover and spec letter, he now wants me to get an interview by the time I see him again on the 10th of Feb. How on earth am I supposed to make this happen exactly? My last interview was around 5 months ago and even when I am 100% suitable and qualified for the position I apply for, I still dont hear back. He also wants me to take in a min of 10 employers to send CVs/spec letters to when I see him next. What if I don't manage to get myself an interview? What can happen to me? My adviser never said to try and see if I get an interview - I must get one. This is asking a bit much of me as I cant make employers want to invite me for interviews.

Hi, I've finished the Work Programme and would like to find out if all of us Post Work Programme people have to do a Customer Compliance Interview showing our passport, utility bills, tenancy agreement, 6 months worth of bank statements. I have read the CC guidance to see what it is all about and would like to get info about what to watch out for, what they asked apart from changes of circumstances and if it resulted in a sanction or anything unpleasant or if it went fine. All I have coming into my bank account is my HB and JSA and reported changes of circumstances immediately but I know that they have some tricks up their sleeve. Saw a post saying they closed the OP's JSA claim on hearing she is ill telling her she has to claim ESA instead. I can see it will end in calling the manager again as these advisers misbehave too much. Please reply tonight if you have the time. Thank you.

Would like to know the likely scenario if one were to decline a Customer Compliance Interview with the DWP. Realise that benefit would be suspended and ultimately terminated,but after this would there likely to be any further action?

Hi, I'm new to this forum after stumbling across it on Google and i'm interested in hearing if i have a 'leg to stand on' regarding a grievance i have submitted to our in house HR team. Basically i was referred for an internal job by a manager within our company who encouraged me to send my CV to our recruitment team for a very specific role. At the start i was contacted almost immediately by the recruitment manager who said my CV and skill matched with a job they have had open since the start of July. After a formal screening period i was successful in gaining a interview with the manager of the department on a Thursday (this is important) at 10am. The interview took place over the phone and i had been given an agenda (prior) of one hour consisting of competency based questions and technical questions. This was fine with as im a manager of a department and have conducted tens of interviews and been on training so i know what to and not to ask and also more imporatntly how to answer questions properly and to score well. The interview started and before any questions of any real importance was asked the manager invited me to ask him questions about the role... I straight away asked why the role had been open for some time and about the growth of the department and he told me there was 2 positions available but one had been taken on the Monday previous.... now this was strange as they havnt seen all the candidates before deciding, but anyway i carried on as i felt confident in getting the remaining role. 30 mins into my interview and i hadn't been asked a single technical question on the job or a competency based question... the interviewer was from France and had issues getting his english words across to me at points and asked me questions such as "out of 10 how good are you in excel" "why did you decide to travel after school for 2 years"... things of no real relevance and nature to the job i was applying for. As this was on the phone i had a notepad and was writing down the questions of what he was asking me as this wasn't going to how i thought an interview should do. After that initial 30 mins the interviewer asked if he could be excused for 5 mins... i thought this was a toilet break, however he re-entered the room with another person who introduced himself, said he was only free for a couple of minutes and asked me "what is the proudest moment in your career" before listening, saying thankyou and leaving. The original interviewer came back into the office and said "we have 20 mins available what do you want to talk about" i was absolutely shocked at this and after asking him details about the role and how things worked (to try and present myself across as a worthy candidate because i thought it was some weird test) the interview ended after 52 mins. More interestingly we have a hierarchy chart at work where you can see all the managers and there directs and 2 days after the interview i got nosey and decided to check out the manager and his team and low and behold he had already got 1 new person in that team (knowing he had interviews booked until the end of the week) and more more importantly, the person who got the job is from a company who was recently purchased by our company. Now ive spoken to some people and it seems the manager already had an idea of who he wanted to recruit but to make it "official and legal" he had to open the post up to the internal public...but it seems successful applicants already knew before all other other interviews were done. To be honest that could be nay say BUT one person has the role. Im concerned i was asked; No technical questions No competency questions No questions of any kind regarding the role Lack of communication through language barrier Half way through some random person arriving and asking a question before leaving When the decision came back as a no, i asked for feedback to why and the recruitment agent said it came with the notes: "not enough technical experience" "we are ideally looking some someone with 5 years as a business analyst" - well i have 8 year experience and was not asked a single technical question even after my prompts. I have requested to see the interview questions and notes and cross reference them with mine as i have no idea how he could have eliminated me from the role. I have also spoken to another interviewee whose interview was conducted by a different person and was set with questions of a technical and competency kind and seemed very professional. I feel i was declined based on who i got to interview me, they didn't do it properly and it was a shambles. Any opinion would be great or if i do have that leg to stand on Regards

wow, I have a Job interview tomorrow at 9am and this is the Job https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/getjob.aspx?JobID=3930488&GoBackURL=http%3a%2f%2fjobsearch.direct.gov.uk%2fHome.aspx Brilliant !!!