****News**** Mobile Regional Taskforce set up to combat fraud

[ErikaPNP]

A new taskforce which is a joint initiative by DWP, HMRC and Local Authorities has been set up to combat fraud.

 

The taskforce will begin by examining benefit claimants claims in the Birmingham postcode area B44 from 25th July 2011, with a roll-out across the country commencing sometime in Autumn.

 

Full release here

 

My apologies for not getting this out to you sooner - only just been made aware of it myself.

[frank_begbie]

Pity they're not as keen on the tax fraudsters, who cost a hell of a lot more.

[seen this before]

your not wrong there frank.these are called whizz kids.

 

the right stirring up division in society against those on low benefits though fabrication and misleading unsubstantiated reports causing resentment. its happened before against sections of the population and the ramifications are still being felt today with divisions in communities that have never healed.

[suziebear67]

If employer paid a decent wage there would be no need for working tax credits. I have been off sick with workplace anxiety since march the 14th and am only around 16 pound a week worse off than doing my full time hours !! What happened to the governments promise that people would be better off working?

[havinastella]

Maybe this new task force should be looking at Police, Polititians and the press. Oh and the Bankers.

 

How can a Country run on such old fashion traditions be taken serious with the Major corruption that goes on at such a high level?

[Nystagmite]

If employer paid a decent wage there would be no need for working tax credits. I have been off sick with workplace anxiety since march the 14th and am only around 16 pound a week worse off than doing my full time hours !! What happened to the governments promise that people would be better off working?

 

It seems you're only better off by a) working the minimum and claiming all you can in benefits, or b) living at home with parents, therefore, no rent or other (or a few) bills to pay.

 

I agree with the tax evasion - why is nothing ever done about them? Obviously, this forum doesn't represent everyone; but it does see that a lot of people commit benefit fraud because they've fallen on hard times.

 

Would this task force also be making sure that people are claiming everything they're entitled to? Don't think so somehow...

[watchinginvestigation2011]

I agree that they should make sure they will make a concerted effort to make sure all are claiming all they are entitled to as in if they come accross case where person should be on dla or esa the say so and offer assistance to correct forms etc......as in they could have relevant forms on them.

 

I also notice that the ammount saved by simply lisasing depts is humongous, I mean there is no excuse for them all these years to have created this system and that idea and then think they can say hey we have saved money.

 

How much have they wasted? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

It was obvious they would save money as soon as they started to get their act together!!!!!!!!

 

No knocking dwp or hmrc staff there by the way I am refering to 'those who must be obeyed'

 

I also notice they do not list money saved as in disability fraude!!!!!!!!!

 

Could it be the picture painted of horendous savings waiting to be found with new system and atos, is not there?

 

As in there compared to tax credits and other benefit frauds actually is a small fraction of fraudsters out there!!!!!!!

 

So could they stop labelling or spinning benefit claimants out as such, would be nice. We dont choose to be sick, I personally would choose to be normal xx

 

But unfortunately I am ME xx

[ErikaPNP]

Don't know about tax fraud, but HMRC are starting on tax debt. Whether that is debt which originates from fraud or not, I don't know. It was announced on 14th July that HMRC have signed a contract with 10 Debt Collection Agencies to collect tax debts.

 

What annoys me about this announcement (the one on this thread), is it says that it will commence visits regardless of of age, gender, ethnic make-up, type of benefit recipient, income, disability breakdown or family status. It implies a visit (talks about a knock on the door) but nothing more about how claims will be scrutinised. So does this mean that come October, they will begin visiting every single household in the country that claims one benefit or another? I doubt they would get around them all - not without years and a whole lot of manpower that they simply don't have. So at some point, does that mean that will become about specific groups? Who knows?

 

I became aware of this as someone contacted me to ask if I have heard about it as someone they know who gets tax credit has received a letter telling them that checks will be carried out in their area and to get in touch to put their claim right. I initially thought it was the usual compliance letters as that's what it sounded like but then they mentioned this Mobile Regional Taskforce. I had heard of it happening in the tail end of October but only a whisper and nothing more other than if introduced it would be Feb 2012, so I've been busy looking for information on it. The letter doesn't state whether they will be visited, just that checks will be carried out, and the information I've located doesn't specify either, but makes it sound like a visit will be involved.

 

What are pepole meant to do - sit in and wait in case they visit? Stay off work? Miss appointments? The letter is apparently not very specific. I have read reports in newspapers about 'hardmen' knocking on doors but tend not to read these news reports as they are usually full of scaremongering drivel and frequently get things wrong. But given the lack of specifics I can find, I am concerned that the most vulnerable in society may be given quite a fright if they get this letter.

 

If I find out any more, I'll let you know.

[flumps1976]

I'm not 100% sure but I remember reading an electronic bulletin at work about this scheme. The Government have done usual statistic analysis and have determined where there are greater areas of fraud in the Country, (e.g multiple claims for a lot of people supposedly in a 2 bedroom flat) we recently had a claim from 10 people all claming to live in a house together which is known locally as a 2 bedroom property so there would have been some difficulty in them all living there, the council and DWP visited and found the property empty!

This is purely an example of one of the types of case they are looking at as unless an officer has local knowledge of an area and the accommodation then there is no way of knowing initially that these claims could potentially be fraudulent iygwim?

It is also moving towards the Universal Credit style of working where everything will be paid and administered by a single agency.

[leemack]

Yes, I read something about 'high risk estates', which to my mind suggests them going to estates with lots of benefit claimants, which will probably be poorer estates, so they will be using criteria broadly based on income and social status. I doubt very much that the middle class family in the nice village will be getting a knock on their door.

 

It makes me very angry that those in poorer areas will be specifically targeted - as if the assumption is made that poor people have a high likelihood of being fraudulent and criminal. So with the benefits cap, you can only live in poorer areas, so you move there and find this means you're automatically under investigation for possible fraud.

 

Under criminal law, the police are not able to do fishing expeditions by knocking on random doors and checking for criminal activity, but it seems that under civil law, the benefit depts do. They have no legal right to enter a property and insist on being shown documents, but will rely on people not knowing that they can arrange a time to provide documents for review at a more convenient time and place.

[A_wee_fella]

I assume it will be a system of risk scorecarding rather than any class snobbery.

 

Damned if they do, Damned if they don't.

[leemack]

Really. I can already see the daily mail headlines from this type of targeting.

 

'Is this the scummiest estate in Britain - x percentage of people on this estate found to be benefit cheats'

 

And like ESA, I fully expect that every single claimant who ceases their claim prior to a sweep will be counted in statistics as a cheat.

 

Kids at school being bullied because they come from that estate, being taunted that their parents must be benefit cheats

 

And what about those on the estate not found to have discrepancies with their claim. Will they be watched more closely, assessed more frequently than other people from then on - despite having done nothing wrong?

 

And whatever may be said about 'high risk' estates, I think that targeting due to geographical location, which is often largely dependant on things like income, social class and educational background is sailing far too close to discrimination and is social profiling akin to racial profiling under the excuse of a 'geographical decision'.

[whatsupdoc]

There is one thing i dont undertand and thats the change of circumstances? If ones health gets worse and they require no more help then now how does dla high care/mobility stand? Cant get any more cash. We are being checked from 2013 onwards?

 

whatsupdoc

Edited July 16, 2011 by whatsupdoc
missed word

[Nystagmite]

I would say it's pointless telling them then.

[reallymadwoman]

Yet another 'sword of damocles' for the genuine claimants to worry about. First, when will I be switched (or actually probably not) to ESA, then when will they take my DLA away, now when will someone knock on the door to accuse me of fraud? How long before I not only have a panic attack every time I see a DWP envelope on the doormat, but also whenever someone rings the bell?

 

As has been said often before the ones this sort of thing is designed to catch don't worry because they know how to work the system, leaving those of us genuinely entitled to our benefits to take the full brunt of the politician induced discrimination from the rest of that smug society whom I hope never experience things from the other side of the fence.

[FCC]

Anyone who cheats the system should feel the full force of the law. However, the hypocritcal attitude of the Tories in feeding false stories to the press disgusts me. The second homes for politicians was meant to help someone in Cheshire who has to travel to London to attend Parliament to obtain reasonable accomodation during the working week. This has been obscenely changed so as a politician who lives in his £2.5million mansion in London can represent a Cheshire constituency and thus obtain finance to pirchase a farm and mansion to live in over the weekend, when he bothers to go there. So will Dopey Dave £20,500 a year housing benefit and Gormless George, the Cheshire landowner. £36,000 a year housing benefit cut their benefits to £1000.00 a month or will they continue to defraud the taxpayer and continue their war against the plebs who have lately gotten above their station again. We are all in it together Ha! Ha! Ha! glad I didn't vote for 'em

[postggj]

looking in one of the tory papers this morning

 

70 % of all sickclaims are bogus

 

how the hell can they print that rubbish without hard cold facts

 

not all benefit holdes are skivers ,drug addicts, etc

 

most have been made redundant through goverment policies so

 

who realy is to blame for the black economy

[Nystagmite]

looking in one of the tory papers this morning

 

70 % of all sickclaims are bogus

 

how the hell can they print that rubbish without hard cold facts

 

not all benefit holdes are skivers ,drug addicts, etc

 

most have been made redundant through goverment policies so

 

who realy is to blame for the black economy

 

That 70% is wrong. Being found fit for work and being fit for work are two different things. I'm sure there's at least one thread on here where someone was left without money because ATOS said they were fit to work and JSA said otherwise.

[postggj]

it was in one of the papers this morning

 

just had a glance at the petrol station

 

HOW CAN PAPERS PRINT SUCH GARBAGE WHICH IS UNTRUE