Job centre compliance interview

[Ktker]

I received a letter from the DWP asking me to come into their office to discuss my housing benefit claim. I have already been through the mill with the council who regularly check my entitlement for HB and I have given them bank statements over the past years. The last request from HB was only two months ago and I gave them what they asked for and got a letter saying everything was OK. This letter from DWP has came as a bit of a shock as I do not claim anything from the jobcentre. What has my housing benefit got to do with the jobcentre?

[kayleigh89]

Is it a compliance interview? If there is any doubt with the claim the DWP deal with it now, local authorities no longer investigate.

[Ktker]

Yes the letter is headed Compliance office interview. My LA does investigate and had to send proof of eligibility just two months ago

[honeybee13]

Hello Ktker.

 

Please bear in mind that compliance are not the scary people, they usually try to make sure you're claiming what you're due. If you do a CAG search for compliance interviews, I think all the outcomes are positive and people wonder what they were worried about.

 

If they were concerned about you, it would be a fraud person looking at it.

 

HB

[Ktker]

Thanks honeybee. I'm not worried I am just sick of always having to justify why I claim HB and provide ****loads of proof to LA on demand. I have lost count of the number of times I have had my HB suspended because they have failed to look at the evidence I have submitted. I sent them an email a couple of months ago and copied it in to my local counsellor stating that their actions constitute harassment and asked them to tell me what they thought I was guilty of and now this - I have nothing to hide -just fed up at being treated like a criminal.

[honeybee13]

I understand, I would be fed up too. I hope that compliance will be polite with you and there's a chance that they will find you aren't claiming something you could claim for.

 

HB

[Ktker]

I know I can claim for other benefits as I care for my disabled elderly mother and disabled son, I have claimed nothing for doing so as I cannot cope with the added burden of having to prove my innocence every couple of months to the powers that be. Perhaps that is the governments strategy - hound people until they get so sick of it they stop claiming.

[kayleigh89]

I wanted to come off housing benefit after my £212 overpayment because it's too stressful and i live in social housing so can pay my rent using my working tax credits and i was told no as it's not a good enough reason and i'm entitled to it.

[Ktker]

Kayleigh - I have never been overpaid but at this point in time I am not going to 'comply' - if they want proof they can get it from the LA - I really do have better things to so with my time. As for making me claim for other benefits - not going to comply with that either until they develop a system that allows claimants some dignity and respect.

[Shoelover]

Yes the letter is headed Compliance office interview. My LA does investigate and had to send proof of eligibility just two months ago

 

The LA assess HB but do not conduct investigations. You could just ring the compliance officer and ask them why the appointment. Could be for all sorts of reasons

[Ktker]

Shoelover - what is the difference from DWP asking for bank statements and occ pension proof and the LA asking for the same? The reason for the investigation is that they think there "may be" a change in my circumstances - there's not! as proved by the LA when they investigated - I have a letter from the LA which breaks down my income (evidence backed) and the award of HB they award me in relation to this. Its a complete waste of everyone's time.

[Shoelover]

The LA do routine reviews they do not investigate in this sense of the word.

 

Compliance is a different process. They may well not know that you have had a recent review. Or there may have been an allegation of fraud and they have invited you in to comment on this.

 

We can speculate all day. Or you could just ring the officer and ask.

[Ktker]

Quick update, I called the compliance officer and he told me the referral came from the council who accused me of "doctoring" bank statements that I had sent them. I did no such thing! there is nothing in my bank statements worth doctoring. I told the officer what has been happening with the council and he stated that the council failed to tell them that they had already investigated me several times in the last year. He was shocked at the level of harassment and told me he would play no part in it and therefore has cancelled the appointment. I will now be looking to the police to see if a crime has been committed by someone in the council and look to sue them for harassment and defamation.

[kayleigh89]

That's awful, if it was me i would go down and find out who has been dealing with you, it seems like a member of staff has it in for you.

[Ktker]

I have never met anyone in that department so can't think why they would have it in for me. I have sent off a SAR for more information which should shed more light on this. I also have my MP involved. I have to say the Compliance Officer was brilliant, even though he did not need to tell me who and why the referral he said he had no qualms in doing so as he was so disgusted by it. I can prove the bank statements were not doctored and therefore thinking I may be able to get them under the malicious communications Act as well as harassment.

[Shoelover]

If they think the bank statements were redacted then I'm surprised it didn't go to criminal. You can always request a copy of the referral to see exactly what they wrote.

[ericsbrother]

you will face the problem that the law allows the council to make any asumption they wish and if they wish to assume that you have been doctroing you bank statements they dont have to offer any evidence that the assumption is based upon any facts. They could have just as easily said you were earning £35k a week from being a professional gambler and you would still have nothing to really nail them down on. This means you can have a right **** dealing with your claims and you get this where someone claiming through the same council who has a reasonable person doing the paperwork will assess the evidence and look for signs of possible fraud if there are reasons to do so rather than just making up things because the law gives them impunity in their position.

If they have left a paper trail with regard to the false claims of your criminality and their harassment then I would be pursuing that as misfeasance rather than arguing about the contents of your paperwork fitting their requirements.

[Ktker]

The Compliance Officer asked if I had put lines through some entries so I took it that he meant they were redacted, athough he did not come out and say that is what had happened. Which is a nonsense as I can fit 3 months of bank statements onto one page as so little goes through the bank i.e. I take all the money out once its put in my account so there's really nothing to redact and certainly nothing to hide. I have just received an email from my MP that encloses a statement from the council - they state that they advised me to go to DWP to see what other benefits I could get rather than them referring me. The statements were given to the council 6 mnths ago - they had plenty of time to come back to me with any queries instead they said everything was fine and HB was re-instated. Not once have they mentioned a problem with my bank statements - I'm at a loss as to why this is happening and the motive behind it.

[Ktker]

Agreed it comes down to the paper trail and also the wording they used in the referral, I have lots of paperwork from the council and have asked for copies of the bank statements so I can see how they have been doctored, or not as the case may be. I was going to call the compliance officer again to ask for a copy of the referral rather than asking the council??

[Ktker]

Does anyone have information on the rules the council have to apply when dealing with referrals of investigation to other bodies?

[Shoelover]

Does anyone have information on the rules the council have to apply when dealing with referrals of investigation to other bodies?

 

If they have a reasonable suspicion it gets referred.

Are they saying you changed your back statements or are they saying you lined out some transactions? Very different allegations.

[Ktker]

I don't know the answer to your question, I can only tell you what the Compliance Officer told me over the phone. He said the council said that I had doctored the bank statements, he then asked if I had ran a pen through some transactions, I don't know why he would ask about the latter unless he was told that or had bank statements in front of him that showed that. Or is that a normal thought response to a doctoring allegation? I'm kicking myself as I should have asked far more questions but was so shocked I went to pieces.

[Shoelover]

It doesn't add up. I think you need to make a subject access request to find out what they sent?

"Doctored" is a strange word to use..

[Ktker]

As I've never met a compliance officer before I do not know how they go about things; so perhaps they immediately jump to the worse conclusions, although he did come across as being very reasonable. It is possible that he has interpreted the referral in such a way and that the council did not use that word. If the bank statements had been doctored I am pretty sure the council would have acted immediately not wait 5 months and definitely would not have reinstated my HB. As you say I need to see the referral and was going to call the compliance officer tomorrow to see if he would give me a copy before I asked the council via SAR as I do not trust the council to be honest with me- they certainly were not honest with my MP. I guess if there's nothing wrong with the bank statements (and nothing is wrong with then) then why send a referral in the first place?