How Do I Make A Formal Complaint

Hi Everyone
I'm on DLA and Contribution Based ESA and in the Support Group, and have been for many years.
Unfortunately I have a narcissistically abusive 'Mother' who I had to go No Contact with over a decade ago, due to her being physically, verbally and psychologically abusive, and this putting a further strain on my already worsening health.



So, I am desperately wondering, where can I write to that will get the message across, once and for all, so that these people will LISTEN and take note, instead of repeating the same idiotic mistake over and over again, that is going to end up costing me my life, and make a formal complaint about this behaviour.

I had hoped that after the first FULL INVESTIGATION, where they literally spent MONTHS investigating me, they would show at least some kind of common sense, and not just do the exact same thing all over again, and condone and enable this ridiculous and dangerous behaviour. But apparently not. So I feel like I need to go above their heads, and communicate with whoever above them might actually have some common sense,

There must be someone who governs these departments and their staff, and they shouldn't just be able to behave like this, and allow themselves to be abused, by patently obvious bullies, who are abusing the system to harass their victims.

So if anyone can help me with this I would be most grateful.

Thanks very much. I had access to a solicitor in 2018, but haven't had since, and cannot hope to now due to my financial situation getting steadily worse, which is why I could really do without the extra stress of all of this. I took my harasser to court via the Domestic Violence Centre as suggested by the police, because a police officer gave me their card when they saw how distressing it all was for me, and it would have helped, had I not been given the incorrect information by the judge, and my harasser obviously dodged court, which meant the money I did have to spend was wasted anyway, and unfortunately I have now had to go to StepChange for debt help, so cannot afford to repeat the experience, especially with a person who obviously actively avoids court anyway.

Essentially this person is a confidence trickster who goes about abusing their misleading status as my relative to groom people into thinking they have truthful information about me, and so prejudiced judgemental assumptive people do not even question it, and just accept it at face value, and treat me as a criminal, despite the fact they shouldn't be doing that to begin with, and I've already been the subject of a six month investigation, and very clearly pointed out to them exactly what is really going on.

Does the Jobcentre and the Compliance Officers involved still come under the scope of the DWP, as far as complaining goes?

I actually used to be a Benefit Fraud Investigator myself about 20 years ago, so it is with great frustration that I have to argue with these people to defend myself, when they treat me like a criminal, attempt to trick me into confessing and threaten me etc, having not even conducted basic checks to see what benefits I am on, or checked to see if they have previously investigated me, or previous false allegations have been made against me, of which I have been totally vindicated, because I know I certainly never behaved in such a fashion.

Many thanks

So, I made a Formal Complaint to the address provided, the DWP, back in January, and heard nothing.
Then two days before my Compliance Telephone Interview was due to take place, I suddenly got a text of all things, saying it was from the DWP, and I no longer needed to attend my interview.
I then heard nothing else from the Jobcentre, but a few weeks later, I received a letter from the complaints department claiming that the Compliance Telephone Interview had 'just been an Informal Interview to discuss my earnings for the year 2017-2018'.

However, this could not be the case, because they had already fully investigated me for 6 months, and this had only ended in August 2019, and had already seen ALL of my documents, including my Tax Returns (I have a miniscule income from a website). Plus the Compliance Officer who sent me the second Interview Letter in December, had REFUSED to discuss what the interview was about, when I called her to explain that I had already been investigated for six months, and this had only recently ended, and she said on the phone, that 'Another allegation had been received about me' and that they could only 'Reveal the identity of the person who made the allegation to a Judge' if I obtained a letter from one, but not to me, and the letter from the Compliains Dept, claimed that NO allegations had been made about me, and that they had simply 'received information from another department that might mean my benefits were incorrect.'

Since they had mentioned it again, I then sent in a copy of my Tax Return, despite the fact they had already received in July 2019, to two different people at the DWP I was dealing with, to ensure they had it, and advised them of the Compliance Officer whom I had sent it to the previous July, and who had fully investigated me, along with copies of all our letters, showing that she had asked for all of my information at the time, and that I had sent it.

I then received various letters saying my complaint was being investigated and it would take more time.

I then inexplicably received a letter from the Compliance Officer who had sent me the Compliance Telephone Interview letter in December and who I had called and explained they had already investigated me when I received it, and who refused to discuss it with me, or tell me what it was about, and who promised to call me after New Year after speaking to the previous Compliance Officer who had investigated me, and never did. The letter stated that 'I had been asked to send in evidence of my earnings from the year 2017-2018 and was STILL required to provide this, and that this MUST be provided by the 12th of March'. Yet this person had NEVER in fact previously asked me for anything. I had also already provided this information three times to the DWP, going back to July 2019.

I then wrote back and enclosed two copies of my 2018 Tax Return, and was concerned about what was actually going on, and the way it was being portrayed, so I also phoned the Compliance Officer to check my Tax Return was what they actually wanted, because I could not understand why they were asking for information I had obviously already sent them three times, but could not ever get past her answering maching, so left a message saying I had sent her them, and if that was not what she was asking for, could she write to me and specify what it was she actually required. I reread the letter about a million times to see if I could see any other meaning to it other than them inexplicably repeatedly requesting my Tax Return, but I could not, and I heard nothing back.

I then anxiously waited for the 12th to pass, and heard nothing. Then anxiously waited for the 20th to pass, since that was the first time my benefits were due to be paid, and I no longer trust these people, after the way they have treated me for the past year. But my benefit was paid, so I began to calm down.

Then yesterday I opened my postbox, only to find an inexplicable letter announcing that 'due to my recent letter they were marking my file to say i was a potential threat to their staff and may inform other authorities of this' quoting the Malicious Authorities act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003 and saying if my behaviour continued they would be 'forced to take legal action against me'.

I have looked up these acts, and they are most succintly described here: www.jmw.co.uk/services-for-business/busi...cations-act-offences and there is nothing in my letters that fits any of these criteria. I simply wrote letters and sent in evidence to clear my name as fast as possible, since the Compliance Officer involved refused to discuss ANYTHING with me, treated me like a criminal and left me feeling stressed and ill for a month (I have Adrenal Disease) and I wanted to get the situation resolved as soon as possible.

The most recent letter was also the evidence she had asked for, and in no way could ANY of my letters fit the 'grossly offensive, threatening, indecent, or false' described in those acts.

I'd like to say this is shocking, but sadly it is not, at all. It is simply an escalation of the abusive behaviour I have already experienced from these people. Last year, when I was being investigated for the first time, due to my 'Mother's first false allegations, made via the police and passed on to the DWP, I called and left a message for the original Compliance Officer, and another member of staff called me back. She then proceeded to shout down the phone at me, bully, intimidate and threaten me, and blatantly lie, and tell me that the information I had been given by another member of staff, and by a legal advisor, was false, and that I was breaking the law and claiming benefits fraudulently, in a very obvious attempt to frighten me into confessing to a crime I had not actually committed. When I pointed out she was wrong, she shouted down the phone that she'd 'Like to speak to any legal advisor that told you that!' and laughed down the phone at me. Shouted that I was 'Filling out the Self Employed section of a Tax Return because I was CLEARLY working!' and when I pointed out that another staff member had told me the exact same information as the legal advisor had, said that 'Well we have records, and we're going to look through them, you know that don't you!' She ended up making me so distressed, that she had to call the Ambulance Service to check on me, at the end of her call.

When I then made a complaint about her bullying, threatening, intimidating behaviour, which I found incredibly upsetting, I received NO response as far as her treatment of me, except to receive a Warning Letter from the JobCentre, decscribing the 'incident on the phone' and saying they would not tolerate MY behaviour towards THEIR staff, and if I did it again, they would take 'further action against me'.

I have researched both letters, and it is abundantly clear to me that the DWP/JobCentre seem to have a habit of believing that 'attack is the best form of defence' and appear to be sending out these letters whenever errors are made, or when their staff have not otherwise behaved well.

I have already replied to the JobCentre and the Complaints Dept, who are still investigating my original complaint, regarding my thoughts on their latest attempt to defamate my character, but I was wondering what else I could do.

I can see online that people have meade Freedom Of Information Requests, but do I need to do this from the DWP, or the JobCentre or both, assuming I can make them from either

Is there anything else I can do about this, bearing in mind I already have a complaint outstanding, regarding them investigating me twice in close succession, for totally false allegations, which was clearly a c*ck up and irresponsible incompetent behaviour to begin with, and which I believe they are now trying to sweep under the carpet, and seem to be now attempting to effectively penalise me for, for having the sheer audacity to complain.

Obviously we all have more important things to deal with and worry about right now, but this situation appears to be escalating, and their attempt to slander/libel/defamate me is the last thing I need frankly, when I already have a narcissistically abusive relative out there making false allegations about me, particularly when I have done absolutely nothing wrong. I made the complaint in the first place, because I was literally sick and tired of dealing with these people, and the consequence of their idiotic actions, and feeling like they were constantly harassing me, despite the patently obvious fact that the repeated allegations they were receiving MUST be false, since they had already investigated me for months and months. Now I feel like they're just going to keep harassing me because I've dared to point that out, so now I feel like I have even MORE bullies than I started off with, abusing their positions.

The feeling is not inspiring. I feel like I have very little hope of achieving justice in this situation when this is how they have repeatedly behaved. They behave badly, I make a complaint, they abuse their position and send me a Warning Letter. I make a justified complaint about that, they send me an even more threatening and intimidating Warning Letter, slandering, libelling me and defamating my character, and threatening to take legal action against me.

The next level is I complain again, which I must or else my silence is agreement, and they likely send me a Warning Letter saying I'm 'Potentially Violent and the police will be notified'.

Seriously, how does someone in my position EVER beat people in their position, clearly willfully and purposefully abusing their positions?

Any help most appreciated.