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Hello! I posted before giving all the horrible details of my experience with a compliance officer.
I sent them all the bank statements they requested. They lost these and I had to resend. Thought that would be it but I’m now being asked for more details about the same account (an ISA) I do not have.
I supplied a letter from the bank showing all the account numbers o have or have had with them.
Nope still not good enough, she wants statements which I am unable to provide as it’s not my account.

Things now get complicated, I have had to go to Ireland as my dad had a stroke and needs care. I’ll be here at least 8 weeks (I’m also waiting on being rehoused in the uk so could be longer)
I updated my journal to tell them I went to Ireland on March 13th and will be here for 8 weeks (minimum) I asked for my claim to be closed/suspended as I know my entitlement will end. I claim PIP too so I know I have to be back within 12 weeks. I recieved the following journal entry yesterday
“Hi Jane, the review has taken so long due to your mental health issues and your desire to involve your MP. Whilst the Department is sorry to here about your alleged Menatl health issues and your fathers ill health at this time I am not in a position to authorise ANY absence from the UK until such time as I have completed my review. For the same reasons your claim will not be stopped/suspended.
Once I am satisfied with the documentation you have submitted we will be in touch and you can at that point end your claim and leave the country.
Whilst this may be difficult for you to hear, it is a condition of receiving means tested benefits that you engage with the process and rules.”

The issue is I’m already in Ireland with my dad (his stroke was very bad and he had no one to help him once he was out of hospital)
Do I need to return to the UK? The compliance officer has threatens to have my passport cancelled (via a telephone call) if I try to, in her words “skip the country”

I have put in a formal complaint as has my MP but so far we have been ignored.

Should I return to the UK? I have some everything in they requested but she still wants statements from an account I don’t have.
I have severe mental health issues and this all started whilst I was in a psych ward and she was calling and messaging daily (my psychiatrist wrote to them detailing the effect this is having but this too was ignored)

Can anyone help? I’m struggling to care for my dad, look after my own mental health and now I’m terrified I won’t have a passport to come home?

Any advice would be much appreciated

Regards

Hi CRPSWarrior

The only thing you can do is contact DWP and ask, to put your mind at ease.

Gary

No nothing. Just said thank you for clarifying

Hi CRPSWarrior

We can't speculate on the reason for your call because we simply don't know. Did the person not tell you what would happen next?

BIS

Hi everyone. I had a dreaded brown envelope a couple of weeks ago when I had just come out of hospital after spinal and neck surgery.

I rang the number and asked what it was for and the gentleman just said it was a review with a couple of questions. The call was today, 2 weeks later.

I spent 2 days getting all my paperwork together from original claim to bank statements etc and waiting for the call.

He did an ID check on me then asked me a very peculiar question. Going back to 2019 when you claimed, were the DWP aware that you were still employed? I said yes because it’s on my paperwork and I claimed as my sick pay had run out. He asked if it was face to face or by phone - I said face to face at local job centre offices.


He then said I know you don’t work and that you are on higher rate PIP etc. I offered information to him of 2 payments that I had received which I had written to Wolverhampton about.

That was all. Can anyone shed light on this question please just to put my mind at rest? Does it seem like just a random check on detail?

I can't be bothered to google further than this right now, and I realise the folly of linking to another forum post instead of official sources but some interesting posts here (mostly about the compliance officer collecting overpayments then it not being possible for the DWP to start further fraud action on the same case after that point), once again I don't think any overpayments in this case would be of a high enough level for anything much to happen apart from a letter asking for the money back, it was the case that people claiming DLA would be dealt with by a compliance officer rather than a fraud investigation being launched, there is probably a DWP manual or some guidance notes online with all this in.

yes if it was someone claiming DLA fraudulently, claiming they had a disability, that would be criminal, but overpayments like this sort of thing by a bona fide disabled claimant would not be

www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/2926...ment-on-jsa-worried/

unless something has changed in recent years disabled people don't go down the "fraud" pipeline they go down the compliance one, they would be dealt with by a compliance officer not a fraud officer, initally at least, what I'm trying to say is that I think it'd be fine to record any fluctuations over £6k and send a letter monthly after the fact if any adjustments are needed, the OP seems to be getting very stressed over something I doubt the DWP are that bothered about, or is an unusual situation that they don't know how to deal with, the "we're onto you!" scary advertising is a bit misleading and causes people unnecessary stress I think

HMRC at present only shares limited savings and investment information with the DWP. This consists of a list of the names of banks, Building Societies etc that a claimant has an account with. That is why when you make a new claim the DWP may ask you to attend the Jobcentre with bank statements showing the level of your savings. This is for each account that appears on their list. A problem arises if an account is not revealed and your name appears on the list as a customer of that financial institution. Then you can expect your Benefit to be suspended until a statement is forthcoming or maybe a Compliance interview if a large amount of money is involved. The DWP also have other fraud prevention powers involving Court applications. I don't know how things are going to change with the new proposals.

"if you are on PIP you aren't at risk of being prosecuted for fraud I don't think"

"given that this would be dealt with on a compliance basis not fraud because of your disability"

Hi adam33

From DC's posts it seems clear that he is seeking to do everything he can to comply with the rules re notifying the DWP re his changing levels of savings. I don't think there's any mention in his posts that the DWP is suspecting fraud or that there is any need for "compliance interviews." I waned to comment on the 2 quotes from your last post which although I am sure they were written in good faith they are, in my opinion, a bit misleading although not intentionally so I'm sure!

"if you are on PIP you aren't at risk of being prosecuted for fraud I don't think"

In a general sense this is untrue as it seems to imply that being on a disability benefit confers "immunity" from prosecution for fraud - it does not! Whilst, as i''ve said before, there's no suggestion of fraud here, on occasion a tiny proportion of disability benefit claimants ARE successfully prosecuted for fraud!

"given that this would be dealt with on a compliance basis not fraud because of your disability"

This too is potentially misleading although again not intentionally so.

You don't - and can't - know how "this" would be dealt with AT ALL let alone in a particular way because of his disability! As in your first comment you are also making the incorrect assumption that "disability" necessarily precludes prosecution for fraud - again it does not!

I am making these comments because I think it's important those of us - including me - on disability benefits realise we have to do everything we can - including getting additional support if we need it - to ensure that we comply with the rules. I wouldn't want anyone to get a false sense of security re this issue simply because they are on disability benefits! I too am on means-tested disability benefits and whilst I am not committing benefit fraud - and of course have no plans to do so - IF the DWP ever suspected that I was they would investigate this and they would likely prosecute me if they thought I was committing fraud regardless of my disability!

Kind regards

Mr B

if you are on PIP you aren't at risk of being prosecuted for fraud I don't think, but you would need to repay any overpayment, I imagine there are amounts of overpayment where the DWP aren't interested in collecting, it costs money to investigate and otherwise deal with these things.

other people have suggested you could also just declare savings of £6249 and have your benefits reduced by £2 a week or whatever it is, if there aren't any essential items you need to buy that would reduce your savings far enough below £6000 that fluctuations in value would take you over £6000.

given that this would be dealt with on a compliance basis not fraud because of your disability, you could also keep a record month by month and send it into them, so "from 1-3 it was above £6k, then it dropped below for a week, then above between 3pm and 6pm on the 17th" etc, it's going to be much easier to tell them about changes in the past than keep them up to date as it happens (which is basically impossible to do).

if you're able to take letters into your local jobcentre and get a receipt you wouldn't need to send them recorded, but if you were sending one letter a month you might not be too worried about that.

I think at the moment the DWP would first need to suspect you are commiting fraud before they can access a bank account (I think they can pretty much always just write to you and ask for statements and suspend your benefit if you don't send them).

From memory I don't think people who are claiming PIP would have things dealt with on the fraud track at present, there is another department called compliance who deal with disabled people, and I don't think there are any criminal proceedings involved, I don't know if they can apply to view your accounts etc

the new law has to get through the house of lords yet, and there will be a change of government by the end of the year, and possibly in late spring, so the new government would also have to like the idea enough to carry on with it

incidentally anyone can write to their MP and tell them you don't like this idea and think it should be binned

I was just refused the right to submit in writing even though I explained that it was a reasonable adaptation due to concentration difficulties. Started as a letter for a Compliance Interview - no subject given so no idea which benefit - and when I phoned to ask for the adaptation was told it was now a Benefit Review of ESA that could only be done on the phone or in my home. Still no idea why. Can I appeal the refusal? Should I?

I'd be quick in asking your HB dept about the change over. In our case a "compliance" officer at the local council phoned, on my partner's 66th, to say claim UC fast because your housing benefit stops now. Partner had been on my ESA claim previously but all entitlement crashed on his birthday. I informed the DWP of his SPA a few months previously and had heard nothing back, so assumed they'd just take off his SP from the ESA. But before I could blink I had a PIP AR1 to fill in and also UC forms to declare health problems and for them to be re assessed. From Oct to Dec 23 I had to read up fast, coming to this site for policy interpretation and guidance.

So you may find yourself pushed onto UC as the system is rolled out nationally - there are details on the site here. ESA is being phased out. The DWP have made my life hard and yet nothing has changed, in fact I'm still waiting for further diagnosis due to the NHS strikes delaying appts. The only thing that changed is my partners SP - my health has not improved. We've not claimed PIP on his behalf yet - he is under a consultant for liver failure and has had RA since his 50s, sometimes making it hard for him to move around but he became accustomed to managing it and working so we didn't think of a PIP claim for him but we're thinking of it now.

Due to the change over from ESA to UC my local HB office now say I have rent arears because UC is paid a month in arears but my council works a month ahead - so I've now got to find nearly £300.

I hope telling you all this helps - but don't be complacent and think they'll give adequate advice and warning, had further issues over the "UC Journal" - UC was stopped over a misunderstanding with written English so that took a few days before Christmas to resolve by phone. Then my "job coach" in Dec 23 said I'd been in the very LCW group since my partners 66th so they didn't know why they were seeing me!! I can't remember the exact term cos I'm tired and unwell!! But it's here on this site - a lifeline for many.

Good luck!! I'm still waiting on the outcome of all the paperwork submitted prior to Christmas for PIP and UC - I come here and find others in a similar boat. I'm ready to appeal with the guides here

I think you may be suggesting a level of organisational efficiency that the DWP simply does not possess.

It is more a case of being severely understaffed, undertrained, under-resourced and the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

I got a compliance letter saying I must phone Newcastle IMMEDIATELY as they suspected I was claiming benefits I was not entitled to.

On the phone, the DWP compliance 'officer' suggested I was claiming income-related benefits I was not entitled to.

"I am doing nothing of the sort", I said.
"My claim was refused over 12 years ago and I was told all I could get now is earnings-related support", (as I cannot work through my neurological disability which leaves me bed-bound).
"I have not claimed anything since and accepted exactly what DWP tells me I am entitled to".

"Well send me the last 3 years of your bank statements immediately", he said.

I got them organised and sent them, had my carer dig out all the DWP back correspondence and went through all that.

It transpired that the £12 I was getting as top-up when switched from IB to ESA (to ensure my benefit remained the same after the change) was being diagnosed by the compliance guy as wrongly claimed income-related benefit.

I wrote and explained and asked for my original bank statements to be returned for safety asap.

No reply, no explanation, no apology for wrongly accusing me of criminal behaviour, no bank statements.

Nothing.

That is the DWP.

Get some advice, as recommended here, because it happened to us in October 23. My partner reached state pension age then and I won't ( under the current government rules) until a few years time. So they just pulled everything on his birthday! I received a call from my local councils "compliance officer" telling me ESA and HB had stopped with immediate effect and to claim UC for HB. Thing is it wasn't just for HB - it was an entire new claim on UC. With the help from the guides here I usually work things out but as I've been unwell and waiting to see consultant it's been 3 months of hell. Still not over for us so please get some advice before your partners state pension is due to be paid. I notified the ESA dept back in September 23. No advice or guidance was forthcoming.

Hi wibblum,

No negative thoughts or feelings from my side at all. I'd be the first person to admit that I do things in the heat of the moment, and I'm extremely quick tempered, without being able to control it at times. It's why I prefer writing, rather than struggling in person, because it just takes someone to tell me to do something the wrong way, rather than ask, and "Bang" - Out comes agressive Chris.

You have a good night - hopefully the 22nd won't be a day that affects us too negatively.

Regards, Chris.

Thank you Chris. For what it's worth, I do sincerely regret using the term in the heat in the moment.

I'll now step away, while wishing JaneyJane all the best in desling with the situation.

Hi wibblum,

I think we're all entitled to freedom of speech, and I'm not overly sure how far things are allowed to go, when it involves debating before messages will be stopped from being published.
I'm sure one of the more experienced mods will be able to further elaborate should they need too.

Regards, Chris.

Legitimate concerns/doubts about this particular DWP employee's alleged 'humanity' aside, perhaps with respect (and apologies) to JaneyJane we shouldn't turn this very serious topic into a petty row about semantics.

I'll now step away from this thread.

(Mods: edit/omit my replies as you please)

Whilst I frown upon the word Nazi. I’m sorry but the way this person has treated me I’m afraid I struggle to care that “she too is a person” She told me “well despite trying to kill yourself you weren’t successful AGAIN, so I do t hold much weight to that” “Using your mental health as away to escape rules is not going to look good for you” “ I could be watching you right now and you wouldn’t know” Where is the humanity in ANY of those statements to someone severally mentally unwell. She is a compliance officer, I’m complying as best I can. She won’t be happy until I’m dead.