council tax verification officer

elf06

well I think my claim was put in last may (ish) and that was the first i heard of it :rotfl:

tboo

It should say somewhere, possible a leaflet you got with your entitlement letter (all LAs are different so you may not get one), that all claims are required to have an in house claim check at some point
This could be within a few months of claiming, then periodically every 6 to 12 months for working * customers and every 2 to 3 years for pensioners


sorry- * I mean working age customers (can be on I/S etc)

christine_chris_chrissy

I think they can make up to 3 "surprise" visits a year too,...I had one of those she said she was happy with the info I provided she made me pull out all my files for the info required despite it had all been sent & returned in the previous couple of months,she looked at my bathroom & bedrooms too.
this was done six months before I got called for interview under caution I am now fighting a tribunal so I wonder if they will have a record of that visit.

nordtraveller

How did it go elf06?

Fire_Fox

So it's a check up that you are living alone? Do they send a male or female?

tboo

No it's to check that your entitlement is correct and you have no changes in circumstances.
If the LA have male and female VOs, and if you wish to, you can request female if you are female.

Fire_Fox

tboo wrote: »

No it's to check that your entitlement is correct and you have no changes in circumstances.
If the LA have male and female VOs, and if you wish to, you can request female if you are female.

Thank you! Why can't check you don't have changes in circumstances by post? Why do they need to go in your bedroom and bathroom? I don't have anything to hide, it's just my private space is my private space. As you can probably tell, I am pretty nervous of the entire claiming benefits process (start Monday ).

elsien

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Why do they need to go in your bedroom and bathroom? ).

Checking how many toothbrushes and dents in the pillow there are? I had a visit some years ago when I was signing on as they'd clocked I was sharing a house with a male friend and wanted to check we weren't a couple pretending to be single and sharing. They were quite embarrassed about having to ask, and I was quite forthcoming in my opinions on the invasion of my privacy, but I suppose they have to check. I wouldn't want that job though.

tboo

Postal checks are sent but you are required to have a home visit every now and again
The previous poster stated a VO went into her bedroom etc, they may have been from the fraud section or the DWP and not from the HB/CTB section. I for one don't go into these areas even when asked and then I always decline.

christine_chris_chrissy

Sorry I didn't mean to worry you,I have had loads of visits over the years so I was use to it.Yes they probably were checking I was a single parent at the time.I would have been told if she was from fraud office.My neighbour had the same thing when her husband left her,she was not amused.that was years ago.