Advice needed; re: SSA calling to my home

sambyWSM

Hi
I really need some advice/guidance.
I recently received a letter from the social security agency.
It basically says;

'We need to see you to discuss a query that has arisen concerning your claim to benefit. It is important that you are available as it may affect your benefit'.

It goes on to say that a 'Customer Compliance Officer' will be calling to my home. I have no idea why? I have never had any such person call to my home before. I am a disabled (long term progressive neurological disorder) single parent and really do not know what this will be about? Has anyone here had any experience of someone like this calling to their home. The frustrating thing is I don't know what this 'query' is...is it my D.L.A. benefit, my income support or what? I rang them up to see and they were unable to say.
I do not mind having this visit apart from the fact I have no idea what it will be in relation to.

Very confused

AnxiousMum

I guess it can be disturbing to get such a letter - but if you are claiming properly and not doing anything wrong, the only change you should look to is them finding something that you are entitled to that you are not claiming! If you've done nothing wrong at all, and don't have anything to hide - then don't worry about it There seems to be alot of these letters posted on here, and it may just be that they are doing the odd spot check - if there had been a fraud report made against you, and there was anything to it - they'd be calling you in for an interview under caution. Try not to worry about it.

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

sambyWSM wrote: »

Hi
I really need some advice/guidance.
I recently received a letter from the social security agency.
It basically says;

'We need to see you to discuss a query that has arisen concerning your claim to benefit. It is important that you are available as it may affect your benefit'.

It goes on to say that a 'Customer Compliance Officer' will be calling to my home. I have no idea why? I have never had any such person call to my home before. I am a disabled (long term progressive neurological disorder) single parent and really do not know what this will be about? Has anyone here had any experience of someone like this calling to their home. The frustrating thing is I don't know what this 'query' is...is it my D.L.A. benefit, my income support or what? I rang them up to see and they were unable to say.
I do not mind having this visit apart from the fact I have no idea what it will be in relation to.

Very confused

I had the same thing happen to me last year after my ex husband reported me for benefit fraud. I was claiming as a single parent as I was a single parent but had recently starting seeing someone who came round regularly whenhe was off work to help me out with my kids as i'm ill.

The lady from the DWP was very understanding about my sistuation & it was decided that we weren't living together as a couple for benefit purposes.

If you are innocent as I was then please try not to worry although as a natural worrier I know it's hard not to.

NASA_2

It should be nothing to worry about.

Have you received anyone elses post at your address? Especially other SSA letters about benefit entitlements.

kaya

yep, you have been reported for benefit fraud, i had the exact same letter and response last year, if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about, quick interview with a very nice lady and mine was all dealt with

sambyWSM

I have been disabled for many years and a single parent for almost 4 of those. Why this is all happening I am just clueless. My child and I keep ourselves to ourselves in our estate as for someone reporting me for benefit fraud is just bizarre.
Well we shall see what the visitor has to say, although waiting in from 9am until 5pm for this officer to call is a bit of a joke with a small child. Can't wait until this is all over and these officers can just go and catch real benefit fraudsters etc.

Thanks for advice.

hamaradam

I believe here is something about single people being a fraud risk,apparently....and that's why you get the compliance officer...

I don't know if this will come up properly but I will try to paste...

Audit Commission Campaign to obtain copies of full electoral register in order to label large numbers of electors receiving a single person discount as 'high risk fraud cases' on the spurious grounds that by matching it with council tax data sets it can tell when people are not entitled to a Section 11 discount of 25% or that at some point months or years before the electoral register in question was compiled electors had made false claims about who lived at their address ...by the Audit Commission in support of its campaign to be able to use the electoral register to match against council tax Section 11 (sometimes called single occupant or single person) discounts. Please include any materials in which it is asserted (albeit falsely) that this data match indicates that peo... Partially successful.
Request sent to Electoral Commission by K Hodgkinson on 21 October 2009

The website that this is from is called whatdotheyknow, if this doesnt work.

hamaradam

It does work! - if you put your mouse over the blue paragraph beginning 'audit commission'...then it lets you see it all....

bubba1585

It may be nothing to do with an allegation of benefit fraud at all. Compliance officers go through your situation, update details, advise you what you need to do to keep your claim running smoothly and ensure that you are aware that you need to report any relevant changes of circumstances. They can also find out you're getting what you are entitled to. A number of cases do come up for spot checks and yours may simply be one of these.
I wouldn't be worried at all.