Housing Benefit - Home Visit!

Allexie

I have been in receipt of Housing Benefit for a little while and out of the blue I have received a letter informing me that a HB Officer will be visiting me in my home to verify things like rent paid, income, savings etc.

I must say that I find this very intrusive and invasive and wonder if this is normal procedure and if I have the right to object to this? I have, in the past, had to send in proof of these things but the idea of a home visit just freaks me out. Why is this necessary I wonder?

I should perhaps say that I have nothing to hide from them - everything is above board - I just find it worrying that my privacy is about to be invaded?

Has anyone else been subjected to this and is it normal procedure?

Miss_P_8

Hi, I work in a housing benefit office at my local council. You were previously required to complete a review/renewal form every 6 or 12 months and provide all evidnce to support your claim. In an attempt to cut down on unneccesary paperwork etc there are no longer reviews/renewals. Housing benefit claims do not have an end date and will only be closed if circumstances change and you are no longer entitled. However to make sure records are kept up to date people are visited by an officer to verify all info. It is just a way of making sure claim is paid correctly. It could turn out in your favour as there may be something you thought was not relevant that could mean you are entitled to more money.

I wouldn't worry. I know it can seem invasive and intrusive but it is neccesary. Certainly the visiting officers where I work would be very polite and efficient and would take up as little time as possible. Over the years councils have gained a reputation for being inefficient and useless. This is changing, certainly where I work, and things are getting better. If after the visit you are not happy with anything contact the Housing benefit manager of your local council.

Hope this puts your mind at rest.

Fran

Miss_P,

Are you talking about some authorities including the one you work in or all authorities in England and Wales. I live in Wales and have received a renewal form today.

Allexie,

I know how you feel as I have had a visit in the past.

Allexie

Thanks Miss P for the information...so is it just standard procedure everywhere then now??


Might sound daft, or even paranoid but I did wonder if someone had reported me for co-habiting or working, (not the case!) and they were coming round to look for evidence!

Fran...yes, its not nice is it?!

maggut

I have in the past recieved these visits....out of the blue,it makes you feel guilty about claiming benefit that you are entitled to,it also makes you feel like they dont trust the information you have given them and that you are lying....even when you are not! I got off housing benefit as soon i possibly could due to the lousy way i was treated whilst on it. Good luck with your visit!

loopy_lass

yeh its all normal practice, and i guess, if theres nothing to hide, its not a problem. Ive had this happen on quite a few occasions, and staff have been polite and quick.

dont worry about it... loops

spankymonkey_2

we had our visit today(cambridgeshire) and the woman was sooo nice! it did help she liked dogs and i have a 5 month old jack russell puppy!!! it was better than going through all the forms just had to show bank statements and receipts of you benefit claims. couldnt of been easier!

cc74

I had two DWP officers turn up at my house on a SUNDAY! They asked me to confirm my situation was still the same and sign the form. (the officers seemed very nice).

I was completely thrown. Felt slightly intruded as no notice was given. What if I had visitors over?

I know I have nothing to hide but I am now worried. Why on a Sunday? (thought government only worked mon-fri). It was stressful with the kids running riot and needing the loo (potty training). I would have liked a bit of warning they were coming. My neighbour thinks they turned up on a Sunday as they are investigating me. Do you think this is true? They didn't say anything like that.

This is my first entry on this site, so forgive me for waffling!

Fran

My first thought was... were they really from HB especially as you had no notice of the visit. Perhaps you should phone to check on Monday that they were genuine.

Paul_Varjak

I was told in 1996/97 (by Citizens Advice Bureau) that the DWP and local Council target certain categories of claimants for visits (i.e. categories where there is a high level of fraud).

In my case, I am disabled claiming DLA mobility component (but no care) and was claiming Income Support and Incapacity Benefit. However, I never filled in the forms provided by the DSS for Council Tax/ Housing benefits because they never provided enough info for the Council so you always had to fill in more forms for them (I just filled in Councils' own forms).

Apparently all this put me into a 'high risk' category and I received a phone call from the Benefits Agency saying:

"We want to check that you are who you say you are and live where you say you live".

I was rather incensed at this - as I had only been visited by two 'fraud' officers from the DSS two weeks earlier! I told the man that he should check with the fraud department because they had verified my identity and put down the phone. I heard no more! This was in 1996 or 1997.

In October 2003, I had a vist from two DWP officials to verify my claim but about six weeks later I received a letter from the Housing Benefit department wanting to interview me under caution for alleged fraud! I attended the interview when they fired a lot of account names and numbers at me. I recognised them because I was power of attorney for my mum. They were all my mum's investments but, for some reason, they thought they were mine!

I had not lived with mum for over thirty years and my mum was in a residential home and all the income was used to pay for her care. When she died in November 2004 I stopped claiming six weeks before we got probate just to be sure I did not fall foul of any law.

I think the DWP and Council staff are more professional than they were in 1996 but don't let that professionalism fool you - there is a fair chance they are visiting simply because someone has made an anonymous allegation. In fact, if you ask them this directly I found that they will admit it!

jockettuk

not only will they visit you but they will sit in there car and follow you for days.. this happened to me a few yrs ago abt a yr after my husband and i separated.. i only found out because i phoned the police to say that a man was following me and my daughter and seemed suspicious, turned out to be from the dhss and was doing a check to see that i wasnt going to work etc,, rang them up and gave them hell telling them that im a woman on my own with a child and they send a creepy bloke to follow me. they didnt even apologise and it could even have happened since