Housing Benefit - Home Visit!

Str4berr3

May i ask if any of your DSS visitors had carried around a large palmtop(size of a laptop-but with the pen thingy) as i have had two occassion where two different men in suits knocking on my door on a Saturday, claiming to be doing a marketing questionaire ( he did not knock on the other doors). But when i told him no and i did not want to participate he said something like- This was instructed by Her Mayesty ( Honestly! like i had no choice )Anyway the questions was'nt about marketing! he was asking me who lived here what was our names how long have i lived here etc. Not being funny but dont the DSS ask questions like this?
Aren't Marketing researchers suppose to ask things like what are your interests, where do u shop, or what washing powder do you use???? (persil that is!)

Allexie

Str4berr3 wrote:

May i ask if any of your DSS visitors had carried around a large palmtop(size of a laptop-but with the pen thingy) as i have had two occassion where two different men in suits knocking on my door on a Saturday, claiming to be doing a marketing questionaire ( he did not knock on the other doors). But when i told him no and i did not want to participate he said something like- This was instructed by Her Mayesty ( Honestly! like i had no choice )Anyway the questions was'nt about marketing! he was asking me who lived here what was our names how long have i lived here etc. Not being funny but dont the DSS ask questions like this?
Aren't Marketing researchers suppose to ask things like what are your interests, where do u shop, or what washing powder do you use???? (persil that is!)

Did you see their ID? Or get the name of the company and ring and check their credibility? Gawd...you have to be sooo careful these days!! My HB 'visitor' just had a large clipboard!

Str4berr3

Allexie wrote:

Did you see their ID? Or get the name of the company and ring and check their credibility? Gawd...you have to be sooo careful these days!! My HB 'visitor' just had a large clipboard!

I remember their ID was a photocard of themselves 1st visit woke me up and i was abit dazed, and Second visit was the same but i dont remember what company he claimed to be. ( I was more worried about the mess the kids made in the living room at the time!) in the end the second one realised he was in the wrong building but same door number!
I will be more alert next, a friend of mine a year ago had the same situation but claiming to be from Sure Start, came in with his palm top thing asked loads of similar questions as mine were. But gave her a 10 pounds gift voucher for woolworths!!(wish i had that!)

hamaradam

My local CAB told me that the only reason they come to look in your house is that either they suspect fraud or they have been maliciously (you are wrongly accused) 'tipped off,' - usually by ex-wives/ex husbands!!

As, there is nothing in the form which you have to fill in again, (and again and again ) - that they do not already know. and you tell me why they need to come into your house to do that!! All under the guise of ' verification process' and 'we are here to make sure you are receiving all of the benefits to which you are entitled' As Jim Royal would say 'my a**e'!! It is simply an exercise just like a lie-detector, they do to see if they can catch you out or see if you give a different answer, it's as simple as that. All with their assumed air of authority and an exaggerated idea of their own importance, when their previous positions held, are likely to be 'person in charge of the medicine ball cupboard' in the school gym...

And they will ask to use your toilet. Don't let them, they will be searching in the dirty linen basket for underpants and socks, or bras and knickers, how many toothbrushes there are, this actually happened to my neighbour where I used to live, and her small son (7 yrs) watched the man actually look into the bathroom cabinets and linen - I must add the boy, he'd looked through a badly fitting door with etched glass, he said 'I heard the cupboard door opening' and heard the noise of his toy bear which was in the linen basket at the time. he also thought it odd that the man hadn't pulled the chain. This was all unbeknown to my old neighbour as it was upstairs at the back of a big old town-house. You couldn't make it up!!

Oh, and she wasn't doing anything wrong either. I think that there must be a law against people like this insisting on invading your privacy, after all when you have been in an accident they are not coming to your house to 'see if you are getting all the help you should' no! - more like you have to go in a wheelchair and demand to know where your benefits are and insist on having them then and there, and the only explanation for your benefits being not forthcoming is silence. I'm sure that there must be a law against this invading privacy,- but people don't want it to be common knowledge., you know like bailiffs make you think you must let them in.. Bet I'm right....