received letter from the Benefits Integrity Centre, am on income support, does anyone

raven83

UranusKiller wrote: »

Yeah i hate the way they try to make you feel like a benefit abuser with the words in which they sometimes use. I hope they do ask for bank statements from me. They will probably ask why do you have allot more money in your bank since you started claiming. Well durr! Many reasons which i don't need to go into.

Like i said i doubt they will ask for bank statements and it is usually the compliance team that deal with fraud etc. Yes they way they word it does make you feel like you havee done something wrong especially as it from the "integrity" centre.

raven83

UranusKiller wrote: »

Yeah i hate the way they try to make you feel like a benefit abuser with the words in which they sometimes use. I hope they do ask for bank statements from me. They will probably ask why do you have allot more money in your bank since you started claiming. Well durr! Many reasons which i don't need to go into.

Just wanted to update this for UranusKiller, i got my response back today and basically it was just a normal review, nothing has changed and nothing to worry about

UranusKiller

That's great raven, i asked my local office and they said it's just a review incase any other circumstances have changed, i said it seems strange since it's from an integrity centre and she said it's nothing to worry about, if it was anything serious like fraud a different team take charge of that. I sent mine out Wednesday, should hear back next week sometime.

raven83

UranusKiller wrote: »

That's great raven, i asked my local office and they said it's just a review incase any other circumstances have changed, i said it seems strange since it's from an integrity centre and she said it's nothing to worry about, if it was anything serious like fraud a different team take charge of that. I sent mine out Wednesday, should hear back next week sometime.

Yeah that is exactly what i thought, it would of been the compliance team for fraud, but it is the word "integrity" that got my worried, wish these people wouldnt use such words when they are just sending out reveiws! Glad that is the end of that, do feel rather relived (even though i have nothing to hide)

Popperwell

I have had a form like this in the past week and filled in but I hate such forms even when nothing is wrong. The only thing that has changed is that I am alone now(Mum passed away)and the little savings Mum has is in probate and I will have to fill forms in and wait for her estate to clear. Then I will lose my benefits(well some)until her savings drop below a certain level as it will become my capital.

I have been advised by the CAB how to proceed so far but that was before this form arrived(and they were advising me about other things)and I cannot see them again until the form has been sent in on the date they have requested etc...

However my form just says much as everyone else has said that it is to make sure that I am getting the right amount of money but I notice one of you said something about if anything is highlighted...

On my form there are two sentences that have been highlighted...and are about bank accounts and savings...

"You Must answer for every item in the list" and "How much are you and your partner's savings worth in total?" Is that unusual?

On the front page is a big black marker pen across the line "If you wait for more than a month, you could lose some money" But the line "Send this form back as soon as possible" is left clear.

Anubis wrote: »

With what you put about the month being crossed out and the income page being highlighted, this would seem to suggest its been issued due to an allegation.

Ours had the month to send the form back and no stamp on that page. It would seem then, for anyone getting these forms, that if you have a shorter timescale than shown to send back and certain pages stamped, it could be due to an allegation.

The covering letter says do not take the form into the job centre but send it back in the supplied envelope.

skylight wrote: »

I recieved one this morning too. They want it back within 2 weeks and has the month crossed out on the front. It has also been stamped on the front and on the income/savings page about answering honestly or else. I was planning on answering it accurately and honestly anyway!

Is this what was meant about the month being crossed out?

raven83 wrote: »

Is any of it highlighted? but from what i can gather if it isn't hightlighted and you been claiming for a period of time then it is just a standard review.

I have been awarded it for a number of years but cannot remember if on the last form these sections were highlighted etc...or it's just this time around and to TBH I cannot remember how many years it is since the last form was sent out...it could be two or three years. I am usually good with forms as I usually photocopy everything and keep a copy for my own reference. But cannot find a copy of the previous form.

It is an A2 form and sent from Chelmsford.

Any advice appreciated...

mikey_bach

Its absolutely nothing to worry about.
Different BDCs do work for other BDCc, they review each others claims as a matter of course.
They have scans, they may review customers claims say with Part Time earnings, they will send forms out to everyone on the scan to check their entitlement.

We have Hastings and Ilford review our claims and we are based in Wales....
They send out the A2s for review and put an envelope for it to go back to them because they are reviewing the claim and not us.

They give a month for the form to go back and can suspend if it doesnt.

They highlight the form in the common places people forget to fill it in so it doesnt have to be resent out.
Capital, people think because they bank is over drawn etc they dont have to put it on the form, but the box still has to be ticked.
People skip pages or just line them if they dont think that it applies to then
So thats why the BICs highlight the common pages.
The form just needs filling completely with every relevant box ticked

Please dont worry fill the form return it and you will be fine.

In fact they find lots of arrears that are owed to people, at present am working on claim that is owed SDP from 2003, cust has no idea will be getting thousands....

Penny-Pincher!!

Someone I know had one of these forms last year, he filled it in and ended up with £2500 paid into his bank account from apparant money they owed him after doing their checks?

Popperwell

mikey_bach wrote: »

Its absolutely nothing to worry about.
Different BDCs do work for other BDCc, they review each others claims as a matter of course.
They have scans, they may review customers claims say with Part Time earnings, they will send forms out to everyone on the scan to check their entitlement.

We have Hastings and Ilford review our claims and we are based in Wales....
They send out the A2s for review and put an envelope for it to go back to them because they are reviewing the claim and not us.

They give a month for the form to go back and can suspend if it doesnt.

They highlight the form in the common places people forget to fill it in so it doesnt have to be resent out.
Capital, people think because they bank is over drawn etc they dont have to put it on the form, but the box still has to be ticked.
People skip pages or just line them if they dont think that it applies to then
So thats why the BICs highlight the common pages.
The form just needs filling completely with every relevant box ticked

Please dont worry fill the form return it and you will be fine.

In fact they find lots of arrears that are owed to people, at present am working on claim that is owed SDP from 2003, cust has no idea will be getting thousands....

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

Someone I know had one of these forms last year, he filled it in and ended up with £2500 paid into his bank account from apparant money they owed him after doing their checks?

Thanks both of you I really appreciate that but...

Went to CAB to ask them to read through my photocopy of the form about IS even though I mailed it in yesterday so they'd get it today, I wanted to see if the CAB were happy with my answers, if had missed answering anything etc...

He only looked at two pages and said "As you've sent it in, come back if you have any problems and we'll help, wait and see what happens!" He said a lot of people have been getting them lately, that they are trying to get people off IS and onto ESA.

So a waste of time and taxi fare, not really any help. But he seemed to be only uninterested after he saw and heard about the black marker pen through that statement on the front page of the form, where it said return the form as soon as possible(but you could not see the rest)about having a month to return it.

And the page where the details of all you have moneywise had been highlighted with a highlighter pen.

And he asked if he could have a photocopy showing how they had used that marker pen. He said "They sent it out like that!":eek:

I am assuming he hasn't seen that before and perhaps when I had gone maybe he was discussing it with his colleages?

Perhaps hiding his reaction from me?

So I hope that does not mean I have something to worry about...It's set me off again...Hope it's just me being paranoid...

Penny-Pincher!!

Popperwell wrote: »

Thanks both of you I really appreciate that but...

Went to CAB to ask them to read through my photocopy of the form about IS even though I mailed it in yesterday so they'd get it today, I wanted to see if the CAB were happy with my answers, if had missed answering anything etc...

He only looked at two pages and said "As you've sent it in, come back if you have any problems and we'll help, wait and see what happens!" He said a lot of people have been getting them lately, that they are trying to get people off IS and onto ESA.

So a waste of time and taxi fare, not really any help. But he seemed to be only uninterested after he saw and heard about the black marker pen through that statement on the front page of the form, where it said return the form as soon as possible(but you could not see the rest)about having a month to return it.

And the page where the details of all you have moneywise had been highlighted with a highlighter pen.

And he asked if he could have a photocopy showing how they had used that marker pen. He said "They sent it out like that!":eek:

I am assuming he hasn't seen that before and perhaps when I had gone maybe he was discussing it with his colleages?

Perhaps hiding his reaction from me?

So I hope that does not mean I have something to worry about...It's set me off again...Hope it's just me being paranoid...

I asked the person who had one of these form sent to them last year and they had a marker pen through it and had 10 days to send it back. They sent back straight away after filling it in, then had a big amount paid in with a following letter.

Please don't worry about it!

mikey_bach

Because they do work for other BDCs the BICS have to mark the forms because quite often even though they put an envelope for the customer to return it to them, they dont and it gets sent back to the owning office.

We see the forms with the marker pen on and marked BIC and we send them on to them.
They highlight the form because most people leave big sections of the form blank.
These reviews are nothing to worry about they are just working from a scan and sending these forms out to people on the scan.