Another home visit on JSA, is this common?

Housing_Benefit_Officer

At the end of the day if you have correctly declared your household and financial circumstances then you have nothing to hide.

Benefit payments are tax payers money and there must be checks and balances to ensure the right benefit is going to the right people at the right time.

If home interviews feel uncomfortable the people visiting are only doing their jobs to ensure you are receiving benefit correctly.

If you are lying about your household or financial circumstances and someone grasses you up and you get rumbled you deserve to get everything that comes your way.

mariat

StormyWeather wrote: »

Yes, it does seem silly that they'd give notice. They'd be better trying to catch people at work.

What did they do at the visit? Just have a chat or did they take a look around? I don't see what a visit would achieve.

When I did a new application for housing benefit, I had a home visit. They turned up without giving any notice. It made sense that they wanted to check that I really was living there and it wasn't some housing benefit fraud.

He just spoke to my husband and was satisfied he was telling the truth. Do they have the right to look round? Surely, that's an invasion of privacy?

mariat

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

At the end of the day if you have correctly declared your household and financial circumstances then you have nothing to hide.

Benefit payments are tax payers money and there must be checks and balances to ensure the right benefit is going to the right people at the right time.

If home interviews feel uncomfortable the people visiting are only doing their jobs to ensure you are receiving benefit correctly.

If you are lying about your household or financial circumstances and someone grasses you up and you get rumbled you deserve to get everything that comes your way.

We havre the right to some privacy, whether we are receiving benefits or not. Being unemployed doesn't mean we are criminals. We are NOT lying and have nothing to hide, but being checked up on like this is stressful, and I don't appreciate it.

missapril75

mariat wrote: »

Do they have the right to look round?

Only what you want to show.

If someone was being investigated for living with someone else as a couple, they would keep an eye open for signs of another presence in the home, but whether they look in the bedroom, for example, would be up to the person being seen.

Could it be that the work program involves going to another building? Maybe one shared with other businesses and someone has seen either or both entering and mistakenly assumed to be working there?

That would be funny, wouldn't it - reported for attendance at work program.:rotfl:

missapril75

Another point is that offices tend to operate on a paperless basis.

Gone are the days when some post is linked with a file and if it was a duplicate of something previously investigated that could easily be noted.

Now it's likely to be a new file, with the computer records showing no more than previous "fraud" interest without reference to what it was.

In some ways, of course, that might then make it seem more important to look into the allegation.

"Look...we have another allegation. Let's take a real good look."

FBaby

but being checked up on like this is stressful, and I don't appreciate it.

I don't understand this. If you have nothing to worry about because you know you are doing everything by the book, why is it stressful? I'm not saying you are guilty of something, I just don't understand why if you know you are guilt free why you are stressed about a visit.

mariat

missapril75 wrote: »

Another point is that offices tend to operate on a paperless basis.

Gone are the days when some post is linked with a file and if it was a duplicate of something previously investigated that could easily be noted.

Now it's likely to be a new file, with the computer records showing no more than previous "fraud" interest without reference to what it was.

In some ways, of course, that might then make it seem more important to look into the allegation.

"Look...we have another allegation. Let's take a real good look."

That's comforting! So, if this lovely instigator keeps reporting us, the Jobcenter will think there must be something untoward going on, simply because we have been visited before. So, this time we'll be in for the grand inquisition. Can't wait!

I really can't imagine that our attendance at the work programe is to blame for this. Apart from the fact that barely anyone knows we sign on, we barely ever go out other than to sign on or work programe. No cash to socialise. If what a previous poster said is correct and questions would have been asked about comings and goings, place of work etc., whoever complained must have elaborated and lied through their teeth. The only other possibility is that they have found out about our lottery winnings (JOKE).

mariat

FBaby wrote: »

I don't understand this. If you have nothing to worry about because you know you are doing everything by the book, why is it stressful? I'm not saying you are guilty of something, I just don't understand why if you know you are guilt free why you are stressed about a visit.

We value our privacy, and it seems that our lives are not our own when claiming benefits. Once is fair enough, but twice? And, where is it going to end?. How would you feel knowing that someone you probably know is doing this behind your back? More than once too. No wonder we are stressed.

Robbie64

missapril75 wrote: »

Only what you want to show.

If someone was being investigated for living with someone else as a couple, they would keep an eye open for signs of another presence in the home, but whether they look in the bedroom, for example, would be up to the person being seen.

When doing "living together" interviews, the officer is specifically told in training that he or she is not allowed to ask questions relating to sexual relationships nor is he or she allowed to ask to see the bedroom though there are ways around the latter in certain circumstances. The claimant can volunteer information and can offer to let the officer inspect the bedroom or to look around the house but it has to be at the claimant's invitation. If the officer tries to force the claimant to show him or her around the property in order to snoop then the claimant should make a formal complaint to the benefit office.

FBaby

mariat wrote: »

We value our privacy, and it seems that our lives are not our own when claiming benefits. Once is fair enough, but twice? And, where is it going to end?. How would you feel knowing that someone you probably know is doing this behind your back? More than once too. No wonder we are stressed.

I would be honestly welcome the opportunity to show them wrong and looking like idiots. no one has privacy. when it is not benefits its the tax man.