MSE News: Single parents sent 'threatening' letters demanding proof they live alone

Londonsu

Alevelintoldyouso wrote: »

This is the same type of case as the one I assisted with. If you can click back to my explanation you will see that proving relationship (photocopy of birth certificate will show at least one shared parent) with your brother will bring an end to this enquiry.

My view is that the Electoral Roll has shown you at the same property.

What I find distasteful in my claimants case is the fact that the 'other adult' has the same surname and therefore is almost certainly a family member. No consideration of that fact is made in the writing of these letters.

Or a spouse (even an ex spouse)

missapril75

Londonsu wrote: »

Or a spouse (even an ex spouse)

Or even a person (partner) just taking on the same name for the sake of appearances.

debznicholson

I received a letter from wtc stating that they believed I was living with a partner and as I was claiming as a single person they needed to investigate and my money had stopped!!! With this was a copy of a letter they allegedly posted to me a month earlier. I didn't receive any previous letters. I have had to provide 3 mths worth of bank statements, utility bills, letter from landlord, etc. 6 weeks later and they still haven't sorted it. All because someone who lived at my address previously came up on checks. The number provided to call gets a response once in a blue moon & I have to say some staff have been downright condescending! I can't manage without my payments. They have received my documents weeks ago and I now can't get hold of anyone. Anyone have a clue what I can do next before I have a complete breakdown?

wiltsguy_2

quite simply there is no sympathy for benefit fraudsters-it's wrong and illegal and i have no sympathy whatsover.

Where sympathy should be given is to the genuine claimants having their payments stopped, this is not down to the goverment, its because of the scumbags that commit fraudulent claims, thus the requirement for checks.

debznicholson

I completely understand why they need to do it. They do however need to use a more reliable system than performing address credit checks using out of date info. My main issue with them is, I have provided all evidence they asked for promptly and six weeks later they still haven't sorted it. If I could manage without that money I wouldn't have claimed in the first place. I have been always polite when anyone does answer the phone and they have just been plain rude. Anyway such organisations are needed but surely someone somewhere should be able to train them to be both efficient and effective instead of a drain on the public purse. I was answered initially on the phone by someone stuffing their face. I would imagine that they had a lunch break and as it was five mins before closing I would also assume that it was that urgent a need for sustenance

missapril75

debznicholson wrote: »

I completely understand why they need to do it. They do however need to use a more reliable system than performing address credit checks using out of date info.

They do. They wrote to you and didn't get a response.

My main issue with them is, I have provided all evidence they asked for promptly and six weeks later they still haven't sorted it.

Yes, this is a poor showing and if they can't do better then they shouldn't be able to suspend payments on the strength of only one attempted contact. There ought to be a reminder. Having one item of mail not arrive is rare, but possible. A second one from the same source as the first is nigh on impossible.

Anyway such organisations are needed but surely someone somewhere should be able to train them to be both efficient and effective instead of a drain on the public purse.

Sadly such organisations funded by the public purse are not funded sufficiently well to be efficient.

That reminder doubles the initial cost. As would the cost of any other attempts at contact. They will probably argue, with good cause, that their funding won't allow it. The taxpayer should either accept that good services cost money or accept the lower level of service that results.

hateconcentrix

I googled concentrix complaints and was not surprised when a numerous results came up. This looks to be a nice long running one to post my dealings with this two bit operation, aka concentrix.

I am a single mum, didn't set out to be one but that's what happened. I was working and doing awkward shifts for which it was v hard to find childcare for, but managed after claiming childcare element of working tax credit.

I got a place on a full time course which I recently started and so handed in my notice. About the same time as I handed in my notice, I received a letter from a company called concentrix claiming they were working on behalf of hmrc tax credits and I had two weeks to send in highly sensitive information about my children, child care provider, original receipts, and original bank statements. If I didn't they would stop my claim. I phoned up tax credits and asked about this, and also tried to let them know that I was going to stop working. I was told to deal with concentrix and that I couldn't report changes before they happened. I sent in the information to concentrix, an office based in Northern Ireland.

On my last day working, I phoned tax credits, but was kept waiting with no reply after 45 minutes. I needed to phone concentrix anyway to ask if they had received my information and when I was likely to receive it back. I was told it was still being processed. I asked concentrix why I couldn't get through to main tax credit number to report the change and was surprised when concentrix offered to report the change on my behalf. They even said that as i had reported the change on time, I would get four weeks extra tax credits, which as I made the transition to being a full time student would be a much needed relief. I still felt uneasy however so I continued to try the tax credit number.

I tried a number of times over the next few weeks but would go through the recorded message security clearance only to be cut off as the lines were too busy. When I was paid on Friday, tax credits which was past the four week advance, I started to panic. The recorded message does mention gov.uk website to report changes, however the website just gives you the tax credit helpline. I finally got through to tax credits yesterday (Saturday) after a 50 minute wait on a mobile phone which only gives me 100free minutes. It was confirmed to me that concentrix had not reported any change to them, all they had done was report that my childcare information was correct. Concentrix hadn't even bothered to let me know of the outcome of their investigation, and had mislead me or failed when they said they would update my claim.

I phoned concentrix. They still had the information that I had stopped working on file but no further details that they had contacted hmrc with this. They assured me that they would now pass this over after apologising for their mistake. They then phoned me back to say that as my case was now closed, they couldn't update the details. I asked them when my case closed, they said 1st April (fools indeed), I pointed out the day I stopped working and phoned to report the change was 31st march. I was promised a phone call from the manager but this hasn't happened yet.

I am now facing an overpayment, I cannot really afford as a full time student trying to bring up children by myself.

I know this isn't exactly the same topic as concentrix claiming that single mums have boyfriends which they are hiding away, but would just like to point out the descrepency that a private company can claim to work on behalf of a government agency and only pass on information as they see fit.

Also that concentrix is a company with very little in the way of accountability.

They have obviously been targetting a very vulnerable group in society, single mums. Let me just point out that we are not scroungers. Most of us are trying our best juggling with multiple problems on our own, we don't need nasty little companies like concentrix on our back making a hash of things. If the government sees fit to close down and lay off tax credit agency helpline workers, it needs to replace with a better more accountable private company.

Instead of targetting single mums, why not target our abusive, tax dodging Exes?

sooperb

I have read nearly all of this thread with interest. Some are questioning why people think the letter is threatening. One of my children has just received a letter from Concentrix, not questioning that there might be cohabitation going on but just suggesting they want to check the WTC claim. They have 30 days to provide the required documentation. Ok, so they claim WTC and HB. They are quaking in their boots, not because they have over-claimed or are guilty of any wrong doing but because through the years they have claimed benefit as a single parent they have had their benefit stopped at least 3 times and had HB investigations at least twice.

Having your benefit stopped when you have 2 dependent children and are just about keeping afloat is bad enough, but when that benefit is stopped and you aren't informed and only find out when you check your bank account, see the expected payment isn't there, telephone and are then told it's been stopped and "you have had a letter" which you haven't, the feeling of panic isn't nice. Because your benefit has been stopped they very kindly inform the HB office who also very kindly stop your rent payment. There you are, two children who need feeding and a landlord who needs paying and you don't have the money. Not once but 3 times at least, each time it has been at least 3 weeks before the payment was resumed, no evidence of wrong doing was ever found and just as a nice Brucie bonus you've been given the runaround, told to send your documents to an office that stopped dealing at least a year before, lied to and generally treated badly and then no apology is ever given when they find that some of it was their mistake not yours. Is it really any wonder that having only a few weeks ago received a letter stating that because they've earned more than they were permitted to, your HB was over paid and you must pay it back (an error that the boss made by putting in an extra hour somewhere and by giving you a pay rise that you were assured by the WTC office wouldn't make any difference to your WTC) it somehow created a huge overpayment of HB because they back dated it that receiving this letter would make the recipient feel threatened, especially when it says that you could have your benefit suspended?

If you haven't been in this situation, be grateful, it's appalling, more especially for someone who is recovering from depression, making an effort to be self supporting in part and who hasn't done anything wrong. When stuff like this keeps happening, they do indeed become fearful of every brown envelope that lands on the mat.

missapril75

sooperb wrote: »

I have read nearly all of this thread with interest. Some are questioning why people think the letter is threatening.

And when an example was reproduced showing the letter was in fact NOT threatening, as many of us suspected, we saw the proof.

However, what you describe is something very different.

Cornucopia

missapril75 wrote: »

And when an example was reproduced showing the letter was in fact NOT threatening, as many of us suspected, we saw the proof.

However, what you describe is something very different.

So is it the same letter, different interpretation; or a completely different letter?

My money is on the former.