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

mother_of_six

The letter I received was different it said we need information about your claim I claim wtc
You have made a tax credits claim as a single person, but we have information that there may be another adult living with you.
I phoned and the system was down so they could tell me nothing.
I have now sent all the information requested but I also had to admit that Yes there are indeed other adults living with me 2 grown up children who both work and pay tax
This company is just using data matching and not checking what pops up as its more work for them and they only get paid for results.
My biggest gripe is having to send a load of sensitive information at my expense via royal mail
I do not receive any other benefits because I have 2 working children at home and now the little wtc I get may very well be stopped due to there error as no doubt this will now need me to prove both adults are related to me

sarar

I have just received a letter from Concentrix asking me to prove that I do not have a partner and I'm not happy about it. I am a disabled person who lives with her parents as they are my carers and now all of a sudden they think I have a partners, it's laughable really. I am also not happy with supply all my details to them, especially bank accounts and sending them to a PO Box too.

sarar

I have just received a letter from Concentrix asking me to prove that I do not have a partner and I'm not happy about it. I am a disabled person who lives with her parents as they are my carers and now all of a sudden they think I have a partners, it's laughable really. I am also not happy with supply all my details to them, especially bank accounts and sending them to a PO Box too.

tomtontom

sarar wrote: »

I have just received a letter from Concentrix asking me to prove that I do not have a partner and I'm not happy about it. I am a disabled person who lives with her parents as they are my carers and now all of a sudden they think I have a partners, it's laughable really. I am also not happy with supply all my details to them, especially bank accounts and sending them to a PO Box too.

If you are not happy to verify your circumstances then you are free to close your claim. However should you wish for the state to continue to provide you with an income you will need to submit the requested documents.

C_Mababejive

Only read page one. The difficulty is,how do you deem someone to be living alone or with a partner?

The most common scenario these days is that female gets knocked up,the sperm donor enjoys the sex and all the trimmings but doesnt want all that hapy family stuff and paying for it. His baby mother knowing that he wont pay, must make the state pay otherwise she is on her a*rse so she poses as single mother,get the house and all the bennys etc.

Meanwhile baby father comes round when it suits him to play happy families, knob her and check that she is not being so audacious as to be looking for another, more worthwhile man.

So when does overnight stays and visiting become living with?

Its true we need to check and clamp down more. There is no such thing as a single mother unless the father is deceased.

We need to do more DNA testing and making fathers accountable.

sarar

tomtontom wrote: »

If you are not happy to verify your circumstances then you are free to close your claim. However should you wish for the state to continue to provide you with an income you will need to submit the requested documents.

Calm down tomtontom, it's just the supplying of bank details that I am not happy with. I do work as many hours as my disability allows and it is a very demanding job.

missapril75

Cornucopia wrote: »

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

My money is on the former.

It's in post 125 and see following comments, mine included at 129

penny7271

Read The Independent Newspaper article dated 20th February 2015, entitled People In Need At Risk Of Losing Tax Credits After Being Wrongly Accused Of Cheating.

It's not the fact they investigate people, it's how they're going about it, a wide sweeping and indiscriminate witch hunt and fishing expedition which is profit focussed and performed by employees of a company that admit themselves, they are untrained for and don't bother looking at information they already hold properly due to a lack of time as they are under pressure to meet targets in regards to the number of claims they open.

By ignoring information they already have which identify genuine claims, they are now creating a back log of claims that need reinstating, leaving genuine claimants without benefit payments for months, not to mention failing to return/losing original documents that claimants send in. Another point is that if they are acting so unprofessionally and irresponsibly, how safe is personal data they now have access to as a result of demanding phone bills and bank statements?

So no, that's not an acceptable way of conducting investigations and 'if you're innocent you have nothing to fear' doesn't apply in this society now, if it ever did, and certainly not in this case.

billywilly

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Only read page one. The difficulty is,how do you deem someone to be living alone or with a partner?

The most common scenario these days is that female gets knocked up,the sperm donor enjoys the sex and all the trimmings but doesnt want all that hapy family stuff and paying for it. His baby mother knowing that he wont pay, must make the state pay otherwise she is on her a*rse so she poses as single mother,get the house and all the bennys etc.

Meanwhile baby father comes round when it suits him to play happy families, knob her and check that she is not being so audacious as to be looking for another, more worthwhile man.

So when does overnight stays and visiting become living with?
.

Oh I like that. My daughter's ex boyfriend is the father of my grandchild - he makes no financial contribution ( doesn't work/won't work) other than to say that love is more important! Anyhow that is another story.

This same guy made another girl pregnant. Like your story he pop's around a couple of times a week for a bit of hows your father. She now has a 2 bed council place and is totally reliant on the state for her money as she claims to be a single mum.
He also has a 2 bed council property and his income comes via benefits.
He deals in drugs/tobacco and knock offs and makes a nice living out of it.

They have the system all sewn up.

GwylimT

It took just shy of eight months to get the single person council tax discount when my wife died, apparently a death certificate was not proof that she was no longer living at the address.