DWP benefit review letter from compliance officer

saving_pennies

Hi everyone,

I am a little worried about a letter I received and I am hoping someone may have some advice or suggestions.

I have received a letter from DWP stating "We are reviewing your benefit claim" which goes on to say they have arranged a time to discuss any changes that affect my benefit claim and I have to bring ID and bank statements to the appointment.

This in itself isn't too concerning as I understand they need to check claimants and I guess may even randomly check claimants for quality control. I got concerned when I saw it was signed by a Compliance Officer and when I read the letter again I wonder if they are implying that I haven't told them of a change in circumstances that affect my benefits. At this point my mind is racing trying to work out why I have been called in for a "chat" with the Compliance Officer.

I am currently receiving DLA (not yet been asked to apply for PIP) and ESA support group income based.

I think the words "Compliance Officer" has scared me a bit and I am worrying that I will turn up and be told it is being recorded and I'm under caution.

Does anyone know if "Compliance Officer" means that benefits think I have done something wrong or withheld information or is it a standard to have benefit review letters signed by Compliance Officer?

I have updated the benefits office of two things in the last year and I am wondering if the letter is linked to them:

1. I received a large overpayment from Social Services (direct payments) and it was surprisingly difficult to get Social Services to accept they made a mistake and allow me to pay the money back! For approx. a week I have this extra money in my account. I believe Direct Payments are not taken into account in terms of income-related benefits, but the account is in my name so it is not obvious that it is not my money to spend as I wish. And for that week, if you added my accounts together the total was just over £6000.

2. Approx 4 months ago I was offered ad-hoc paid work for no more than a couple hours a week and this was approved by DWP as permitted work. Perhaps they want to check my earnings are within the permitted work limits?

I am grateful for your time and advice.

SP

UKTigerlily

Hey, I can't say if this is the same in your case, as who knows how the DWP think!

I had one of these, I had to take bank statements to a compliance officer (might have been called a compliance interview) & they took about 5 minutes, looked at them all, asked if any other accounts & thanked me for turning up as apparently many don't!

It was nothing at all to worry about (tho I did!) and done & dusted within minutes, and I haven't had another since & it was at least the December before last x

PS I think they pick victims at random too!

TELLIT01

UKTigerlily wrote: »

PS I think they pick victims at random too!

You're correct in your thinking - about the random bit anyway. The Compliance Officer is the title of the person / team who have the responsibility to ensure that claims and claimants do comply with the rules to be entitled to benefit, hence the name.

robti

Had this and all they did was check my bank statement ask about a couple of payments, explained them and that was that

saving_pennies

Thank you all for sharing your experience and explaining the role of Compliance Officer. Always good to hear that appointments can go smoothly and hopefully mine will be as simple and over in minutes. Before I posted here yesterday, I did a quick google for Benefit Compliance Officer and all the results did was increase my anxiety with people sharing horror stories.

I am also relieved to know they pick 'victims' at random - I hope I am one of the random ones lol

Thanks

red_devil

take someone with you, its abit of an interrogation not very friendly.

kingfisherblue

I've had compliance interviews twice - once because I volunteer for Girlguiding and a member of their staff said it was a paid position, and once because of a malicious anonymous phone call. Both were unfounded as I was innocent of any wrongdoing.

The first interview turned into a friendly chat. The second interview was less friendly, but not an interrogation. I wasn't asked to take anything with me, but I did offer to return with bank and Post Office statements - which were declined. This interview was longer than the first. However, as it was less straightforward than my first interview, that's understandable.

letthemeatcake

I was told Direct payments had to go into a separate account and had to provide the account details before any payment was made. You will have to show the amount of DP's paid into your everyday account and where they came from and which account they were transferred to. You are correct in that they do not count as income.

saving_pennies

I hope mine isn't an interrogation! I think taking someone with me would be useful. My main carer cannot attend however I have a support worker I will ask.

letthemeatcake wrote: »

I was told Direct payments had to go into a separate account.

Yes, I also had to set up a new account and give these details to Social Services. My Direct Payments go into a separate account. The account is in my name though so if DWP were to look only at the balance of all my accounts they would not know that one of the accounts is solely for Direct Payments. It would be clear from the bank statements and I am happy to provide this to DWP.

saving_pennies

Hello again,

I have an update. As this post is long, I have put a short update before I launch into an essay!

The short update:
I have discovered the Compliance interview is linked to receiving Disabled Student Allowance (Student Finance) whilst studying a part time course and receiving ESA.

The long update:
I was not able to speak to the Compliance Officer as she is on holiday until next Tuesday, which is the day of my appointment. Someone else at the Job Centre was able to tell me that this is not a random check and called it an "interview" - definitely not a friendly "chat" then lol DWP have received information that I have received Student Finance and they want to check that I was entitled to claim ESA whilst I was at university. I am not sure if I feel better knowing why I am being "interviewed" or if it was better to stay thinking it is just a random check - I guess at least I can prepare! Fortunately I have arranged for a support worker to attend with me.

I graduated last year after studying a Masters course over approx. 6 years. The course was very part time, with an average of 14 hours per month. As it was a Masters, I was not entitled to loans/grants from Student Finance other than the Disability Student Allowance (DSA). DSA paid for much of the support and equipment directly, e.g. support workers, tutors, specialist computer software and equipment, specialist chair. DSA would reimburse me the cost of study related disability costs (as agreed in a DSA needs assessment) of up to approx. £300 per year and reimbursed me the cost of paying someone to drive me to university.

I was on Income Support when I started the course and I wrote to benefits office to advise them and all was OK. When Income Support was changed to ESA, I put on my application form (and the ESA renewal form) that I went to university, mainly as it illustrated the level of support I needed to do work/study.

I do not know exactly what information the DWP have received from Student Finance and I am wondering if it is quite general and led the DWP to think that I was studying full time or received a loan or maintenance grant, which would have affected my ESA entitlement. Or perhaps as my course was so long, they may think that the notification of Student Finance is linked to a different course and not the one I have already made them aware of. My mind is on overdrive again trying to second-guess DWP!

Going back to the letter from Compliance Officer, they want to see bank statements - how far back would this be? Would it be all bank statements from the period I was at university?

I think it would be wise for me to take information about the course I did, letters from Student Finance confirming DSA and my DSA claim forms (which will cross reference to the amount they reimbursed me each year). I will also take letters I have previous written to DWP, just in case they have not been filed correctly.

Any other ideas of how I can prepare?

As far as I know, Disabled Student Allowance is disregarded in relation to benefits. As my course was Part-time, I think I was still entitled to claim ESA. I tried to search the DWP guidelines and got confused, so I would be grateful if anyone can confirm or clarify my understanding.

Thank you

Alice_Holt

As this is quite complex it may be worth ringing Disability Rights UK -

"For further information on the support that is available for disabled students, please contact our Disabled Students Helpline - 0800 328 5050. "

Here is one of their fact sheets on ESa - http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/individuals/education/frequently-asked-questions-students

It states "Part-time study
If your course is part-time, benefits such as Income Support, ESA and Housing Benefit will not usually be affected as long as you continue to meet the basic conditions." (As you suggested).

And - http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/applying-disabled-students%E2%80%99-allowances-dsas

From which it states "Will DSAs affect my welfare benefits?
No. DSAs are only for specific study related expenses. They don’t count as funding for daily living costs. DSAs are completely ignored when deciding if you qualify for means-tested welfare benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction." (Thus confirming your thoughts).