DWP forcing me to repay a debt caused by identity fraud

Spoonie_Turtle

born_again said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

myDWPhell said:

born_again said:

Robbie64 said: Though the interesting one would be where did DWP DM get your address? Possibly from HMRC records, though that is guesswork.

Nice to see the OP got the right result.

As to the details. Same as any other debt collector that gets details of a debtor when they move etc.
It's all out there on the various systems.

Although for DWP, with a NIN it should be a simple task to marry that to the persons who it is..

Which should make this kind of fraud very simple to stop. A simple address check on listed NIN & letter to ask for confirmation of claim if wrong address is entered. 🤷‍♀️

Even a cursory glance at my NI and tax records would show that I would in no way whatsoever have any entitlement to UN - I just don’t understand it. 

That's not how UC works, though, the computer does a calculation at the end of the assessment period.  No human is involved in saying whether a claimant will have an entitlement or not, only if an MR is raised after an AP and its calculation.  And a record of past earnings means nothing, people can have their circumstances change and become entitled to financial support that they weren't before.  

Obviously the system is flawed when it comes to dealing with fraudulent claims, but that aspect of the system isn't really relevant here.  People with moderately high incomes can still be entitled to some UC if there are disabilities and disabled children and/or high rent in the mix.

I get what you are saying but there is no reason that a simple NIN check could be applied by computer & could flag up straight away on a application any discrepancy in user details (address etc) given that this is part of the application process.
Seems a simple thing to do.

Considering the address had been changed with HMRC there's no guarantee that would have worked in this case.

Clearly the system has faults though and something needs to be done to prevent this from happening again.  It's just always a difficult balance between preventing fraud and not being so strict that it is too difficult for genuine people who find government systems difficult to navigate and don't have help.  Especially those who maybe don't have the standard ID documents or work history due to disabilities meaning they don't live a typical life.

myDWPhell

Spoonie_Turtle said:

born_again said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

myDWPhell said:

born_again said:

Robbie64 said: Though the interesting one would be where did DWP DM get your address? Possibly from HMRC records, though that is guesswork.

Nice to see the OP got the right result.

As to the details. Same as any other debt collector that gets details of a debtor when they move etc.
It's all out there on the various systems.

Although for DWP, with a NIN it should be a simple task to marry that to the persons who it is..

Which should make this kind of fraud very simple to stop. A simple address check on listed NIN & letter to ask for confirmation of claim if wrong address is entered. 🤷‍♀️

Even a cursory glance at my NI and tax records would show that I would in no way whatsoever have any entitlement to UN - I just don’t understand it. 

That's not how UC works, though, the computer does a calculation at the end of the assessment period.  No human is involved in saying whether a claimant will have an entitlement or not, only if an MR is raised after an AP and its calculation.  And a record of past earnings means nothing, people can have their circumstances change and become entitled to financial support that they weren't before.  

Obviously the system is flawed when it comes to dealing with fraudulent claims, but that aspect of the system isn't really relevant here.  People with moderately high incomes can still be entitled to some UC if there are disabilities and disabled children and/or high rent in the mix.

I get what you are saying but there is no reason that a simple NIN check could be applied by computer & could flag up straight away on a application any discrepancy in user details (address etc) given that this is part of the application process.
Seems a simple thing to do.

Considering the address had been changed with HMRC there's no guarantee that would have worked in this case.

Clearly the system has faults though and something needs to be done to prevent this from happening again.  It's just always a difficult balance between preventing fraud and not being so strict that it is too difficult for genuine people who find government systems difficult to navigate and don't have help.  Especially those who maybe don't have the standard ID documents or work history due to disabilities meaning they don't live a typical life.

Presumably my address was also changed with HMRC because of some system in place which automatically updates an address change across a whole range of government systems? I have no idea. 

“Especially those who maybe don't have the standard ID documents”

This was another baffling aspect. According to the DWP MRN, the fraudulent claimant presented a “valid UK passport” (in my name) - seriously!!!! Surely the cost of a fake passport would be considerable - more than the advance received by the fraudulent claimant. I just don’t think this happened. I reported the above to Police ActionFraud and the UK Passport Authority. But I just don’t think it happened. Possibly some dodgy photo or photocopy of a passport was accepted by a less than rigorous JC agent. 

NedS

myDWPhell said:

Another thing I need to do is find out if there is some form of protection that can be applied to my identity with the DWP to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. I’ve read about some cases where some people have been victims of this type of fraud more than once. I couldn’t endure a repeat of this year! 

One thing you could do to protect against this is to actually make a claim for UC yourself. You would get £0 UC each month, and after 6 months of no payments the claim would close, and you could reopen it online. By having an active claim, even if it's a NIL award, prevents any further claims under the same identity.

There is other tricks you can do to prevent the claim from automatically closing after 6 months of NIL payment, keeping it open indefinitely.

myDWPhell

NedS said:

myDWPhell said:

Another thing I need to do is find out if there is some form of protection that can be applied to my identity with the DWP to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. I’ve read about some cases where some people have been victims of this type of fraud more than once. I couldn’t endure a repeat of this year! 

One thing you could do to protect against this is to actually make a claim for UC yourself. You would get £0 UC each month, and after 6 months of no payments the claim would close, and you could reopen it online. By having an active claim, even if it's a NIL award, prevents any further claims under the same identity.

There is other tricks you can do to prevent the claim from automatically closing after 6 months of NIL payment, keeping it open indefinitely.

Wow! That’s a crafty tip! I can’t imagine anyone would ever consider that or even consider it was a possibility. 

myDWPhell

NedS said:

myDWPhell said:

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT:

In a major development yesterday, I received a phone call from DWP Debt Management. Debt Management being the department which forced me to “agree” to a “repayment plan” - on the instructions of DWP Universal Credit. DWP Debt Management called to inform me that the money I had been FORCED to repay each month was to be refunded to me! The agent I spoke with provided me with information that suggested this was a result of a “change of decision” on the part of the DWP regarding my case. 

Following my call with DWP Debt Management I called the Tribunal for clarification of the status of my appeal. The Tribunal informed me that they had received a response from the DWP on 25/09/25 (the day before). The Tribunal confirmed that as of 25/09/25 the DWP had “changed their decision”. Their original decision being that “I” made the claim. I was informed that would receive a “lapsed letter” from the DWP in the coming days which would explain the situation. 

Somehow (miraculously), following my call with the Tribunal earlier on in the week where I was advised that it could take up to six months (or more) before I should expect to receive a response from the DWP, just a few days later the DWP issued their response and cleared me of responsibility. 

Somehow my case had rocketed its way to the top of the list and was dealt with within just a few days, rather than six months or more. 

I can only assume that it had something to do with the fact that the DWP were being bombarded by multiple major UK newspapers seeking comment and clarification regarding my case. 

DWP - NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE! 

Congratulations on the outcome.

DWP legal have now looked at your tribunal filing and decided to lapse the case in your favour, as presumably they either now agree that it was not you who made the claim, or they feel unable to provide sufficient proof that it was you to stand a realistic chance of winning the case at tribunal. Either way, a win for you.

It will be interesting to see how they contact you to notify you of their decision to lapse the appeal in your favour, as normally this letter would be uploaded to your UC claim (which you cannot access). I would see if you can get notification in writing from HMCTS that DWP have lapsed the appeal, as you may never receive anything in writing from DWP.

I called the Tribunal this morning to seek clarification as to the address the “lapsed letter” would be sent to. I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to provide me with this information but I thought that was a better starting point than calling UC!!!
The Tribunal agent I spoke with confirmed that the “lapsed letter” was sent to my own address on 25/09/25. He also confirmed that the lapsed letter was sent out by the Tribunal. I presumed it would be sent by the DWP/UC. 

I will obviously share the details of the letter when I receive it. 

NedS

myDWPhell said:

NedS said:

Congratulations on the outcome.

DWP legal have now looked at your tribunal filing and decided to lapse the case in your favour, as presumably they either now agree that it was not you who made the claim, or they feel unable to provide sufficient proof that it was you to stand a realistic chance of winning the case at tribunal. Either way, a win for you.

It will be interesting to see how they contact you to notify you of their decision to lapse the appeal in your favour, as normally this letter would be uploaded to your UC claim (which you cannot access). I would see if you can get notification in writing from HMCTS that DWP have lapsed the appeal, as you may never receive anything in writing from DWP.

I called the Tribunal this morning to seek clarification as to the address the “lapsed letter” would be sent to. I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to provide me with this information but I thought that was a better starting point than calling UC!!!
The Tribunal agent I spoke with confirmed that the “lapsed letter” was sent to my own address on 25/09/25. He also confirmed that the lapsed letter was sent out by the Tribunal. I presumed it would be sent by the DWP/UC. 

I will obviously share the details of the letter when I receive it. 

That's great. When DWP lapsed my appeal, I only got notification uploaded to my UC account, nothing from HMCTS if I remember correctly. Seems someone has their sensible hat on