Advice needed - possible ID theft / benefit fraud

[Winot]

I'd be grateful for some advice as I am clueless in this area.

This concerns a father of my daughter's school friend who is facing eviction from a Lambeth council property and has asked my advice. His English is not great and he is having trouble accessing advice services.

The situation is as follows (as far as I can tell):

1. He is self-employed and tells me his situation has not changed for years.

2. He is in receipt of housing benefit which has been paid directly to cover his rent of a Lambeth council flat. He also gets child benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit which is paid into his wife’s account.

3. In May of this year Lambeth advised him that HB was no longer being received because he had been moved to Universal Credit.

4. As a result, his rent is no longer being met and he is going into arrears. Lambeth have threatened court and eviction action from 28 December.

5. He says that he has never applied for UC. He tells me that the other benefits are still being received by his wife.

6. The personal allowance rate of UC shown on the letter from Lambeth is £409.89 which I understand is the rate for a single claimant. He is married with 4 children so this makes no sense.

7. He has tried to contact DWP but has been told he is not in the UC system. However Lambeth has told him in writing that they have contacted DWP and his NI number is registered at his address as a person in receipt of UC.

I am wondering whether he is the victim of ID theft and someone has registered for UC n his name and diverted payments to their bank account?

What is the best advice for him? Should he contact his MP? He has tried Citizens Advice but is having trouble because it is closed for Covid.

Many thanks.

 

[purenarcotic]

How long has been living in his council flat for? What agreement does he have with the council (flexible or secure?). Assuming it is a secure tenancy he should not worry about eviction; eviction is discretionary, not mandatory and it can be delayed and stopped at almost any point in the process.

It could be ID theft, it’s more likely to be a cock up in the passporting over to UC. When all families are passported over is slightly different depending on the LA. Do you have a local community law centre? They would be my first port of call.

 

[purenarcotic]

Shelter Legal England - Tenancy checker - this will help work out his tenancy status. It’s important to know because it influences how much he needs to worry about the threats or not. Not worry is not the same as ignore though, it absolutely does need sorting like.

 

[Winot]

How long has been living in his council flat for? What agreement does he have with the council (flexible or secure?). Assuming it is a secure tenancy he should not worry about eviction; eviction is discretionary, not mandatory and it can be delayed and stopped at almost any point in the process.

It could be ID theft, it’s more likely to be a cock up in the passporting over to UC. When all families are passported over is slightly different depending on the LA. Do you have a local community law centre? They would be my first port of call.

Thanks - he's been there for 2-3 years I think. Not sure what agreement he has - I'll check.

If he's been changed over to UC then wouldn't the other benefits stop as well? His wife is receiving them as normal.

 

[Winot]

(I know someone who runs a law centre in north London and I am checking with her too)

 

[farmerbarleymow]

If he's been changed over to UC then wouldn't the other benefits stop as well? His wife is receiving them as normal.

I assume they would stop - so this could be a case of fraud or just a DWP cock-up somewhere along the line. Might be worth him getting his MP involved - they can escalate things to a higher level than going directly sometimes.

 

[purenarcotic]

Thanks - he's been there for 2-3 years I think. Not sure what agreement he has - I'll check.

If he's been changed over to UC then wouldn't the other benefits stop as well? His wife is receiving them as normal.

It should do, but this is the DWP. Screwing up is their reason to be!

 

[purenarcotic]

His tenancy status is absolutely essential knowledge as it determines the power the court has to evict.

He absolutely could go to his MP too. Law centre would be my preference if CAB is closed as they can deal with both the housing and welfare right issue in house. Saves him going between two or three services.

 

[Winot]

Thanks both - am I right in thinking that unless his circumstances have changed he shouldn't have been forced to move to UC?

 

[wtfftw]

Child benefit would still be paid but tax credits would not Universal Credit and tax credits

My understanding is that council housing rent isn't capped like private rent amounts except for excess bedrooms. So his housing element should meet his rent anyway. And as you say they've put him on single person rate so it's all wrong... Understanding Universal Credit - Housing

 

[Winot]

His tenancy status is absolutely essential knowledge as it determines the power the court has to evict.

He absolutely could go to his MP too. Law centre would be my preference if CAB is closed as they can deal with both the housing and welfare right issue in house. Saves him going between two or three services.

Thanks - I see there is a Brixton Law Centre and I will contact them. Am checking re. tenancy.

 

[Winot]

Child benefit would still be paid but tax credits would not Universal Credit and tax credits

My understanding is that council housing rent isn't capped like private rent amounts except for excess bedrooms. So his housing element should meet his rent anyway. And as you say they've put him on single person rate so it's all wrong... Understanding Universal Credit - Housing

Thanks - he is still receiving tax credits. So it's one big mess.

 

[purenarcotic]

Thanks both - am I right in thinking that unless his circumstances have changed he shouldn't have been forced to move to UC?

My memory is sketchy but I am sure that at some point in 2021, all claims should be passported over to UC, so I would expect a move at some point. Local services will know better than me how the DWP is managing it in their area.

 

[Looby]

My DWP contact suggests calling the DWP fraud line, there will be a number on gov.uk.
Something has gone amiss as there is a process for confirming the UC status between UC and the local authority. I know that through Covid, checks haven’t been as thorough on claims because of the huge volume of new claims that have come in since March. They’ve also had staff redeployed from other business streams.

 

[Treacle Toes]

I'd be grateful for some advice as I am clueless in this area.

This concerns a father of my daughter's school friend who is facing eviction from a Lambeth council property and has asked my advice. His English is not great and he is having trouble accessing advice services.

The situation is as follows (as far as I can tell):

1. He is self-employed and tells me his situation has not changed for years.

2. He is in receipt of housing benefit which has been paid directly to cover his rent of a Lambeth council flat. He also gets child benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit which is paid into his wife’s account.

3. In May of this year Lambeth advised him that HB was no longer being received because he had been moved to Universal Credit.

4. As a result, his rent is no longer being met and he is going into arrears. Lambeth have threatened court and eviction action from 28 December.

5. He says that he has never applied for UC. He tells me that the other benefits are still being received by his wife.

6. The personal allowance rate of UC shown on the letter from Lambeth is £409.89 which I understand is the rate for a single claimant. He is married with 4 children so this makes no sense.

7. He has tried to contact DWP but has been told he is not in the UC system. However Lambeth has told him in writing that they have contacted DWP and his NI number is registered at his address as a person in receipt of UC.

I am wondering whether he is the victim of ID theft and someone has registered for UC n his name and diverted payments to their bank account?

What is the best advice for him? Should he contact his MP? He has tried Citizens Advice but is having trouble because it is closed for Covid.

Many thanks.

Is his name somehow on/linked to a joint claim with his wife even if he has personally never claimed?

Advice and advocacy in Lambeth:

My Advice Lambeth
0203 1434 025 from 10am - 4pm Monday - Friday

Centre 70
020 8670 0070

Brixton Advice Centre
020 7733 7554

Brixton Law Centre is closed AFAICR.

 

[tommers]

I haven't worked in this area for years but chances of identity theft = quite low, chances of DWP cockup = astronomically high.

 

[ash]

Winot you are probably aware that there has been a massive increase in UC fraud during the pandemic as people don’t need to have a face to face interview and the checks have minimised.

 

[equationgirl]

It sounds more like a DWP/Lambeth screw up than anything else to be honest.

 

[Winot]

His tenancy status is absolutely essential knowledge as it determines the power the court has to evict.

He absolutely could go to his MP too. Law centre would be my preference if CAB is closed as they can deal with both the housing and welfare right issue in house. Saves him going between two or three services.

OK he has a ‘Secure and Introductory’ tenancy which became secure after 12 months so that is good.

 

[Pickman's model]

i'm sure marty21 will have something of interest to say

 

[Pickman's model]

It sounds more like a DWP/Lambeth screw up than anything else to be honest.

i cannot conceive of a situation so dismal that the dwp and lambeth could not make it considerably worse

 

[equationgirl]

i cannot conceive of a situation so dismal that the dwp and lambeth could not make it considerably worse

Indeed, I fear my esteemed fellow poster may be correct.

 

[panpete]

Winot

I'd be grateful for some advice as I am clueless in this area.

This concerns a father of my daughter's school friend who is facing eviction from a Lambeth council property and has asked my advice. His English is not great and he is having trouble accessing advice services.

The situation is as follows (as far as I can tell):

1. He is self-employed and tells me his situation has not changed for years.

2. He is in receipt of housing benefit which has been paid directly to cover his rent of a Lambeth council flat. He also gets child benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit which is paid into his wife’s account.

3. In May of this year Lambeth advised him that HB was no longer being received because he had been moved to Universal Credit.

4. As a result, his rent is no longer being met and he is going into arrears. Lambeth have threatened court and eviction action from 28 December.

5. He says that he has never applied for UC. He tells me that the other benefits are still being received by his wife.

6. The personal allowance rate of UC shown on the letter from Lambeth is £409.89 which I understand is the rate for a single claimant. He is married with 4 children so this makes no sense.

7. He has tried to contact DWP but has been told he is not in the UC system. However Lambeth has told him in writing that they have contacted DWP and his NI number is registered at his address as a person in receipt of UC.

I am wondering whether he is the victim of ID theft and someone has registered for UC n his name and diverted payments to their bank account?

What is the best advice for him? Should he contact his MP? He has tried Citizens Advice but is having trouble because it is closed for Covid.

Many thanks.

Ohhh blimey, sounds like the left arm doesn't know what the right arm is doing.
DWP say he is not in receipt of UC, he has never applied for UC yet council write that he has, not an expert but sounds like an admin error.
I've had a few admin errors from my housing association, (leasehold so different) but big organisation, lots of tenants/leaseholders, dunno if too many staff involved/covid/overwork but it happens.

As for identity theft, not sure could be, I don't know, so I googled how to know if I have been a victim of identity theft and came up with this (hopefully useful link) mentions benefits

 

[SheilaNaGig]

You’re a good man Winot

 

[Winot]

We spoke to Centre 70 today who are excellent (thanks for the recommendation Rutita1).

They think it's benefit fraud and are going to contact DWP on my friend's behalf and get the position in writing and then represent him before Lambeth. They have already contacted Lambeth to advise them.

 

[Treacle Toes]

Great Winot

 

[marty21]

Apologies , didn't see this til now. We advise our tenants to stay on HB partly because it is automatically paid to the Council whereas UC Rent Element is paid to the applicant initially. The council can ask for direct payments if there are arrears or the applicant can tell the DWP to lay the rent element to the council.

I hope the HB/UC apparent fuck up is resolved.

Regarding legal action against the tenancy , we can't take any action at the moment so I assume Lambeth Council is the same, so don't panic. I'd advise , getting Lambeth Welfare Rights advisors on the case , in my London council , we have Welfare Right Advisors who get involved in these sorts of cases and try to resolve them, they are usually experts on UC/HB & other benefits.

 

[Winot]

Great news on this. The DWP has written to Centre 70 to confirm that my friend has never been paid universal credit and does not have an open claim.

Apparently a claim was started at the end of April but the identity checks were never completed and so it was never formalised. Fuck knows why DWP told Lambeth he was receiving UC.

Anyway hopefully this will be enough to convince Lambeth to reinstate housing benefit and clear the unpaid rent.

 

[josef1878 2.0]

Well done Winot

 

[Winot]

Well this rumbles on. Now trying to get Lambeth to take the simple step of (a) confirming that he was entitled to HB, (b) releasing funds to clear rental arrears and - maybe, just maybe? - (c) saying something reassuring about him not being under threat of eviction anymore.

Instead we've had secondhand reports that (b) is going to happen and yet nothing in writing, rumours of letters sent (but not received) seeking updated income information, and now to cap it all fresh letters regarding HB and CT which are factually incorrect and which shouldn't have been sent because they need to be based on income information that he hasn't had a chance to provide yet.

What a monumentally steaming pile of shit.