DWP chasing me for a loan that is not mine???

[Dawnagefire]

Hey everyone. I received a letter today from DWP claiming I owe them £400.

 

I rang them up and

they said it was a Social Fund loan and it dated back to September 2011,

that it was done via a Girocheque

and that it was taken out so that Gas and Electricity could be payed for.

 

I know for sure that this is not mine because I have never had any correspondence with DWP

until the letter mentioned and at the time that this dates too I was 18

and beginning University

and as such have not been able to even claim benefits in the first place

and therefore would have not been able to make a claim for a Social Fund.

 

They gave me the number for the Social Fund helpline so I can get in touch with them tomorrow.

I have done a little research and all articles have said that I should tell them to prove that I took this loan out

which I know they won't be able too for the reasons above.

 

I just wanted to know if there are any other steps I can take?

 

Thanks in advance

[Lapsed Workaholic]

Hello Dawnagefire and welcome to the site.

 

 

Scandalous what they are trying to accuse you of.

 

 

Have you considered writing a Subject Access request (SAR) to the manager of your local Jobcentre asking for all records and correspondence that they hold relating to this alleged loan. If nothing else it will add to their workload.

[Dawnagefire]

Hello Dawnagefire and welcome to the site.

 

 

Scandalous what they are trying to accuse you of.

 

 

Have you considered writing a Subject Access request (SAR) to the manager of your local Jobcentre asking for all records and correspondence that they hold relating to this alleged loan. If nothing else it will add to their workload.

 

 

Thank you for your welcome and your reply.

 

I have seen SAR mentioned in the articles I read and they said it'll take around 40 days to reach them, but I'm assuming I'll continue to receive pressure from DWP to pay this £400 I allegedly owe them during that time?

 

Would it be worth making an appointment at my local CAB and see if they can help me with this?

[Lapsed Workaholic]

It is true that response to SAR can take up to 40 days.

 

 

You could mention in your letter, if you decide to send one, that you are being falsely accused of owing the DWP money and you are not being provided with evidence to back up the accusation. Insist that you require the evidence, rebuff all pressure with the response that you are dealing with the issue through your local Jobcentre manager.

 

 

It is always worth making an appointment with CAB but they are also under pressure and their waiting lists could also mean delays.

[Dawnagefire]

It is true that response to SAR can take up to 40 days.

 

 

You could mention in your letter, if you decide to send one, that you are being falsely accused of owing the DWP money and you are not being provided with evidence to back up the accusation. Insist that you require the evidence, rebuff all pressure with the response that you are dealing with the issue through your local Jobcentre manager.

 

 

It is always worth making an appointment with CAB but they are also under pressure and their waiting lists could also mean delays.

 

Dependent on what answers I get on the phone tomorrow, I certainly will be sending a letter. After a bit of further research, people are saying to send it recorded and signed for delivery and make absolutely sure to put that you are not acknowledging the debt in anyway shape or form.

 

Also dependent on what I get on the phone tomorrow, I'll make a decision whether to get in contact with CAB or not.

 

And then if push comes to shove I'll submit a SAR.

 

Thanks for your advice.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

The people who say that you send any mail to DWP recorded delivery and that you make absolutely sure that you do not acknowledge the debt in any way, shape or form definitely have a point. I feel sure that they would also advise, if asked, not to enter into phone conversations that you could not record.

 

 

Be very careful what you say to whoever speaks to you from the Social Fund as well. Won't that lot come under DWP? Knowing the deviousness of the DWP I would hesitate to contact them at all. What help can they offer if you are innocent? don't allow the conversation to deviate from that fact.

 

 

There is no reason why you should not do both the SAR letter and the CAB appointment arrangement.

[Mr.P]

Unless you have facilities to record the conversation, I'd recommend keeping all communications in writing. That way, you have a paper trail and a record of what was said. Send the SAR off as soon as possible or hand it in to your local JCP office. The debt recovery unit can be stalled whilst another department responds to the SAR.

[Shoelover]

I'd be concerned that somebody had used my identity to claim benefits.

 

Is there an email address on the letter? You could set a read receipt then too.

[mapadale]

Something smells fishy here and I'll explain why.

 

In order to get a "Social Fund Loan" you have to be claiming benefits.

In order to claim benefits, you would require proof of identity IE: Photo ID (Always asked for)

You will have also have had to give them your address, as well as your National Insurance number.

You will have had to gone to an interview at your local Job Centre in order to prove who you are on your first interview and will have had to be claiming benefits for a set period before you could even get a "Social Fund Loan" unless it was a "Crisis Loan" though £400 is too much for one of these.

 

There are a lot of hoops you would have to jump through first, before even getting to the stage of applying for a "Social Fund Loan" with DWP and most of these are just for the benefit alone.

 

A SAR isn't actually required though, you can make an appointment to see a local Job Centre advisor and speak to them regarding your concerns or even make the appointment with a manager. They will be able to give you details of when you made your first claim, address the claim was made too and the ID that was shown to confirm who you are (details such as NI and address would have had to be confirmed in the first instance of speaking with them anyway).

 

There are a lot of details that are required in order to make a claim, so unless someone has stolen your whole identity including your National Insurance number I find it very hard to believe that you don't owe this money or never been on benefits (As you can claim benefits from the age of 16).

[Dawnagefire]

I'd be concerned that somebody had used my identity to claim benefits.

 

Is there an email address on the letter? You could set a read receipt then too.

 

There isn't an email on the letter.

[Dawnagefire]

Something smells fishy here and I'll explain why.

 

In order to get a "Social Fund Loan" you have to be claiming benefits.

In order to claim benefits, you would require proof of identity IE: Photo ID (Always asked for)

You will have also have had to give them your address, as well as your National Insurance number.

You will have had to gone to an interview at your local Job Centre in order to prove who you are on your first interview and will have had to be claiming benefits for a set period before you could even get a "Social Fund Loan" unless it was a "Crisis Loan" though £400 is too much for one of these.

 

There are a lot of hoops you would have to jump through first, before even getting to the stage of applying for a "Social Fund Loan" with DWP and most of these are just for the benefit alone.

 

A SAR isn't actually required though, you can make an appointment to see a local Job Centre advisor and speak to them regarding your concerns or even make the appointment with a manager. They will be able to give you details of when you made your first claim, address the claim was made too and the ID that was shown to confirm who you are (details such as NI and address would have had to be confirmed in the first instance of speaking with them anyway).

 

There are a lot of details that are required in order to make a claim, so unless someone has stolen your whole identity including your National Insurance number I find it very hard to believe that you don't owe this money or never been on benefits (As you can claim benefits from the age of 16).

 

Let's go through this bit one by one. It seems you didn't read my post whatsoever, but I'll reply to your points anyway.

 

In order to get a "Social Fund Loan" you have to be claiming benefits. - How could I be claiming benefits when I was in University at the time this alleged loan was taken out?

In order to claim benefits, you would require proof of Identity - This should always be the case, so like you said either someone has stolen my identity or it's an error on their system.

You also had to give them my address and your NI number - How these guys found out where I was living and what my NI number was I don't know, because as stated in my OP I've never had any dealings with DWP before receiving this letter from them. In fact the only dealings I've ever had with the government was for Student Finance for University itself.

You will have had to go yo an Interview at your local job centre and have had to be claiming benefits for a set period. - I believe that set period is 26 weeks? I might be incorrect on this one. But if true, again I would have not been able to claim a social fund since I left college in July 2011 and entered University in September 2011, effectively making me ineligible for this Social Fund Loan. The Social Fund people said I took this alleged loan out on the 27th September 2011.

 

I'll see what I can do about arranging an appointment with a JCP advisor/manager. I did contact Social Fund yesterday and they said that if I want to appeal this alleged loan, then I have to do it in writing.

[mapadale]

But as I said, in order for anyone to claim in your name they would need a hell of a lot of details including "Photo ID" and to go to those lengths in order to steal someone ID just for benefits doesn't rarely happen as it's to much to be required as proof.

 

Once you've seen the advisor, you need to initiate a FRAUD investigation and you can action this whilst with the advisor or ask for a manager to get it started.

[Dawnagefire]

But as I said, in order for anyone to claim in your name they would need a hell of a lot of details including "Photo ID" and to go to those lengths in order to steal someone ID just for benefits doesn't rarely happen as it's to much to be required as proof.

 

Once you've seen the advisor, you need to initiate a FRAUD investigation and you can action this whilst with the advisor or ask for a manager to get it started.

 

I completely agree with you on this one. This situation has caused unnecessary stress and for obvious reasons I want this situation solved as quick as possible. I'll be sending my appeal letter at the weekend and making an appointment with a JCP advisor as soon as I can book some time off work.

 

As you said, fraud in a situation like this is unlikely, so I'm leaning to say that it's probably an error on their system, we are all human after all. If it does turn out that it was fraud then of course I'll take the appropriate steps.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.