Living together Compliance Visit

[MD2235]

Hi all, this is my first post.

 

 

I had a compliance officer visit today to look into my claim to see if I am living as part of a couple. I would like some advice on a few things.

 

 

I claim ESA (transferred from longterm IB last January) income based and get DLA middle care and lower rate mobility with that being reviewed as I have gotten worse over the last year (it was awarded for 5 years in May last year). I do not live alone, I live with my carer and this has been since 2011. My carer gets income support for looking after me and obviously carers allowance. We both get separate housing benefit and council tax reduction.

we are joint tennents. At no point in our time living in the same house have we mislead any agency by claiming to be living at other addresses etc. We started living together because I was unable to continue living alone (I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and depression) as I was suicidal. My carer could no longer cope with her parents so she needed to move out. At the time there was talk of changing the housing rules to anyone under 35 only being entitled to a bedsit or shared house. We decided that better the devil you know and we moved in together (we had been friends for 7 years prior to the date we started living together. We had a similar check in September 2012, and were found to not be a couple.

 

 

Bascially the compliance officer said it is up to a decision maker if we are a couple or not regardless of whether we are in fact a couple or not. He also said that we should have had a follow up check 13 weeks after the first and that if we are found to be a couple we would have had an over payment and the amount would be back dated to the date we should have been re assessed even though it is the DWP who did not arrange this.

 

 

I want to know, would we be responsible for an overpayment where we have not mislead or given inaccurate or incomplete information and also if we were found to be a couple (which from what the compliance officer said is almost agiven) would that mean we would have to either move into separate houses or else move into a single bedroom property and share a room, which if we were a couple obviously wouldn't be a problem but as we are not it doesn't seem fair.

 

 

I know all of this is what if at the moment but it has got me worried and as stated I suffer from depression and was hospitalised last January under section 4 of the mental health act due to being suicidal, its only just a year later and again the DWP is making me ill. Thank you for taking the time to read this and any help would be appreciated.

[Helen2264]

The DWP at the moment is sending new and existing claimants to the Customer Compliance Officer its their new way of getting people off benefits. If you were found not to be a couple in September 2012 and nothing has changed between you and your carer then you should be ok and to tell the Compliance officer nothing has changed since that decision was made you are not living together as a couple.

 

1. Have you told the Compliance Officer that you were not found to be living together?

2. Have you got your letter from the DWP in September 2012 saying you are not treated as living as a couple?

3. Did you ask the Compliance Officer why they've decided to check about the Living together?

 

Someone living in the same house doesn't mean you are living as a couple there are many ways people come to live in the same households.

 

One thing I am not sure is about your joint tenancy but you both claim separate housing benefit and council tax perhaps that's one of the reasons for the Compliance officer's visits. Yes it is up to the decision maker but they must make a fair decision about your living in the same households in your case it would be 'Needs for Support' your carer is living in the same households because you cannot care for yourself.

 

I hope things get sorted for you.

[Mr.P]

The DWP at the moment is sending new and existing claimants to the Customer Compliance Officer its their new way of getting people off benefits.

 

I had a read of some the supplementary evidence submitted to the Commons Select Committee review in to DWP benefit sanctions (pdf from the PCS union: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/PCS%20(SAN0161)%20300115.pdf). It contains some internal emails/memos from higher levels within the DWP openly admitting that there is a policy to harass claimants off benefits !