CHECK BENEFIT PAYMENT: DWP compliance department select names at random for a local service compliance interview.
Several things happen during a home visit from a DWP review officer:
- A Performance Measurement review officer checks your welfare payments.
- They will also collect and record national statistics on welfare and the UK benefits system.
They use the recordings and results to develop a wide range of statistics on benefit amounts. The claimant data they collect relates to the payouts paid correctly – as well as those paid out in error.
Note: A DWP home visit guide titled ‘ymweliad â’ch cartref i wirio eich taliad budd-dal‘ is also available in Welsh language.
The DWP will send you an advanced notification letter before you get checked. The notification of performance measurement visit will inform you of their intention to send a visiting team to interview you at home.
A local customer compliance officer will only come to pay you a visit if you are claiming certain benefits. So, the DWP compliance interview 2022 relates most to questions on these six types of welfare benefits:
- Housing Benefit
- Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
- Pension Credit
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Universal Credit (UC)
DWP Home Visit: Performance Measurement
There are two easy steps you can take to check the identity of a Performance Measurement review officer during a home visit from DWP:
- Ask to see their photo identity card as proof.
- Phone the Business Support Team and give them the name of the DWP Performance Measurement officer.
Information: The main section has a list of topics about claiming benefits and social security. Use it with other benefits adviser services to make a benefit entitlement check in the United Kingdom.
Business Support Team
Telephone: 0191 216 8050
Relay UK: 18001 then 0191 216 8050
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm
Check the cost of the call.
Do Benefit Investigators Watch Your House?
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) controls the use of surveillance. As such, a court judge must authorise the use of this type of invasive surveillance.
Most lawyers suggest that it is almost impossible for investigators to plant cameras inside the home of a suspect. Even so, the law does allow them to take photographs and video footage of a suspect, even while they are inside their own home.
So for example, they would be able to take photos from outside of the property or through an open window.
People under investigation by the DWP can also be photographed in any public spaces (e.g. at the shops or in the street). But, it would be very unlikely that benefit fraud investigators would get legal permission to tap the phones of anyone they suspect is defrauding the system.
Note: The legal rights of investigators also allows them to search through someone’s rubbish. They will be able to keep anything they find that is relevant to the investigation.
DWP Compliance Telephone Interview
First of all, what exactly is a compliance telephone interview? It is not uncommon to receive a letter telling you that you will get a local service compliance telephone interview from the Department for Work and Pensions.
As long as you are not cheating the welfare benefits system, you should not feel that you are the subject of DWP spot checks or a covert surveillance operation.
Last time we checked:
In most cases, they will be completely random checks and they will not have benefit investigators watching your house.
It could be that someone made an anonymous phone call to the benefit fraud report line. If so, the complaint or comments would go to one of two departments (e.g. fraud or compliance).
Cases of fraud would only occur if there is evidence that an infringement took place. As a rule, matters such as these result in the offender being ‘interviewed under caution’.
Compliance cases usually mean the DWP do not have any concrete evidence of fraudulent activities. Instead, they will be asking for your cooperation in answering some questions carried out by telephone.
In simple terms:
You may consider DWP compliance telephone interview questions as low ranking cases of suspicion. Nonetheless, it is not impossible for the phone call to develop into a compliance meeting at the job centre or one conducted at your house.
What Happens at a Customer Compliance Interview?
A home visit from a DWP compliance officer means you get interviewed inside your own home. Even so, DWP home visits can be rescheduled in cases where it becomes necessary to do so.
The interviewer will ask you to provide them with two (2) methods of identification (e.g. a passport or a driver’s licence). The main reason why a customer compliance officer will do a home visit will be to inspect some specific documents.
Here’s what happens:
You should prepare to show the benefit investigators documentation of your finances, savings, and rent (where applicable). In most cases, it will include:
- Award notices for benefit claims and tax credits.
- Statements on bank accounts, building society, or Post Office accounts.
- Employee payslips, rent book, or proof of a tenancy agreement.
Note: As a general rule, the customer compliance meeting DWP will last for about one hour. But, it may take longer in some cases.
Related Guides
Benefit Overpayments
The debt management DWP section explains how and when repayments must be repaid. Find out who to contact and how to make a repayment if benefits have been overpaid.
Catching Benefits Fraudsters
Intelligent technology (IT) is helping the DWP catch benefit cheats and clamp down on violations. Artificial intelligence (AI) is tracking those who are not complying with the rules of benefit payments.
Punishment for Benefit Cheats
What happens during the benefit fraud investigation process and why can you be prosecuted? The help guide explains the consequences of making fraudulent claims for benefits.
Note: The short video [1:19 seconds] explains what to expect from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) during a compliance check and what information they will be gathering.
Fraud and Error in the Benefit System (preliminary data)
The Department for Work and Pensions administers the rights to benefits for about 22 million people in the United Kingdom each year. The figures estimate fraud and error levels in the benefit system around Britain.
The fraud and error prevention service estimates overpayments. These refer to the total amount of money lost to the department because claimants get paid too much.
They also estimate underpayments. These refer to the total amount of money lost to claimants who are not paid enough.
Note: The first year that they measured fraud and error within the Universal Credit benefit system was the financial year of 2016.