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UC investigation of claim

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1 month 1 week ago #295705 by YM
UC investigation of claim was created by YM
Has anyone else on this site been subjected to UC's 'request' for bank statements/all account details/photographic ID to 'check your claim is correct' (or be sanctioned/claim closed if you don't comply?) It's a very invasive procedure. Not only do you have to hand over all of your account details and statements of each account and copies of photo ID such as passport to someone who (in my case) was newly employed for the said task of this compliance work and knew nothing about UC claims, but you're also subjected to a telephone interview of up to an hour long where they pick various transactions on your account (both credit and debit) and ask you what they were for, why a larger than usual cash withdrawal was made etc etc. When she ascertained that one payment I made more regularly was for a therapy, she then asked the question 'did that help my condition?' - which as my PIP review was pending at the time made me even more anxious as to whether I would later be penalised for trying to do something to help my condition! Thankfully, so far, that has been purely anxiety/paranoia on my part.
I was told that my selection for this 'check' was completely random and, thankfully, I was eventually informed that everything was in order and that no changes were required, but it made for a stressful couple of months over the summer that I could have done without as I was already anxious about my outstanding PIP review. And UC can request all of this information again at any point from 6 months after this investigation was closed. . . . . Welcome to Orwell's 1984. :(
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1 month 1 week ago #295707 by David
Replied by David on topic UC investigation of claim
Hi YM,

Thanks for sharing your experience.
You are correct in saying that the DWP compliance officers usually don't have in depth UC training.
The DWP now have an Enhanced Review Team with Benefits claims being monitored by AI.
I'm glad that you got through it ok.

David

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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1 month 6 days ago #295761 by Judith
Replied by Judith on topic UC investigation of claim
Hi, my son had to provide this information a few weeks ago. He's just checked his to-do list and he's got a telephone interview next Thursday. It's been called a UC Claim Review. He was diagnosed severe social anxiety but now has an autism assessment on 7 Nov, instigated by local IAPT Team, so this process of going through all his bank statements to justify stuff is going to really be stressful for him. Thank you for posting this information. We weren't sure what this was going to be about but at least we'll be prepared now.

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1 month 6 days ago #295762 by David
Replied by David on topic UC investigation of claim
Hi Ingericks,

I think they are double checking at the moment to make up for a lot of overpayment during the pandemic. I hope it all goes well for you and it is just a box ticking exercise.

David

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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1 month 6 days ago #295765 by Judith
Replied by Judith on topic UC investigation of claim
Thank you David, I hope it's just box-ticking as well. It's hard not to be suspicious but I see from the forum that a few others have had it recently and it seems to be checking that the claimant has no other sources of income/over the £6k savings limit etc. Hope so anyway!
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