Hi,

I have a bit of a dilemma that I could do with some advice on.

Background is as follows:

I am employed by a registered social landlord to give benefit advice, information and assistance to our tenants, most of whom are pensioners. Whilst visiting a tenant and checking her Pension credit calculations, there is a discrepancy with the amount of capital that is being used in the PC calculation and the capital that the tenant actually has (tenant has a lot more than is being used in PC calculation).
I discussed the capital aspect with her as I was hoping that the increase in capital was after the PC had been awarded and the AIP had been set but sadly this is not the case.
Tenant sold her home, moved into rented accomodation and applied for PC after she had received the proceeds from the sale. She put some of the proceeds from the sale of the house into a bank account which has been declared to PC. The rest was put into bonds and ISA's which haven't been declared - this totals approx £20,000.

Dilemma I have is now that I know this information, am I obliged to report it to PC or as an independant adviser employed by a housing association do I have to respect the tenants confindentiality?

Has anyone else ever been in the situation and if so, what course of action was taken?

Any views, comments or suggestions would be gratefully received.

Regards

John

Hi John

My view is that you have a duty of confidentiality to your client that should only be broken at the point of a bayonet….and even then!

However, you also have a professional duty to advise your client of her legal position (rights and responsibilities), her various options and the potential consequences of those options. You should then record meticulously the facts, as you know them and the details of your advice.

It’s the client’s responsibility to disclose not yours. We’ve all been in this position many times. There was talk in government circles years ago about the potential to prosecute advisers who knew certain facts and did not disclose them but this was quietly dropped as unworkable, not to mention legally dodgy.

Regards
Paul

Thanks Paul, you've put my mind at ease as this was the view I was considering as I felt that ultimately I should respect the tenants confidentiality.

I have made the tenant aware of the discrepancy in the PC calculation and the capital she holds and have advised her that she should report it but I have a feeling that she won't do so despite me telling her it is her responsibility to do so and advising her of the potential repercussions of not doing so.

I have a written record of my interview with her and the advice I gave her, luckily I always keep records for any potential follow-up work that is needed.

Thanks again, much appreciated

Regards

John

I know you say you have made the tenant aware etc but did you put this in writing to her and add that to her case file?

In the long distant past we had clients who would say we had not told them certain things if it comes to question and find that putting everything in writing protects both us as advisers and the clients.

Nicky

At the moment I have only given the tenant the information verbally. However, as you have pointed out, just in case there is any comeback I think I will put it all in writing and add a copy to my case notes.

Cheers

John