Benefit Fraud - What happens next

Hi

Not sure if I’ve posted this in the correct category - apologises if not.

We’re currently helping a client with an overpayment of ESA due to being paid too much SDP as someone was claiming CA’s for her. The person receiving CA’s never cared for her and did this fraudulently so we are planning on contact DWP Fraud Team as well as appealing the overpayment.

I’ve never contacted the Fraud Team before so I’m wondering if we get kept updated on the matter or not - would be ideal if we did so we can use this as evidence in our appeal.

Thanks

Adam

You might want to take a look at this discussion;

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/17664/P15/

But also at this very recent UT decision;

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6569cd4f1104cf0013fa7357/UA-2023-SCO-000065-ESA.pdf

DWP Fraud (CFIS ) are very secretive and even staff members are not given feedback regarding a referral. This is from past experience.

It’s for the claimant to report “suspected fraud”. There is no fraud until an investigation takes place. With consent you can also report “suspected fraud” but I wonder on what specific basis that would be?

The claimant says no care was provided. Are we 100% sure that was the case? I’ve had clients with dementia claim that their carer was doing no such thing when the carer was in fact making hours of phone calls the claimant could not recall and monitoring food and meds via remote camera.  I’ve had claimants claim their carers were wholly fraudulent solely because they perceived it as the way out of an SDP o/p. I would exercise serious caution here.

All you have here is an assertion from the claimant. That may well be credible but without a conversation with the carer, which is unlikely to take place, you have one side of a story.

It’s up to the claimant what they report but they need to be aware that reporting “fraud” isn’t necessarily a fix for their case and won’t necessarily result in a prosecution or even a finding of fraud. What they’re actually reporting is no more than a “suspected o/p of CA”.  You should also be aware that the claimant needs to understand that a false accusation; or even a justified one, will do significant damage to the relationship with said person. Especially important as, as per my case above, it turned out that the carer was indeed a carer; the claimant lacked insight into that but, on the back of the accusation, the carer simply ceased care and the claimant ended up in care as there was no other carer.

These are potentially murky waters indeed.

Thanks for the response and I’ll definitely bear all that in mind.

Apologies I don’t think I made clear, I’m really only contacting them to see if they can provide an update - client has already contacted them by phone