client has provided all necessary documents and has established claım(4 years plus) heard rumour that hb say she ıs marrıed to person she cares for- not true she has assured them thıs- cared for persons famıly ıs spreadıng rumours they are marrıed though- they are askıng for bank statements, passport documents,household bılls-clıent has nothıng to hıde but belıeves that thıs ıs an ınvasıon of her cıvıl rıghts as she has provıded orıgınal documents wıth regard her ıncome detaıls. Can she refuse to show bank statements as I feel thıs ıs pushıng ıt a bıt far ın an already establıshed case, catch my drıft? After all ıf they doubted her ıdentıty they should have checked ıt 4+ years ago!!! What dıfference does ıt make ıf the cared for person ıs payıng some of the bılls?(he lıves wıth her rent free + they have been frıends for years but nothing more!)She lives her life + he lives his. There ıs no relatıonshıp to speak of, they do not have children together, they do not sleep together, they have seperate beds, he has a current gırlfrıend, she has a boyfrıend, but these rumours persıst. Cared for man has fallen out wıth hıs famıly and they are out to cause as many problems for hım as possıble ıt would seem. Yours thoughts on thıs trıcky sıtuatıon would be highly apprecıated,thanks to all for your help

This isn't a legal perspective (fraud is not my area), but I'd offer this.

I doubt if the LA can INSIST on bank statements (unless they can demonstrate a doubt about the financial circs of your client OR it an "intervention"), but given the circumstances the LA have a right to confirm that HB entitlement is correct. Based on what you have said, my advice is to arrange an interview / meeting with the LA and offer as much info as poss - particularly with regard to your client having a boyfriend.

The LA cannot insist your client provides info about her L/Ls personal circs, but if the L/L is willing to assist, my advice would be to be open and give the LA info about the L/L's girlfriend. By taking this approach, at least if you have "one of those LAs" who won't listen to reason, you'll stand a MUCH better chance on appeal.

Doubtless, others with more technical info will contribute to this thread and offer other options and advice.

Regards

It is always difficult to comment on these cases without knowing the full detail but as a fraud investigator I have these comments/questions:

Are the LA conducting a proper fraud investigation, if they are then it is straightforward enough to obtain details of marriage from the general registry. That would clear up the issue reasonably quickly.

The other option open to them would be to consider if they are living together as husband and wife. This is determined by interview with a officer who has undergone special training, incidently this is not normally considered a fraudulent matter as such. If DWP benefits (IS/JSA IB etc) are in payment then this interview should be done by DWP staff.

Regarding your point that ID was established four years ago, if at a later stage some question arises then it would be in order to carry out an investigation.

With the information given it does appear that the LA are clutching at straws..they should obtain good clear evidence, such as marriage certificate and then present this to the claimant. If not close the case!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope this helps.

la are askıng for 'severe mental ımpaırment certificate' as cared for chap ıs mentally ıll,doctor says no problem!also askıng for carers certıfıcate and does clıent get paıd, as ıt happens she ıs an ex-nurse who ısn't paıd by cared for chap(what dıfference would ıt make ıf he paıd the odd bıll anyway,ıts not as ıf he's payıng rent ıs ıt?)There has been an ınvestıgatıon,aprıl thıs year by dwp, result was nothıng was saıd or done, all clear, but lıke I saıd cared for chaps famıly are causıng problems by sayıng these thıngs, thıngs also lıke they have seen him workıng etc(he can't work he ıs too ıll!) clıent feels that askıng for bank detaıls ıs a step too far ın anyones book,she has a card wıth her name on wouldn't that do? they also want to see utılıty bılls, god ın heaven knows why?what dıfference does ıt make ıf her bılls are paıd by her father,her lover,her mother,her sıster? I am thınkıng about complaınıng to them as I feel thıs ıs takıng an already establıshed case too far, what next does she jump through a burnıng hoop. LA have saıd orıgınal documents from dwp,chıld benefıt, csa,ınland revenue etc etc are not enough to establısh ıdentıty, do they want her shoe sıze, blood group etc The mınd boggles at what they wıll want next, a solıcıtors letter I feel would do the trıck or would that just p*ss them off? Sorry to drone on but thıs has really got my back up,thoughts on thıs stıcky ıssue would be apprecıated thanks

I agree with the other investigator about how this appears to be going. With the details you have provided, it appears that the LA have little to go on. There are set ways of establishing identity, and if the LA have enough doubts as to the claimants identity, then they should consider suspending benefit until it is cleared up. I don't see how identity is really in doubt though, it sounds more like the relationship is queried. I think you have two options: co-operate and give all the details requested to get it sorted out quickly (and hopefully in your favour) or to dig your heels in go down the line you mention, which could give you the same result (although could involve a great deal of work whilst maintaining the principle of the matter).

Why would they want confirmation of ID I cannot see what relevance that has to the allegation of marriage, as I said before that is easy enough to determine. You say the DWP have investigated so I would suspect that was a "living together as husband and wife" investigation and from what you say no evidence could be found.

I think its important to know, is this a fraud investigation by the LA's fraud section? If it is then they should IUC your claimant if they have enough evidence to suggest an offence.

If it is the assessment section I am not so sure (not my area!) but it does seem by your posting a bit OTT!!!!!!!!

Obviously when claims are assessed reviewed income /capital details are required and this would mean sight of recent statements.

Your posting seems to indicate that they want this for ID purposes which seems strange...regarding utility bills as an investigator I would look at these more for non-residency issues although they may be looking to see if the person she cares for pays them, again I am surprised if the assessors are requesting this info.

As some else suggested it may be best to try and meet with them to resolve this...one point to raise would be the reasonableness or otherwise of their requests.

One final thing you say you think that there is a malicious aspect to the allegation, this is sadly quite common in my line of work but it should not be to hard for the LA to spot this.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Andrew,
Turns out that this is "just routine" and they are querying everyone who has a claim, living together man + wife not an issue apparently, provided household bills + passport and they were happy with that, client chuffed to bits. Thanks all for your help and sound advice