Forum Home → Discussion → Conditionality and sanctions → Thread
DWP requiring astonishing range of photo evidence in support of claim for universal credit
Spotted via a tweet from the Public Interest Law Centre:
Our client received this message on his #universalcredit online account this week.
As if it wasn’t hard enough to claim UC…
(Point 5 is what kidnappers do, which seems appropriate.)
Are others getting these messages?
‘Further to today’s phone call, I now require you to provide the following information. If you don’t provide all of the information that we’ve requested your claim will be closed. 1. A photo of your ID card or passport open on the photo page. 2. A photo of your ID card or passport open on the photo page held next to your face. 3. A photo of you stood outside the front door (open behind you) of the property you live at. Ask someone to take this from the street so that whole property can be seen. 4. A photo of you stood next to your street sign with your right hand holding it. Ask someone to take this photo from a few metres away so that the background can be clearly seen. 5. A photo of you holding your local newspaper for the area you live (not a national tabloid newspaper). This should be dated the same day you upload the photo. Please note, once you upload these details, we may still require you to attend a Jobcentre appointment before any consideration is given to awarding your Universal Credit. I’ve created an upload in your To Do list ...’
https://twitter.com/publiclawcentre/status/1448677001351553035
And see this tweet from Neil Couling!
Further update(s) from Neil Couling:
Thanks - said I’d take a look as there have been some instances of fraudsters representing themselves as DWP officials to harvest data off claimants to use in criminal activities. But this is legitimate. I will explain in a bit more detail (1).
https://twitter.com/NeilCouling/status/1448971863573602341
You will know that in the 1st lockdown we suspended face-to-face verification. Prior to Covid in cases where there was a doubt we used to call people into Jobcentres. Initially we used a “Trust and Protect” approach. (2)
https://twitter.com/NeilCouling/status/1448971921173979171
We knew some would abuse that, I’ve been very open about that, but it was for the greater good. But we always said we would go back and check. And this is part of that, given restrictions mean we can’t yet use our Jobcentres to the full (3)
https://twitter.com/NeilCouling/status/1448971976928862212
So this is a temporary process, tailored for the restrictions we are still under. Eventually we will be able to return to interviews in Jobcentres in cases of doubt about identity. So there’s nothing to worry about here for claimants, they can engage with confidence (4)
Has someone hacked Thank You Cards’s account too? This is ludicrous!
Perhaps claimants should be dragged to the stocks and left there until a respectable personage of good standing confirms their identity?
Claimants: This Is What They Think Of You.
To be fair Neil did initially say ‘Looks suspicious to me’ 😂
Looks suspicious, but was actually us!
I don’t even know where my street sign is, but it is a very long road. But that is a ridiculous level of hoops to jump through.
He even managed to get a “tailored” into that. Anyone would think that DWP are sponsored by Tailors R Us.
My street doesn’t have a sign on it and my front door no longer opens, I’d be stuffed.
... my front door no longer opens,
Intrigued now. Do you need rescuing?
Possibly, but not from the broken door. What I really need is a joiner who doesn’t charge the equivalent rate of a distinguished QC.
Possibly, but not from the broken door. What I really need is a joiner who doesn’t charge the equivalent rate of a distinguished QC.
Make sure you ask for ID :)
To further complicate matters my house isn’t actually on the street that the postal address says it is, front or back. It is on an ajoining street with a different name. It doesn’t have a number either, just a name, in Welsh oddly enough. It’s bad enough for delivery drivers, who knows what sort of confusion would reign supreme should UC ever get involved.
[ Edited: 19 Oct 2021 at 12:08 pm by BC Welfare Rights ]To further complicate matters my house isn’t actually on the street that the postal address says it is, front or back. It is on an ajoining street with a different name. It doesn’t have a number either, just a name, in Welsh oddly enough. It’s bad enough for delivery drivers, who knows what sort of confusion would reign supreme should UC ever get involved.
I feel your pain as another whose house is not on their street
I feel your pain as another whose house is not on their street
I don’t have a street. Should I feel hard done-by?
I am torn between thinking this is now a thread populated by people with no dwelling occupied as the home; no right to reside or no habitual residence.
[ Edited: 19 Oct 2021 at 02:32 pm by Mike Hughes ]I am torn between thinking this is now a thread populated by people with dwelling occupied as the home; no right to reside or no habitual residence.
Or Mr Couling and his House of Thank-You Cards?