People claiming benefits from The Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) have been told there’s a tell-tale way to check whether you are being probed by the government. Expert solicitors at Stuart Miller have explained there’s a way to tell if you’re being investigate by the DWP.
It said: “To put it plainly, no-one is immune from DWP investigation.” The experts pointed out that the DWP will notify you by post, phone or email, depending on your contact information, ahead of opening a probe into your claim or benefit.
The solicitors said: “If the DWP is going to commence a formal investigation against you, they will notify you via post, telephone, or email, depending on what information they have available for you. The vast majority will receive this information via post.
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“When you are notified, you will also be told whether you are to receive a visit from a Fraud Investigation Officer (FIO), or whether they require you to attend an interview.
At the outset, however, you may not be notified that the DWP is starting to investigate you. In the early stage of a potential case, the DWP has to assess whether there is good reason to investigate a potential fraudster. Many tip-offs and reports turn out to be false or unsubstantiated, so the DWP wants to make sure that they do not waste their time on a pointless investigation.
“As soon as there is enough evidence of potential fraud, the DWP will launch an official investigation and notify you accordingly.” DWP investigators are allowed to gather multiple types of evidence against a potentially fraudulent claimant.
The most common types of evidence are inspector reports from surveillance activities, photographs or videos and audio recordings as well as correspondence, or copies thereof, financial data, like bank statements, interviews with you or people you know and any evidence submitted by those who reported you.