DWP Proposing To Scrutinize Bank Accounts?

DaisyAnneReturns

Populist followers will always react with their emotions not their brain Urmstongran. That's why we get questions like "Are you happy for your tax to pay for a fraudster’s lifestyle?".

That's pure emotion considering the miniscule amount of benefit fraud by comparison, for example, to tax avoidance and evasion. I wonder which, drawn back into the Treasury, would make a difference to schools, the NHS and the cost of living?

But not for you, my friend. The Tories give you a group to be angry about and they point you at that group saying "hate these people, think of them all as bad and we will make it all better". And just where has that got the person who judges the world by the populists faux information and votes with their emotions? Has it made the country better off or even happier? No?

That's okay. They will soon find another group for people to hate; to absorb your emotions so you cannot aim it at the real culprits - the populists who have had power over this country for 13 years.

|You have said exactly what I am thinking. Classic tactics by this despicable government and their lackey tabloids. Get a story out there, don't worry about whether it is true or not, then watch as the faithful wind each other into a frenzy about 'them'. Yes, I am perfectly happy for my taxes to pay for those in need, GSM, and if there are a few who play the system, well so be it. I am however, not happy for my taxes to pay for the likes of Michelle Mone and her ilk who stole from all of us.

I saw the article I flagged some weeks ago but didn't post it until this thread was started as I could guess where it would go. It does help if people read them and base their opinions on facts rather than overblown MSM fiction.

So, some facts.

1. The government - yes, this far-right, one that believes the poor should be poor and the rich should be rich and that poverty is entirely your own fault and wealth entirely from your own efforts - undertook a survey of public perceptions of fraud, error and debt. Not facts - they know those won't please the far right believers, but opinions.

2. From this they are testing possible legal changes (via MSM) based on this survey - not the facts they already have the data on. Obviously, they would do this as that's is what populist governments do.

3. For the purposes of the research, DWP customers were defined as people claiming at least one of:
Universal Credit
Jobseekers Allowance/New Style Jobseekers Allowance
Income Support
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)/New Style Employment and Support Allowance
Pension Credit
Carer’s Allowance
Attendance Allowance
Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance (for themselves or a child).

4. People claiming Tax Credits, Housing Benefit or the State Pension were not counted as DWP customers unless they also claimed one of the benefits listed above.

It is easy to get the facts and save yourself going down a rabbit-hole. If you wait for someone to do it for you, you tend to have to accept getting their opinions as well.

Georgesgran

As I said - I hope I had misunderstood the post.

I think you did

crazyH

Vampirequeen - yes , “unfair” being the operative word. My poor friend, who couldn’t walk 10 steps before getting breathless, had her application
declined and my other friend who travels the world with her “disability” receives DLA etc. She has private pensions too. The former has now sadly passed away.
Regardless, I also think these benefits should be means tested .

PIP allows me to get out of the house and pay extra expenses that come with being ill. I don't have a physical disability. I can move easily and, if was was able, could travel the world but I still qualify for PIP due to my mental health conditions. Are you saying that I shouldn't get it because I don't have a physical condition? Means testing would stop a lot of disabled people from qualifying. PIP is designed to help us live a more normal life. If you means test it then you take away the lifeline from many people. If I didn't get PIP my condition would deteriorate and I would end up in hospital which would cost far more than paying me PIP. Also my personal suffering would increase beyond imagination. I'm not alone in this. Means testing would condemn millions of us to purgatory or even hell.

Just to reassure you, AA, like PIP and DLA, are not means-tested benefits, so there is no need for any check on your bank statements. The extra money is meant to help with the additional costs of disability, though there are no stipulations as to how it is spent, nobody asks or needs to know. I guess many people use the money to help with general living costs and travel to appointments. The means-tested benefits are not going to make anyone rich, as they are scarcely enough to live on.

I have only recently been awarded AA and was surprised at how quickly the decision came through. It has set me thinking these past few days though,
having read posts from various sources, but I would have no objection to my finances being scrutinised should it ever become mandatory. Having completed the necessary forms, I would imagine it's quite difficult to receive an award without supportive documentation or the input of a GP so I am trying to relax about things until I am assessed in a years time.
I'm just thinking out loud really.

As I said - I hope I had misunderstood the post.

OMG - it’s theexwife.

I am so very sorry to name the wrong poster!

Unreserved apologies.

Could you give the time of ex-dancer's post, please Georgesgran. I can't seem to find it.

Perhaps I’ve got the wrong end of the stick, but Having read through the thread again, is ex-dancer suggesting that disabled people shouldn’t be working at all, but just sitting at home with their DLA/PIP? What’s wrong with working and claiming? Is it not the same as others claiming working tax credits or pension credit. It’s a long time since DD received her DLA, but the Surgery/Hospital must've claimed it on her behalf - I can’t really remember filling any forms in.
DD2 may not be able to walk, but she can use her hands and her voice, is in receipt of DLA and works. Behind a desk, or in her car all you see is an absolutely stunning young lady - someone actually challenged her on using a disabled parking bay to which DD said ‘see that wheelchair in the back, it’s not a f**king fashion accessory!’
I expect we all know someone who claims ‘something’ to which they’re not entitled (hate that word - it’s half the problem) either by being mis-advised or else downright fraudulently.
Unfortunately, checks are necessary to try and weed them out, but it’s often the most deserving who are misjudged.

When DH was having his assessment for DLA the office was on the second floor, with no lift. one man, who was obviously very unwell, nearly collapsed climbing the stairs. I sometimes think they do it on purpose to sort put the ones who do need help. My cousin who has MS was made to crawl up some stairs to prove that she couldn't walk.

My MiL had her secret bank account reported by HMCR. She was very incensed when the council made her pay back all the money she had had in benefits. She couldn't understand that the benefits were intended for people who hadn't got thousands stashed away.

crazyH

What ???? We should be able to spend our SP on whatever we choose. - I wish they’ll delve into the physical abilities of those receiving DLA /AA.

They did that!

Paying the totally unqualified “inspectors” £2,000 for every disabled person they dumped. It went a bit quiet as a number died within days of being declared fit and well despite years of ill health.

Surely it shouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility to devise and institute a system which can detect fraud without punishing genuine claimants?

I don't want to see anyone penalised for being on PIP or DLA, however not everyone is honest and it is nieve to think that. However before bank accounts are scrutinised, the fraud officers must have evidence, and a very good case to think someone is dishonestly claiming these.

Populist followers will always react with their emotions not their brain Urmstongran. That's why we get questions like "Are you happy for your tax to pay for a fraudster’s lifestyle?".

That's pure emotion considering the miniscule amount of benefit fraud by comparison, for example, to tax avoidance and evasion. I wonder which, drawn back into the Treasury, would make a difference to schools, the NHS and the cost of living?

But not for you, my friend. The Tories give you a group to be angry about and they point you at that group saying "hate these people, think of them all as bad and we will make it all better". And just where has that got the person who judges the world by the populists faux information and votes with their emotions? Has it made the country better off or even happier? No?

That's okay. They will soon find another group for people to hate; to absorb your emotions so you cannot aim it at the real culprits - the populists who have had power over this country for 13 years.

The Government Agencies including the police already have the power to access any electronic media, including bank details. At the push of a button they can scan the bank accounts of all claimants they have been doing it for businesses for a long time.
Because so many transactions are online these days its easy now

Well said GSM.

First, if you actually read the articles flagged there is no mention of the State Pension.

Second, when it comes to nonsense about people getting more than they should on benefits, I really think you have to decide what sort of a person you are.

Benefits will never be an exact science so you have to decide whether you tolerated the tiny amount of fraud that we have currently in order to ensure those who need the help get it, or whether you tighten the system so much that people die or live in penury while you still have a small percentage of bad characters determined to deceive.

Or you don't have human beings.

Are you happy for your tax to pay for a fraudster’s lifestyle?

This is so typical of this Conservative government. They will try to pit people against one another so that they are not looking at them. Look there! Not here!
Don't fall for it.

DD2 is disabled, following a stroke and claims DLA. For some reason she only ever had the ‘getting around’ part and from being 17 has given it up for a Motability car, without which she couldn’t work/get to work.
I’d like to think that very wealthy people who later find themselves disabled don’t claim benefit - especially those who are able to retain their well paid jobs.
When DH was diagnosed as terminally ill, he chose not to claim anything, although towards the end, I did consider a Blue Badge for him, but it was during Covid, so didn’t bother.
Having had a claim and appeal for Carer’s Allowance for DD2 rejected, I chose not to go down that route again.

What has someone's private pension got to do with receipt of DLA?

I suffer from breathlessness, and have every sympathy with your late friend - she should certainly have qualified for disability payments if she couldn't walk ten steps - but I see no reason for disability benefits to be means-tested, particularly based on a pension that someone has paid into for years.

People really seem to resent private pensions, but they are not free, and shouldn't disadvantage those who may have gone without in order to pay for them.

I think there are two issues here. One is the injustice that denied your friend the payments she should have had, and the other that there is a chance (impossible to know without knowing the detail) that your other friend was playing the system. Neither case would make means-testing ok though.

I would be interested to see the source of your allegations, Urmstongran. By the way, there is no such thing as "sick pay", and many people in receipt of PIP are working.

Vampirequeen - yes , “unfair” being the operative word. My poor friend, who couldn’t walk 10 steps before getting breathless, had her application
declined and my other friend who travels the world with her “disability” receives DLA etc. She has private pensions too. The former has now sadly passed away.
Regardless, I also think these benefits should be means tested .

crazyH

What ???? We should be able to spend our SP on whatever we choose. - I wish they’ll delve into the physical abilities of those receiving DLA /AA.

That's very unfair. It's hard enough to be on disability benefits without being deemed to be some sort of scammer. DWP doesn't make it easy to claim disability benefits. We have to jump through hoops that many of us are simply too ill to deal with. There are a lot more people who should be on PIP who gave up the fight because the DWP drag it out and make it too difficult. Imagine being very ill/disabled and having someone who has no medical training tell you that all your evidence from doctors and hospitals means nothing.