Income Support, My Partner, and my Pension and the morons at the DWP

[Greyfields]

HI all,

Firstly, let me lay out the basics of my story as shortly as I can.

My Partner and myself have been getting grief and threats from the DWP for nearly a year. My partner receives Income Support and I am on her claim as I was ready to do some serious damage to the Jobcentre moron who took great delight in browbeating and belittling me every time I signed on. I have been incorporated into my partners claim since March 2014. I also receive a small pension from my former employment as a railway signal engineer. This pension was declared to the DWP both before and after I went onto my partners claim.

Fast forward to the end of last year, 2018, when she started receiving demands for information about my pension, I tried to supply with as much information as I could including 18 months of bank statements in January of this year, then they wrote to my partner and demanded that she tell them when my railway pension started, something she couldn't know as it started a couple of years before I met her. I telephoned the person responsible and explained the situation and told the DM that the information she was asking for was irrelevant to my partners claim as I was still married to my ex-wife when I stated receiving my pension and it all went quiet. Nearly a fortnight ago my partner received a demand for the same information, plus details of any lump sum I received, again questions she couldn't answer as she didn't know me at the time, these questions were justified as "needing more information so a decision about her claim could be made". WTF, the claim had ticked along for over 5 years without a problem, now she gets a demand for information she could not know, coupled with the threat to stop her Income Support if she doesn't supply the information within a fortnight. I have written to the DM a week ago and explained that she could not know and I had explained that to her in January.

Now we are sat under threat of benefit suspension less than 4 weeks from Christmas because of DWP bullying and I can't get any kind of answer from them.

I have started the formal complaints procedure but would be grateful for any advice on on my next move/personally suing the DM as I was willing to accept an apology but not now, now I'm baying for blood because of what they have put my partner through.

Thanks in advance for any advice supplied

[Greyfields]

Bit of an update, the DWP have admitted fault and sent a very apologetic letter and have "awarded" me a small sum of money for my troubles. I have further written to them advising them that I want this taken further and advising them I am taking advice regarding the matter of their fraud officer committing fraud and trying to withhold benefits that are correctly being claimed......watch this space for any further updates

[des8]

Well good luck with that.
Do you intend to base your action on the offence of misconduct in public office?
This* is committed when a public officer acts so wilfully* as to neglect to perform his duty and/or wilfully misconducts himself to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder without reasonable excuse or justification.

Examples of behaviour that have in the past fallen within the offence include:
• wilful excesses of official authority;
• 'malicious' exercises of official authority;
• wilful neglect of a public duty;
• intentional infliction of bodily harm, imprisonment, or other injury upon a person;
• frauds and deceits.

[Greyfields]

Well good luck with that.
Do you intend to base your action on the offence of misconduct in public office?
This is committed when a public officer acts so wilfully as to neglect to perform his duty and/or wilfully misconducts himself to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder without reasonable excuse or justification.

Examples of behaviour that have in the past fallen within the offence include:
• wilful excesses of official authority;
• 'malicious' exercises of official authority;
• wilful neglect of a public duty;
• intentional infliction of bodily harm, imprisonment, or other injury upon a person;
• frauds and deceits.

I'm open to all advice at the moment but I will not let this woman get away with it, I had to witness my partner come close to a breakdown because of this woman's actions. I'm not usually militant but this has really yanked my chain.

[Naww]

I know a lot of similar stories and I am really depressed by the fact that I will soon have to go through it too.