The Department for Work and Pensions has begun sending notices to those suspected of benefit fraud or error, with orders becoming effective 22 days after dispatch. The Department for Work and Pensions’ new powers to monitor bank accounts will be rolled out in several stages, as announced by the benefits department in preparation for utilising the authority granted by the government.
The DWP’s ability to scrutinise bank accounts has come back into the spotlight following a notable Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report published on Wednesday, February 11. It has now been disclosed that the DWP’s examination of bank accounts will be conducted in multiple phases.
Before any inspections are carried out or funds are reclaimed, the DWP will send written notification to individuals suspected of benefit fraud and/or error.
If you are suspected of fraud by the government, or if proceedings have already begun, a notice or order will be sent to you, your employer, or your financial institution.
This could be an information notice, recovery notice, penalty decision notice, penalty notice, direct deduction order or deduction from earnings order.
An information notice is a letter from the DWP asking a benefits claimant to provide specific information about themselves or the individual suspected of fraud.
A recovery notice is a communication from the DWP informing an individual that legal action will be taken to recover the amount owed, reports Yorkshire Live.
A penalty decision notice and penalty notice inform a claimant that the DWP plans to impose a financial penalty and the reasoning behind it, OR require that a penalty payment is made by a specific date.
Direct deduction orders compel banks to supply information and funds, whilst deductions from earnings require employers across the country to deduct a proportion of benefits claimants’ salaries.
If you face suspicion of benefit fraud or error, the correspondence you get will begin a 28-day window for you to challenge it.
If the order remains in place, it will take effect 22 days from when the letter was sent to you and your employer in the case of a deduction from earnings notice.
Your bank may be directed to release funds through a direct deduction order. Banks would be required to automatically transfer payments to the government to clear any outstanding sums owed to the DWP.
