Why Has The Benefit Integrity Centre Contacted You For Your Income Support Claim?
By
HuutiMoney
If you are wondering why the Benefit Integrity Centre has contacted you for your Income Support claim, you will find the answer to your question in the following blog post. In addition to this, we will also discuss how to check if the communication that you’ve received from them is genuine and the information you should and should not share with them.
Why Has The Benefit Integrity Centre Contacted You For Your Income Support Claim?
If you’ve been contacted by the Benefit Integrity Centre (now referred to as Fraud and Error Prevention Service Centres) regarding your Income Support claim, it could be to conduct a claim review.
It is quite common for officials from the Benefit Integrity Centre or Fraud and Error Prevention Service Centres to contact claimants of welfare benefits such as Income Support to review their eligibility for the benefit they claim.
When they contact a claimant, officials will ask for information regarding the income and savings of the claimant as well as the name and branch of the bank in which their benefits claims are being paid into.
The purpose of their queries is primarily to make sure of the following:
- the information that you provided to them at the time of applying for Income Support is still valid
- their records are updated
- any change of circumstances that went unreported can be recorded
However, you must confirm the identity of the officials claiming to represent the Benefit Integrity Centre or Fraud and Error Prevention Service Centres and never disclose personal details such as your bank account number.
What Information Will The Benefit Integrity Centre Ask For Your Income Support Claim?
The information that the Benefit Integrity Centre or Fraud and Error Prevention Service centre officials require from you regarding your Income Support claim includes the details of your income and savings in the following:
- Current or savings accounts, building society accounts and at home
- Tax-Free Childcare account
- Stocks, shares and ISAs
- Pension pots
- Income bonds
- Redundancy Pay
- Compensation Payouts
- Any other property you own (not including your main home)
They may also confirm if you still meet the eligibility criteria for Income Support by checking your status for the following:
- you live in England, Scotland or Wales
- you are aged between 16 and the Pension Credit age
- either you have no income or are on a low income
- your savings are below £16,000
- you are not in full-time paid work
How Can You Check If The Communication From Benefit Integrity Support For Your Income Support Claim Is Genuine?
You can check if the communication from the Benefit Integrity Centre or Fraud and Error Prevention Service Centres is genuine in the following ways:
- If you’ve received a letter or email from them, you should check if it carries the Jobcentre Plus or Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) logo. It will be accompanied by a form that you would need to fill in by a certain due date.
- If you get a phone call from them, you can check if they are genuine from the information they ask of you. A genuine official will not ask for your bank account number or sort code.
- If they send a text message to you, a genuine message would simply be a reminder for any earlier communication without asking you for personal financial details. The number will appear as“Jobcentre Plus” or “Jobcentre +” and will not have the option for a reply.
If you are still not sure about the communication is genuine, you should contact Jobcentre Plus.
Conclusion:
The above discussion helps to conclude that the primary reason why someone can be contacted by the Benefit Integrity Centre or Fraud and Error Prevention Service Centres is to review their income and savings as a confirmation of their eligibility to continue claiming the benefit that(s) they receive payment for.