06 Post interview action
Claimant attends the appointment
Updating the Activity Resolution
1. Where the claimant attends the appointment, record details of the outcome
of the appointment on the FRAIMS activity.
2. Ensure that the correct Resolution reason is selected for the outcome of
the appointment as this will be used for MI purposes.
3. The following table shows how the selected Resolution input on the
FRAIMS activity will be treated for MI purposes.
Resolution MI
Result
Office Interview
Attended
Effective
Further Interview Required
Home Visit
Effective – Action Complete
Effective
Effective – Action Incomplete
Ineffective – Visit N/A
Office Interview
Failed to Attend C
Ineffective
Home Visit
Ineffective – Action Incomplete
Ineffective
Office Interview / Home Visit
Customer Cancelled
Neutral
Not Required
(Will not affect the FTA
Created in Error
MI calculation)
Recording details of the interview
4. Record a summary of the interview activity in the Activity ‘Description
and/or ‘Comments’ field on FRAIMS. As a minimum this must include:
the date of the interview,
an account of what was discussed, to include:
all allegations on the Fraud Referral Form (FRF), such as living
together/working/other allegations denied or admitted by the
claimant; or if a high risk case details of the claimant’s
circumstances and any changes to these reported, and
in all cases (including Risk Cases) a brief account of the full review
undertaken of current circumstances.
details of the outcome of the interview, such as living
together/working/other admitted/denied by claimant, no change to
entitlement or maintenance declared from an earlier date,
the date of the change,
whether the claimant knew to report the change,
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reasons why the claimant provided incorrect information at the outset or
failed to report the change in circumstances,
admittance from the claimant that they knowingly gave false information
or knowingly failed to declare a change of circumstances,
potential overpayment and recovery process, including an agreement to
repay any overpayment regardless of the amount, unless the
overpayment is wholly an official error,
any potential underpayment and re-assessment,
warning of future conduct regarding non-compliance including the
possibility of the imposition of a Civil Penalty for the current failure to
comply,
that an MF47 statement has been obtained and the declaration has
been signed by the claimant.
Obtaining benefit and/or overpayment decisions
5. Complete the LT54, outlining details of the case. Ensure the LT54 is fully
completed as the DM will return forms that have information missing or
incomplete.
Current award of benefit to be revised
6. If the current award is to be revised:
send the LT54 to the DM,
create an activity and B/F the case for the DM response,
update the ‘Case Stage’ to ‘Benefit Decision’,
do not update the Case ‘Outcome’, ‘Outcome Result’ or ‘Date of
Outcome’ fields,
if an overpayment calculation is required, also take action as outlined in
Overpayment calculation required.
Overpayment calculation required
7. If an overpayment calculation is required in addition to revision of the
current award:
complete the REF2 and send it with a copy of the LT54, MF47 and all
other relevant documents to the relevant overpayment Central Team,
see 02 – Overpayment guidance for Customer Compliance,
create an activity and B/F the case for the overpayment Central Team
response.
8. If there is no current live benefit claim, or the current award of benefit is not
to be revised, record the details of the referral for the overpayment
calculation by updating the:
Case ‘Stage’ to ‘Central Reassessment Team’,
Case ‘Outcome’, ‘Outcome Result’ and ‘Date of Outcome’ fields
Sensitive Material check
9. Remove all material marked sensitive and complete the RM7 to state the
check has been completed.
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10. Pass the case to the Customer Compliance Support Manager (CCSM) for
them to complete the final sensitive material check.
11. The Customer Compliance Support Officer (CCSO) should update
Notepad on the appropriate benefit payment system to record that
Customer Compliance activity has taken place.
12. Carers Allowance (CA) cases must be returned to the Fraud Investigation
Service Disability and Carers Team (FIS DCT) and not direct to the DM.
Claimants fails to attend
13. Where the claimant fails to attend the office interview or is not available for
the visit, record details of the outcome of the appointment on the FRAIMS
activity.
14. Ensure that the correct Resolution reason is selected for the outcome of
the appointment as this will be used for MI purposes.
15. If the claimant has failed to attend the office interview or failed to be
available for a home visit, record the details of attempts made to contact
the claimant, including any good reasons for the failure to attend in the
activity ‘Description’ and/or ‘Comments’ field.
16. Where a LMS record exists, note the record that the claimant failed to
attend / was not available for the appointment.
Documentary evidence is not provided
17. If documentary evidence is not received within 14 calendar days of the
date the request for evidence is notified to the claimant, this could be the
date the original letter was issued or the date the verbal request was made
if different, the Customer Compliance Officer (CCO) should suspend the
claimant’s current award of benefit.
18. If the claimant is known to be vulnerable and direct contact with the
employer is the only way to progress the case, consider if an approach to
the information provider for the required information/evidence is
appropriate.
Obtaining wage information
19. Wage details can be requested from employers where:
the claimant has admitted they were working on the MF47 statement
and have given their written authority / permission for their employer to
be contacted by the department
Written authority / permission has not been provided and the claimant
denies they have been working for a named employer, refuses to
provide the information requested or states they are unable to provide
the information e.g. no pay slips held
20. EQ1s must not be issued by CCOs under any circumstances. These are
Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) forms and can only be used by
Authorised Fraud Officers. Customer Compliance Officers are not
authorised to use Section 109 powers and therefore requests of employers
must be made under Data Protection Act.
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21. Initial enquiries can be made by telephone with follow up requests in
writing if necessary. Any employer enquiry should include details of the
position within the company of the person who is providing the information.
22. Employer contact will be recorded on FRAIMS as communications:
by outbound telephone call,
by letter using CCEEL1/CCEEL1W.
23. Record the requests to the employer and set a B/F date by creating an
activity on the case. Allow 10 working days for the response.
24. If the information is not provided, take action to follow it up this could be by
re-issuing the enquiry form and letter or by telephone and update the
activity.
Suspending benefit
25. If the claimant fails to attend the appointment, or does not provide the
requested information, the Customer Compliance Officer (CCO) must
consider if the benefit claim is to be suspended.
26. If the claimant has been identified as ‘vulnerable’ the CCO must not take
suspension action but should send details to the appropriate benefit
Decision Maker (DM) so that they can consider the next actions to be
taken, see Obtaining benefit and/or overpayment decisions.
27. Queries relating to Hardship claims should be directed to appropriate DM
for action.
28. If benefit suspension action on Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) / Employment
and Support Allowance (ESA) / Income Support (IS) is appropriate, send
the claimant the CCSUS1 / CCSUS1W.
29. For all other benefits, do not suspend benefit or send any notification to the
claimant. Complete the CCSUS2 and send it to the appropriate Decision
Maker who will consider taking suspension action.
30. Create an activity on FRAIMS to record the issue of the letter and set a
B/F for 1 month for the response from the claimant. .
31. Take the following action to suspend JSA / ESA / IS:
JSA / ESA
Step
Action
1.
Access dialogue 210.
2.
Enter ‘S’ in the appropriate field and select ‘Enter’.
3.
In the ‘AR code’ box input the reason code ‘9999’.
4.
Enter the date of suspension, this will be the first date after the
last payment made, do not enter an end date.
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5. Select
‘End’.
6.
Access dialogue 110 and record the reason for the suspension
and your contact details.
Income Support
Step
Action
1.
Input the NINo followed by ‘460’. You cannot tab across.
2.
Enter ‘Y’ in the Suspension field.
3.
The ‘Reason code’ is ‘2’. Select ‘Enter’.
4.
Ignore any messages the system displays.
5.
Access dialogue 110 and record the reason for the suspension
and your contact details.
32. If Housing Benefit is in payment notify the Local Authority that the
claimant’s Income Support has been suspended by completing the
DL/SUSTERM4, see the Suspension and Termination Guide.
No response received on the expiry of the B/F date
33. If on expiry of the B/F date on FRAIMS the claimant has not been in
contact to resolve the issue, update the activity to record that no response
has been received.
34. Refer the case to the DM, see Obtaining benefit and/or overpayment
decisions.
Reinstatement of benefit
35. If following contact from the claimant benefit is to be re-instated contact the
appropriate DM by e-mail to lift the suspension and pay any arrears of
benefit.
Post interview action for non-Jobcentre Plus benefits
36. Customer Compliance Officers (CCOs) undertake interviews on behalf of
other Agencies/Departments. The following action should be taken by the
Customer Compliance Support Officer (CCSO) once the Customer
Compliance interview has been completed.
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37. The RM7 should only be completed for information gathered by the CCO.
Carers’ Allowance only referrals
38. For Carers Allowance (CA) referrals the CCO must take the following
action:
ensure that all sensitive information is marked in red and complete the
RM7 to confirm the check has been completed, and
send the file including the MF47 statement, RM7 and any associated
evidence previously provided by Pensions Disability and Carers
Service (PDCS) to the Fraud Investigation Service Disability and
Carers Team (FIS DCT).
Pension Referrals
39. For Pension referrals, the CCO must take the following action:
refer the case to the Pensions Decision Maker via the Fraud Liaison
Officer Single Point Of Contact (SPOC) at the relevant Pension Centre
for a decision and any overpayment action, and
create activity and B/F the FRAIMS case to record that the case is
booked out,
remove all sensitive material and complete the RM7 to confirm the
check has been completed. Ensure that the RM7 is included in the file
sent to the PDCS.
Carers Allowance in payment - Allegation solely Capital and/or
Living Together As Husband And Wife/Civil Partnership
40. If CA is in payment, the CCO must take the following action:
issue a copy of the MF47 statement and any associated evidence
previously provided by PDCS to the FIS DCT only when the
information gathered by the CCO appears to impact the CA,
where applicable, refer the file to the Pensions Decision Maker (DM) via
the Single Point Of Contact (SPOC) at the relevant Pension Centre for
a decision and potential overpayment action,
before returning the case, remove all sensitive material and complete
the RM7 to confirm the check has been completed. Ensure that a copy
of the RM7 is included in both files sent to the PDCS,
update the closure sheet on completion of all activity,
where applicable, return the Pensions file to the relevant Pension
Centre via the SPOC for storage.
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