Inspector out to get me?

prettykitty81

I have applied for Lone parents benefit and yesterday had the Inspector call out to my home.
I was there with my nine day old baby girl, my autistic son and my ex (their dad).
My ex was in the kitchen with our son when the Inspector accused me of lying and that I was in fact living with my ex as his car had been there on certain days when he had driven by and demanded that I tell him why my ex's car insurance which was renewed in January when he still lived at the property was for this address. When I tried to explain that I had just had a baby and my ex was helping out with our son (It was also his day to have access anyway) he cut me off and claimed that I was lying. He tried to say I had given no information with regards to my ex's access (despite the fact that he had a written statement from both of us regarding access and maintenance in my file) and that I had never said anything about my son being special needs (he is the one that informed me about the DCA that I may be entitled to). His attitude was one of intimidation and his whole manner was quite rude towards me. I called my ex in to answer his questions and (thankfully) my PHN also turned up to check on me. She also spoke to the Inspector and his attitude changed dramatically when he was dealing with both my ex and the PHN. Is this normal practice for the Inspectors to be so nasty to people? He seemed to think that my ex should not be at my home to see his son at all never mind the three days a week we have agreed. Am apprehensive about making a complaint as I feel victimised by this Inspector already and really don't have it in me to go toe to toe with the social welfare for a payment I am entitled to. My neighbours, health care workers, sons Early intervention team can all back me up that I am a genuine lone parent and I have submitted all documentation to back it up too. Any advice? Really stressed about this man.

donalg1

I'm sure the inspector is under pressure to find the sw fraudsters so this may explain the attitude but i wouldnt think they are out to get you they are just doing their job and if they manage to find a few fraudsters well then no harm once your claim is genuine i wouldnt worry too much im sure you'll be fine. But still no need for d inspector to be a d##k

Oddjob

There's a pretty easy solution, get your ex to pay for the maintenance of you and your children and you never need to deal with social welfare again.

That would show them.

tenchi-fan

You have to admit, a single mother going it alone applies for one-parent family benefit.. and when the inspector arrives there are two parents merrily tending to a family, when he drives by your ex's car is in the drive way, when your ex has access to the kids he chooses to spend the time in your kitchen and when he gets his car insurance renewed the letter goes to your home.

Try to make it more apparent to the inspector that this guy is your ex.

prettykitty81

Oddjob My ex does pay maintenance. If you aren't going to make helpful comments, then why bother replying?

The only reason my ex was there was because i was just home from hospital and needed help with our son. Because of my sons condition the visits with his dad generally have to be at my house in order to keep to the routine my son needs.
Car insurance for ex is up in a 2 months and he honestly never even thought of it, only time it enters his head is when he gets the reminder letter. He provided bills, work letters etc all to verify his new address.
The community welfare officer and early intervention team that deal with my son have encouraged me to allow my ex up as much as possible during the first few weeks of the having the new baby home in order to make it as easy as possible on my son.
Totally understand that they want to route out fraud but it was more this guys attitude to me. He didn't speak like that to my ex nor the PHN. Not to be paranoid but it felt very personal. Both the CWO and the PHN called out to me yesterday to see if we were ok and told me to report the guys attitude. They have a job to do of course but no need to be nasty and attack someone

touts

If your "ex" is the father of both it would appear he is doing more than simply visiting his son. You can't blame the inspector for being suspicious.

Balagan

SWI - Code of Practice For Social Welfare Inspectors
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/pages/swi_codeofpracswi.aspx#tc

Above may be helpful if you go ahead with a complaint. It would be best in any case to write to the Social Welfare setting out the circumstances of the visit etc., so that you are certain that they have your and your ex partners explanation re his frequent presence in the home for access, his use of the address for correspondence etc. These are the things which set the alarm bells ringing. You could then also mention your distress about the accusations that were made and the tone. Section 2.2. under Tact and Courtesy on the need for the inspector to be aware of the special circumstances of the customer is particularly relevant as, from what you wrote, your file contains pertinent information about your son's special needs, your ex partners access etc. While it is true that the inspector had the option to be very pleasant to you and not upset you in any way, in one way, upsetting and all as it was because of the manner in which he did it, perhaps it was helpful that he was outspoken about his concern at what he was seeing because it gave you, your ex-partner and the PHN the opportunity to set him straight. Maybe better for that to happen than for him to be all smiles and go back and write a report that would be very likely to get your application turned down. Congratulations on the new baby and hope everything works out well.

cee_jay

Is it possible you had an issue with the way he spoke to you because he was questioning you over your ex being there, and seeing his car numerous times outside your house, and knowing that his car was insured at your address? The inspector is doing his job - to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if your claim was disallowed for cohabitation reasons.
If you are really not living together, then you really need to bring forward more evidence to show you aren't together. At the moment, it sounds the odds are stacked against you.

Larkenn

I can't really blame the inspector for assuming that your ex still lives with you. Everytime he drives by his car is there and when he calls in to assess you, he is standing in your kitchen. I don't think making a complaint is going to help your case, the inspector is only doing his job.

tenchi-fan

prettykitty81 wrote: »

The community welfare officer and early intervention team that deal with my son have encouraged me to allow my ex up as much as possible during the first few weeks of the having the new baby home in order to make it as easy as possible on my son.

This may be so, but I'd imagine the CWO/early intervention team don't decide on your entitlement to one-parent family benefit. The more your situation turns into a 2-parent family environment the less likely you will qualify for one parent family benefit.

The OPF payment is often criticised for this very reason.

prettykitty81

Thank you for all the advice. My ex whilst involved in my sons life, isn't here all that often tbh. It was just for the first two weeks with having the new baby home and my son starting his new ASD school. My little boy finds the slightest change very unsettling so a new school and new family member had the potential to cause huge problems. We were all just trying to avoid that for him.
With regards to my ex's car insurance being registered at this address, I wasn't even aware that he hadn't changed it until the inspector told me. Have asked my ex to rectify this and ensure that he has transferred anything in his name to his new address. We had already submitted a letter stating the circumstances with our son and our intention to increase visitation for the first few weeks after my daughter was born and the reasons for it. Thats why I cant understand the Inspector denying any knowledge of my sons condition when he had the letter in my file?
My ex has also submitted documentation of his new address (bills etc) to prove that is where he is living. Sods law that the inspector chose the week the baby and I came home from hospital to check on me! Hopefully with all the documentation the claim wont be delayed anymore. Again thanks

gbee

The probability is you informed on by a neighbour.

yabadabado

I can see that claim being disallowed on co-hab.You just had a kid with this man,his car is registered to your address and he is in your house when the inspector calls.if your ex is going to be around on a full time basis for a few weeks this will most probably be noted by the Inspector and is making the situation look more like he is living with you.
Inspector is only doing their job and from their point of view it doesnt look like you are telling the truth.

C-J

I think your claim will either be disallowed or granted and then constantly reviewed. The dept of social protection are trying to clamp down on social welfare fraud big time. If you knew the inspector was coming could you not have just asked your oh to call another day, i cant blame the inspector for being suspicious he's only trying to do his job and its no doubt frustrating when he comes across situations like this

upinthesky

i think there is a big big clamp down on people claiming opf and then having another child for the same dad

had you registered the child before the inspector came to see you?

if so he would have seen the same dads name on the birth cert which would have nearly made up his mind that you were cohabiting id say he has been watching you and every time he arrived your ex was there

if you take this into account id say he was looking for a confession

i suppose these officers have to be tough if they weren't they would get no were

i suppose you should be glad there doing there job and you have to look at it for his point

i think if you have to see him agian he will be nicer next time around

mp22

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