We are currently undertaking reviews of residents' Housing Benefit claims as part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Housing Benefit Award Accuracy initiative.
The DWP has sent us a list of claims to review. If your claim is selected, we will contact you via a telephone call or via a letter asking you to complete a Housing Benefit review form.
Why has my claim been selected for review?
The DWP has identified a list of cases for review using a risk model to predict which claimants are most likely to have had changes in their circumstances.
This new initiative is taking place to ensure awards are accurate and residents are being paid the correct amount of benefit.
How will we contact you?
If we hold currently contact details for you, you will receive a Telephone call from an Officer from the Benefits Team who will identify themselves and ask to verify your identification and then will proceed to review your Benefit Claim.
They will ask to confirm who lives with you, your income and capital details, your rent and if you have you had any recent changes in your circumstances which will affect your current award.
If there have been changes, they will ask you to provide proof of these and send supporting evidence. You can upload these documents via your MySandwell Account or via the evidence page.
If we are unable to contact you. A review form will be issued, and you will have 1 month to complete the form.
After 1 Month your review form has not been returned or the supporting evidence is not provided your Housing Benefit claim may be suspended.
Please note: The officer will not be asking for any payments towards your rent or Council Tax.