Agressive slandering neigbour and DWP data breach.

[slowlyloosingthewill]

Can't sleep for stress.
DWP sent my carer letters to my address as a care of address as agreed by me, as she was sofa surfing.

For unknown reasons they then changed it to violent next door neighbors address! (She does have a DWP claim)

NDN sat on this for some time. and no one else knew.
We now know that two years ago carer had received a single justice conviction and fine for an out of date student train ticket discount card, that she was unaware of. It's grown to £950 and a few months after she stated working with me bailiffs had been given next doors address by/via DWP and went there. Neighbor sat on that for a few months too.

Then out it all came along with allegations that a UC claim had also been applied for, and a catalogue supposedly set up, and defaulted on over £550, supposedly with bailiffs too. But, no paperwork, just shouting NDN.
TBH wasn't sure if we should believe her.

Weeks later NDN finally handed over one DWP letter and the bailiff letter only,
DWP say no UC claim ever made, NDN wont give even the name of catalogue, let alone paperwork. Carers credit score hasn't changed. Police have said Action Fraud, who said no evidence so no fraud.

Bailiffs returned their debt to court after it was shown no attempt to hide or deceive, (plus she brought a full price ticket) DWP couldn't explain why they changed carers address to NDN but said all OK now.

NDN has made a couple of public scenes, but told produce paperwork as impossible to do anything further without it.

Tonight I have been seriously screamed at, struggled to get the woman out of my hall that she's accessed, and had serious slanderous unrelated rubbish along with claims it's fraudulent for me to have a carer, screamed up the street and threats of lies to the landlord, for a prolonged time causing people to stop and watch. Apparently months later she claims she's had another DWP letter for carer.

DWP can't confirm or deny, but admitted they had sent letters to my address then inexplicably to next door. They can't input carers new address as they say her flat number doesn't exist, (it has to, it's a block of not new flats and each has a number - no letters) then said they can't even input mine to end this, as the computer just defaults back to NDN each time they do!

They can't explain it, and say they can't block carers mail wrongly going out to this woman, even though they know, and that it's causing huge issues.

Poor carers personal info (with added BS) is being shouted all over the street, and it's allowing NDN to shout outrageous untrue claims that I've stolen from and defrauded named individuals and organizations and what a scummy person I am. It's a horrible data breach and DWP saying they can't explain it or fix it.

@Garlicworth unable to understand the process sufficiently to engage with it also a perfect description of person, literate, educated, but can't apply it due to hidden impacts of ND and MH, and wrongly interpreted English. Thank you.

(Saying yes, then extreme distress at following through, weak grasp on time and dates, poor memory and rambling about unrelated things when asked questions is huge too!)

And not a trivial one, either.

Most data breaches mentioned on here are pretty lightweight, but in this case there's a risk of actual harm, so they (the DWP) must report the breach within 72h.

DWP provide interpreters.

The language barrier won't the obstacle preventing her engagement with UC.

It isn't in the traditional sense. No one would think she needed an interpreter or help. It is why I said "wrongly interpreted English" not 'language barrier.'
She has a very good vocabulary, but a complete misunderstanding of what many words actually mean, how things can change when put together in a sentence, or what a sentence or question actually means rather than what the subject is.

It creates misunderstandings all day, every day.
Explanations are given, she will say yes and has clearly understood, but an hour, a day, a week later, it's returned to hearing or doing whatever was thought before.

By £2 a week the OP is referring to carer allowance. It’s not just for family to claim. It’s anyone who is caring for someone else and that’s what the government pays someone delivering care. Woefully underpaid.

If the carer isn’t working and claiming carer allowance the carer would also be entitled to universal credit, housing costs and council tax support. If the carer has memory or learning disabilities perhaps the carer needs to claim PIP for herself.

Well that's it then. No need for caring agencies, you can get a carer for free directly from Job Centre😳
Next episode. Asda being sent staff for free so the unemployed can get JSA?

If you'll forgive me for ambling away from the topic - this is so nicely described, @slowlyloosingthewill. Thanks for taking the trouble.

People generally have enormous difficulty comprehending that everyone's brain works differently. Even the fairly trivial ways we differ, like whether we have a "mind's eye" or an "inner voice", create amazement and disbelief. People are still arguing over whether autism and ADHD exist, or refusing to believe the huge variety in those conditions with the depth of dysfunction they can cause. And let's not mention personality disorders!

Of course there are humans who can speak and write fluently with very little comprehension: their brains don't link words to ideas, or don't link ideas together to create meaning. There are people whose brains can only link ideas in one subject area, making them both brilliantly gifted and staggeringly thick. Some people's brains link ideas in incredibly complex ways and, depending on whether they can put their thoughts to good use, we call them either a basket case or a genius. The human mind is fucking incredible and no two are the same.

But our tendency to assume we're all much the same, or at least easily categorised, leaves many people falling through the gaps in society. Systems cannot possibly accommodate every type of human. Those working at the interface between society's systems and individual people do what they can. Sometimes they fail. Sometimes they cobble up an ad-hoc solution, which is what seems to have happened in your carer's case.

It's interesting and also depressing.

If you read you will see agencies and training schemes where involved, and the carer is not "for free."

Previous episode, though nothing to do with me, careful what you wish for, Poundland was.
www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/30/poundland-work-free-government-scheme-dwp

Already happened. Might still be going on for all I know. The only reason it supposedly stopped was that people were having accidents and being abused at work, and nobody was responsible for them.

We do, of course, subsidise millions of jobs through UC by topping up inadequate wages.

@Glitchymn1 She did. The DWP sent their responses to the NDN, which sent her OTT again.

Bloody hell 😡 I hope your extensive telephone campaign will have solved the address problem if nothing else!

She reported the breach to the ICO and they have sent the responses to the NDN? You’ve lost me here sorry.

It’s pointless telling DWP anything and I work with them (unfortunately). Never met a more difficult agency in my life.

No. She was helped to apply for PIP and DWP sent responses to her application to NDN!

The only route is ICO and I’d inform DWP that is what you are doing due to their utter incompetence.

As for "next episode" I asked for the thread to be taken down twice.
I had something horrible happen and couldn't sleep and thought asking for advice might help. I was tired and forgot what MN has become.
I have hardly slept at all since and have been very upset and scared by people accusing me and claiming things, especially as the original thread was that was what the NDN had done with it all!
I only came back to try and explain what has come out and that there is nothing illegal going on.

@Garlicworth Bloody hell 😡 I hope your extensive telephone campaign will have solved the address problem if nothing else!
It is a patch not a solution. No letters to be sent anywhere.
But they will no longer tell her what address they have her registered at.
She has to do a Freedom of information request to find out.

If you'll forgive me for ambling away from the topic - this is so nicely described, Thanks for taking the trouble.

As the actual topic isn't the one people wanted to pick me apart on it's fine!

I'm afraid I thought all sorts of things about her at first. She laughed it off.
Then I said some things to a 'supervisor' or 'trainer' or 'work coach' who called me. (I am no longer sure who they where now and don't want to get it wrong.)

She got incredibly upset, said it always happened. Everybody everywhere just hates her. She is sacked from everything she tries to do.
It has taken a lot of time and background information, to even start to understand that her problems are real. It has been confirmed she was at least supposed to be on some sort of supported internship at some point in all this.

If you know any of this is wrong please say. It is various things definitely been said by ICO, DWP, solicitor.

She has to make a formal complaint to DWP before ICO can investigate.(possibly because she has only one piece of old paper evidence*?)
She has to have the dates of what happened and when.

(*NDN is not handing over any more of what she claims to have.)

DWP will not give the information to the carer without a Freedom of Information request. They will not confirm or deny that the things that where definitely said the day before happened or if there is or isn't a record of any of it

Me telling the DWP that ICO where going to be involved got the DWP to agree to send no more letters to anywhere as a solution to guarantee prevention of NDN issue for now.

Carer doesn't need a Freedom of Information request, it's a Subject Access Request. If you say FOI you'll go down another rabbit hole. A subject access request is when an agency has to share with you all the info it has on you.

Oh, god, it's like Kafka's Prozess, isn't it 😳 This is bringing it all back. As a PP commented, you just have to keep contacting them until you land on someone who actually knows what to do.

Inspired by your thread, I had another go this morning at finding out what the deductions from my pension credit are for. The nice woman I spoke to did manage to give me a bit more information (the startlingly large amount they are collecting) but said they log everything as an overpayment. She put in a request for the information - the first time anyone's done so - and told me, in somewhat defeated tones, there's no information on which team or department initiated the deductions: "It could come from anywhere".

Amazing that they won't tell your helper where they are sending her post. Tom Sharpe could have got a whole series of books out of dealings with the DWP!

"You can request your personal information online" ✅

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-your-personal-information-from-the-department-for-work-and-pensions

It’s a SAR - as per previous poster not FOI.

Make a formal complaint to DWP, take a copy. Include as much information as possible regarding dates and what happened. Remember they’ll already hold all the actual dates from system records.
If you have the police crime reference number include that also.
Copy in your M.P (because they don’t like that, they’ll have to respond timeously).

Then complain to ICO.

CAB may be able to assist you both. Good luck.

Thank you all so much.
There is no crime reference number as the police didn't feel it was a crime, and referred her to Action Fraud. No Action Fraud case number as they could do nothing without the NDN giving details about who the supposed catalogue company was which was the only definite fraud alleged.
We do have Action Fraud advisors name, time, date and phone records showing an attempt to report it all.

The info was helpful and between everything the ICO has just stepped up!

They are going to try and help make the DWP do things properly and help to make them give the information that the carer needs to complain, and ICO need, to investigate DWP's actions as a serious data breech.
I am going to follow their methods. They now know everything and weren't surprised about the background story.

Edited to add missing have.

Excellent news OP. Hope it all gets sorted, it should never have happened.

(When I mentioned crime reference/police I meant the NDN threats of violence- sorry not very clear!).