I’m going out for the day, I’m going to dig holes in the garden, I’m going to chop wood, I’m going to set fire to things, I’m going to, to, to…..

I don’t know, but I have to get rid of this fury somehow before my blood pressure explodes……

65,000 people were overpaid child benefits last year; nobody was fired for this gross mismanagement of tax payer’s funds.

Read this and weep:

Seven Revenue and Customs men have been sacked and two more resigned because they underpaid child benefits to 16 claimants who happened to be ‘black’ – and the BBC headline is:

HMRC staff sacked over race abuse.

Nick2 August 20, 2010 at 23:54

Very disheartening. But the entire tax credits system is FUBAR.

Fidel August 18, 2010 at 20:52

I’ve had some (almost) direct experiance of this, one of my family has a
child who is autistic and they recieve extra benefits to help with travel to
school etc etc. When the benefit was first awarded, it seemed like a lot more
money than expected, so they called the DWP to make sure they had the right
figures. “Oh yes” they were assured, “There’s no mistake” – so the benefits
kept coming – and when they checked again, after speaking to parents in
similar situations who didn’t seem to get nearly as much, they were assured
“Oh yes, the figures are correct”. Several months later they got a letter
stating that they had been overpaid – I think it was around a grand – and
could the WP please have the money back.

What really really annoyed me was that they paid it back –
I’m sure that the majority don’t, and I’m equally sure that the DWP quietly
hide most of these instances.

Years and years ago I did a lot of work in civil service buildings – and
they were, and probably still are a very cosy place for the incompetant
and workshy to spend their careers pushing paper around from 9 to 5 without
any need to actually acheive much.

English Viking
August 18, 2010 at 18:14

I notice that the BBC state that all claimants affected have been
‘reimbursed’.
Someone needs a dictionary.

Kingbingo August 18, 2010 at 19:04

“Someone needs a dictionary.”

Quite!

I imagine they would not be using that word if benefits were slashed and
the money sent back to taxpayers in a cheque!

JuliaM August 18,
2010 at 17:53

It seems from the story that they had deliberately altered their records to
do this – surely, there’s a record of this? Most databases would record
unauthorised amendments for the eventual forensic assessment.

In fact, judging from the way the union isn’t vigourously defending them,
sounds like they were caught red-handed…

Brian August 18, 2010 at 18:01

Indeed, stupid as well as nasty people. It is a sacking offence in the
DWP to access records except for business purposes, even one’s own! There’s
usually about a couple of dozen discovered every year trying to find out
“celebrities” details or tracing family members (very popular amongst people
of subcontinent heritage) for reasons of “honour”. There’s no sympathy for
any such crooks.

The Quite Man
August 18, 2010 at 16:01

I know in Southern Ireland they were coming back by plane from Eastern
Europe to sign on claim their benefits and go back home.

Brian August 18, 2010 at 15:42

Anna,
The overpayments might have been due to changes in circumstances not reported by the parent or guardian
to HMRC. For example, if dear Klamidya or Wayne-King earn a holiday at Her
Majesty’s Pleasure, the registered owner has to turn off Jeremy Kyle and shout
down the phone that she’s going to have to cut down the amount of B&H and
Stella she can afford and it’s her yuman rite to have benefits cos she paid
national insurance for three weeks twenty years ago. Mind you, I blame Brown
for giving HMRC the job of paying out tax credits and child benefits as their
expertise is payments in whereas the DWP is payments out. Perhaps all the
databases should be linked up with CCTV to avoid any chance of overpayment: if
so I’m putting my tinfoil hat on. Alan above has the right idea: make the
system simpler and stop fiddling with it.

Alan August 18, 2010 at 15:11

Reading between the lines of the first link the Government is reluctant to
detail how much is overpaid by mistake and continually combines that amount
with actual fraud. I would wager that far, far more is overpaid through
incompetence than is fraudulently claimed but as long as the Government
conflates the two it can distract taxpayers and the media and call for more
and more power to insist the money is recouped. In the case of fraud yes. In
the case of State incompetence I am less certain. Payments can surely and
easily be reduced in later years?

One of the contributory factors in these mistakes is the complexity of the
system, especially with something like tax credits. A much simpler benefits
system would cost less to administer and likely see fewer overpayments. We
have had years of these overpayments. Neither Her Majesty’s Opposition or the
Civil Service have been making *a lot* of noise about whittling down the
benefits system. Fertile territory for the Tories in Opposition I would have
thought but even that seemed beyond them. Not setting up commissions,
investigations or committees but simply, loudly and repeatedly shouting that
it is all too complicated. It wastes taxpayers money in costly administration
and in money going to those who do not need it.

Andrew Withers
(LPUK) August 18, 2010 at 15:04

A far greater ‘crime’ is racism to gross financial incompetence

Bucko August 18,
2010 at 14:57

Need any help in that garden?
*fume*