Michael Bene is repaying £763 ‘advance’ despite evidence he did not attend face-to-face verification interview
A special needs teacher has spent almost a year trying to clear his name after a fraudulent universal credit claim was made using his identity, which has left him on the hook for hundreds of pounds in repayments.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has refused to acknowledge the fraud, even though Michael Bene has supplied evidence he was in the Scottish Highlands when the claimant attended a face-to-face verification interview in Cheshire.
Bene, 51, who lives in Birmingham, said the situation has “just turned my life into hell on Earth” as he has been forced to spend dozens of hours trying to prove his innocence, while making repayments towards the £763 “advance” paid out on the claim made in his name.
Bene, who has never claimed universal credit, said he first discovered the fraud almost a year ago, in October 2024, when he spotted a deduction on his wage slip. The only benefit he has ever claimed, he said, was a few months of Jobseekers’ Allowance more than 20 years ago.
