Beneficiary can’t access grant due to ID fraud

A beneficiary of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant has been unable to claim for her benefits after finding out that her ID number was used to claim Temporary Employer/ Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) without her knowledge.

The woman, who opted to remain anonymous, says she applied for the

SRD grant due to being unemployed and continued to receive her benefit until November last year.

“When I didn’t receive my benefit I called the department and I was notified that I didn’t qualify for the payment as I had received a TERS payout. When they gave me the details of the company that claimed on my behalf I was baffled as I have never been employed by them.” The company seemingly received two payments of over R6 000 on her behalf.

UIF national spokesperson Makhosonke Butheledzi says the department has received a few such complaints in the past and any victims will have to report this at the nearest labour centre so that the department can investigate the matter. He says if the application was made by a company the individual concerned cannot remove themselves from the benefit and it would need to be done by the employer who is the one who has access to the system.

Butheledzi encouraged her to open a case with the police as the only thing UIF can do is to investigate the matter and share the information with Sassa upon request by them.

“If Sassa is satisfied with the outcome of the investigation they can decide whether to backpay her. Residents should regularly check with the department or their UIF if they had not perhaps been registered as an employee. They can call our call centre on 080 003 0007 to check,” he said.