‘Kafkaesque’: teacher in Birmingham fights to clear his name after identity fraud

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.