The allowance swamp 'The whole system crashes. '

The allowance swamp
'The whole system crashes. '
Thousands of those affected by the benefits affair are still waiting for redress. The processing is unable to cope with the huge amounts of applications. The Commission on Actual Injury offers relief, but only partially.

Evert de Vos and Roza Ybema
April 13, 2022 — published in issue 15

Parents affected by the allowance affair in the March with the Mothers to draw attention to the benefits scandal, Rotterdam November 11, 2021© Peter Hilz/ANP

Why did she suddenly have to pay back the childcare allowance for many years? Entrepreneur Paula Bouwer still doesn't know it. She had a business conflict with the municipality of Amersfoort and probably ended up on a black (fraud) list at that time. She also changed accountants, maybe something went wrong then. The fact is that she had to cough up sixty thousand euros. And that was just part of the damage. There were additional fines and other surcharges that were canceled. Between 2011 and 2019, she paid off a thousand euros each month. “We were well off,” she sighs, “before the misery began. We weren't poor at all. '
The consequences for her and her family's lives were enormous. “Savings and investments evaporated, the vacation home had to be sold, the car went out and I ended up having to sell half my business,” she sums up. And then there is also the psychological damage. “Every family member has suffered from the stress,” says Bouwer. “We had to seek psychological help, the children were delayed in their studies, student debts increased.”
Bouwer is eligible for the recovery surgery surcharges that were eventually established by the cabinet in 2020 during the so-called “Catshuis Decision”. But anyone who thinks that has suffered her suffering is deceived. She took the first hurdle — the light test to determine whether she can receive thirty thousand euros in compensation — she took quite smoothly. In February 2021, she submitted an application and three months later, the amount was in her account. But after that, it remained eerily quiet. There were only letters from the Implementation Organization for the Recovery of Surcharges (UHT) that the comprehensive review of her application had been further delayed. “While I end up with more than a hundred thousand euros in damage,” says Bouwer. 'I want to get back to my normal life and that's still impossible. '
Bouwer is far from alone. Many thousands of those affected are still waiting for redress. The entire recovery operation is threatening to come to a grinding and wheezing stop, according to conversations with those involved. The processing is burdened by the enormous amounts of applications, objections and formal notices. Agreed deadlines are exceeded and an understaffed and overburdened staff often makes opaque decisions. Lawyers speak of a “procedural spaghetti” and a “swamp of benefits”. “This way,” says an opposition politician who has been closely involved in the affair from the start and is kept informed by many committees, “it will take another ten years, and then the people who were harshly dealt with by the government will bear the brunt again.” The big question is therefore whether the new Secretary of State for Fees and Customs, Aukje de Vries, will find the solution in remedies in the coming weeks or will actually make structural improvements.
There would be several hundred, later thousands, and now the counter stands at more than fifty thousand. The Ministry of Finance continuously underestimated the number of victims of the benefits affair, according to the nine reports that have now been sent to the House of Representatives. In addition, the damage suffered is often greater than expected and the victims have to go much further into the procedure to get justice.
Of those fifty thousand parents who came forward, after a first light test, 21,500 parents received thirty thousand euros in compensation, according to December 2021 figures.
However, the expectation that half of the recognized parents would then quit the procedure satisfied does not come true. The vast majority of them go ahead with the so-called comprehensive assessment, where everyone gets a personal case handler who calculates how much money has been wrongly collected. On top of that, 25 percent is added, plus five hundred euros per six months that the suffering lasted. Someone who has wrongly repaid 24,000 euros and was therefore in misery for eight years will then be awarded 24,000 + 6000 + 16 x 500 = 38,000 euros. Then there is interest.
But almost a year and a half after the establishment of the UHT, only 5,300 people have completed this comprehensive assessment. And even they still often file an objection afterwards or go to the Actual Damage Commission (CWS), which, in distressing cases, looks at whether higher compensation is appropriate because they had to sell their house or lost their jobs. The waiting time for the comprehensive assessment has now increased to more than a year.
“The whole system is down and the UHT has itself to blame for that,” says lawyer Ilse Engwirda, who assists more than thirty clients. “We are constantly confronted with poorly documented decisions and calculations, but we have to object to get the right figures out. No deadline is met, so we have to file a notice of default. For one case, I sometimes have to file up to seven objections, requests and notices of default. '
“My eldest daughter was bullied because of the clothes she was wearing. I had to drag her to school'
“The organization is not designed for so many parents,” says Remko Wijling (more than sixty clients). “In addition, so many different decisions are made by the UHT that you don't know what to throw away if you don't object. Compensation decisions often have no documents or calculations, so there is only one step: appeal. Then maybe you'll get the file and you can check if it's true. '
That already starts with the verdict on the thirty thousand euro. Parents will be told by phone if they are eligible. A few weeks later, they received a letter that, until recently, contained only seven standard grounds for rejection. Like: you have no children. Or: you have never received childcare allowance. Which was applicable according to the UHT was not included. “Of course, people will object then,” is Engwirda's experience. “They don't feel taken seriously at all.”
After that, the long wait for the personal case handler begins. “But it's great when there is one,” says Engwirda. “Finally, you have a person, an email address and a phone number you can consult with.” The latter then transfers the file to an assessor who issues an interim decision. “And you can disagree a lot about that. The calculation is unclear. ' The objection period of six weeks is therefore fatal, says Wijling. “If you do nothing before then, the decision is firm. So you have to file an objection to protect parents' rights. '
The two lawyers, who consult very regularly with colleagues, are therefore sounding the alarm. 'The scheme is now set up in such a way that parents have to litigate to the end to get their justice. '
'I've been warning about this for over a year. ' Member of Parliament Farid Azarkan (DENK) has been concerned with the issue since the beginning of the affair, together with colleagues Pieter Omtzigt and Renske Leijten. He is familiar with the problems raised by the lawyers and the long waiting times in particular frustrate him. “These are not defenseless victims. These are people who can do and want a lot, but as long as their case has not been dealt with, they can't get on with their lives. '
From the start, Azarkan warned that thirty thousand euros would not be enough for many parents. However, Secretary of State Van Huffelen expressed the expectation that at least fifty percent of the parents would discontinue the procedure afterwards. “Unfortunately, I was right,” Azarkan sighs. 'At the last debate, the Secretary of State said: “To be honest, Mr. Azarkan, that might be seven or eight percent.” '
He is also not surprised that many people continue even after the comprehensive assessment of the UHT. “The compensation is simply too low. And then everyone starts looking for what else is available. And blame them. ' The Actual Injury Committee, where many parents end up afterwards, is going to be a critical point in the process. “Hundreds of people are already waiting for the CWS, and it took them a year and a half to handle 69 cases. You don't have to be a mathematician to see that's your bottleneck. '
“We are fighting against the system and, as a committee, we must avoid becoming part of that system.” As a member of the Actual Damage Committee, Frits van der Woude, a lawyer in daily life at Kennedy Van der Laan, still regularly falls from one surprise to another. “Bailiffs were controlled by computers. There was unprecedented injustice,” he looks back. “During the conversations, I regularly have a lump in my throat. You ask yourself: why didn't anyone care about those people? '
“Some people ask for a million and then we make it clear that such amounts are not included”
“By the way, this problem is broader than just the benefits,” adds chairman Hugo Fernandes Mendes. 'I'm also chairman of the Advisory Committee on Immigration Affairs and when you see how the government and also the judiciary deal with the right to seek asylum, that's not a big party either. And even in Welfare, if someone accidentally makes a mistake, they are often regarded as a fraudster. The benefits affair may be unique in its scope, but the entire society accepted that there was a crackdown on suspected fraud. In fact, the House has also decreed that. '
The CWS is an independent advisory committee, Van der Woude and Fernandes Mendes constantly emphasize. The members stand on the parents' side and have extensive, sometimes emotional conversations with them. “You sometimes hear things you thought were impossible in this society,” says Fernandes Mendes. 'The way people were treated, that indescribable harshness, went a long way. '
The conversation is for and from the parent, says Fernandes Mendes: “He or she finally has the opportunity to tell the story and we help them find information that can lead to compensation. That is often a huge relief. ' “We ask: “Please take us to the moment that those fifty thousand euros were recovered,” says Van der Woude. “That's when the conversation begins about sometimes up to ten years of suffering.”
People who ask for compensation come to the committee. Financially and humanly. “We are not a court,” the two members emphasize. “We don't hear from the tax authorities either.” The parents must make the damage plausible and there must be a causal relationship with the recovery of the childcare allowance. This includes, for example, the forced sale of the house, loss of a job with consequences for retirement, study delay and the accumulation of student debt. “It's all easy to calculate,” says Van der Woude. But what about a divorce or the removal of a child? “Of course, that's difficult and very emotional,” he acknowledges. “But case law also contains tools for immaterial damage.” The CWS then advises the UHT on the amount of the amount and those recommendations have almost always been followed so far.
Victims and lawyers praise the CWS's empathy and personal approach. However, there is also criticism. Finance officials have now come up with the nickname Commission on Arbitrary Damage for the committee. Lawyers do not find the decisions transparent. There are also complaints about the amount of compensation for non-material damage. “Five thousand euros are often awarded for this,” says lawyer Engwirda, “but that is of course an absurd amount if your child is evicted from home.”
The committee is aware of the criticism. “Arbitrariness” is simply the result of customization,” Fernandes Mendes and Van der Woude are irritable. “Each case is different.” “Some people ask for a million,” says Fernandes Mendes about immaterial damage, “and then we make it clear that such amounts are not included.” “In the Netherlands, the compensation for non-material damage is simply not that high,” says Van der Woude. “And how do you compare the suffering of parents in the allowance affair with the suffering of, for example, parents whose children were killed in traffic. Loss, loss and other suffering simply cannot be reimbursed. '
Lawyers would also like to call in claims experts to review the advice of the CWS. “That doesn't fit in with the committee's approachable nature,” says chairman Fernandes Mendes. “Then it will be a kind of court again and all those experts will undoubtedly cause considerable delays again.” As a result, some lawyers are now waiting to file cases with the CWS. 'I want more clarity about the calculations first', says one. Others are even considering passing the commission and going directly to the civil court because the scheme is not satisfactory. “Very stupid,” the pair react with shock. “We offer parents a safe and, above all, fast route for real compensation. With us, the suffering only has to be made plausible; you have to prove it in court. Going to court is not in the clients' interest. '
In the beginning, it was assumed that a hundred, at most hundreds, parents would report to the CWS. However, the counter is already 554 and it is expected that there will be thousands. Even a number of ten thousand is mentioned. The eleven members of the committee and thirty supporting lawyers have issued 155 opinions since the start in June 2020, the maximum is now ten to twelve opinions per week. The treatment time can thus be limited to three to six months. But what happens when ten thousand people sign up? “We can still scale up without losing the personal approach,” Fernandes Mendes replies. “But, of course, there is a limit.”
'The way people were treated, that indescribable harshness, went a long way. '
How can the recovery operation be made smooth again? How can another long-term blockage occur at the Actual Damage Commission? Attorney Remko Wijling does have ideas about it. “The work of the CWS should be put forward,” he says, so that clients immediately receive both personal attention and decisiveness. “That you say: we're going to make a comprehensive compensation decision all at once. That is not exactly your actual damage to the decimal point, but what we roughly think it is. The scheme is now arranged in such a way that you are forced to go to the CWS for your real damage. And if you manage to overcome that, you'll probably get far fewer procedures. ' An even bigger step would be to use the existing Collective Settlement Mass Damage Act. “Parents will then receive an offer and then they can decide whether they agree or want to continue.”
“You don't do the difficult conversation, which you know will have to happen once, until the very end,” Azarkan also judges. “You should bring out that moment of empathy.” In the comprehensive assessment, the UHT should then assign standard amounts to a number of testable situations, says the politician, not just the basic damage. “Then you can say: it is demonstrable that it caused a divorce, it is demonstrable that you had to pick up your children from school, or that it has depressed you, et cetera. I'm very much in favour of the CWS's personal approach, but if you're dealing with tens of thousands of cases, it's better to standardize that. That means that we will be taken by the nose in a number of cases, but that does not outweigh the misery of all the others. For unprecedented injustice, you have to take unprecedented things out of the tools to accommodate people. ' Another solution proposed by the Member of Parliament is to delete the reviewer. 'The personal case handler who prepares the file should do the assessment himself. Then it goes much faster. '
At the debate about the tenth progress report, which will be released this week, he will call for more political attention. “This is a very important file, so I would say: we are not putting a Secretary of State on this, but a kind of commissioner. And he is only concerned with this. Then this huge problem will get the attention it deserves. '
'I'm now taking EMDR therapy to process the trauma. ' Zerrin Babur ended up in a horror story. She and her husband worked, so two of their five children went to daycare via a childcare agency. But suddenly it was closed and the man who drove it had left with the northern sun. “They still haven't found him.” Months later, a letter came from the tax authorities: whether she could pay thirty thousand euros within six weeks. 'I had filled out the forms correctly myself, but the childminding agency had not provided the correct information, as it turned out. '
The tax authorities seized the rent and care allowance, even her husband's severance pay when he was fired during a reorganization. They lost their home and were then under administration for eight years. A terrible period. “We didn't have enough money to live on, my eldest daughter was severely bullied because of the clothes she was wearing. I had to drag her to school. Friends, family and in-laws no longer believed it wasn't us. '
The three oldest children have had mental problems from the period. She herself got into the sickness law and lost her job. 'I suddenly had a huge slump. '
Babur has also now received the first thirty thousand euros and has been waiting for the comprehensive assessment for more than a year. 'The notice of default has now been sent. ' She is now leaving her case to her lawyer. “Because it's completely ruining you.” However, she is still unable to get back to her life. “Every time, the trauma comes up again.”
In a response, the Ministry of Finance says that 53,000 victims have now come forward, 25,000 of whom have been identified as such. The starting point remains that everyone is helped carefully and quickly, even if there are indeed bottlenecks. New detectors are now checked earlier — “at the gate” — whether they are at the correct address.
'The Commission on Actual Injury took a year and a half to deal with 69 cases'
Conversations with victims and lawyers reveal a picture of the recovery operation of the benefits affair, which is slowly but surely stalling. Legal deadlines are exceeded almost by default, decisions are very summarily substantiated, and a huge number of objections and notices of default are therefore filed. Do you recognize this image?
There is a big task to offer all parents the recovery they deserve. More than 53,000 people have now signed up. Around 25,000 parents were found to have been duped. Although not everyone who applied has actually been duped, all applicants should be given the opportunity to tell their story and must be assessed. That takes time. The starting point remains that the UHT wants to continue to help parents carefully.
People are entitled to compensation for exceeding deadlines. The ninth progress report also already addressed late decisions and exceeding the deadlines; that is indeed a bottleneck. The tenth progress report will provide an updated picture and will be discussed in more detail. This tenth report will be sent to the House of Representatives very soon.
One of the consequences is that thousands of cases are threatening to reach the Actual Injury Commission and ultimately to court, the lawyers fear. Do you also have these fears?
So far, more than five hundred parents have asked the Actual Injury Commission (CWS) for additional compensation. More than a hundred files were reviewed by the committee. We also come back to the CWS extensively in the tenth progress report, partly based on the interim evaluation of the CWS.
What options do you see for speeding up the procedure?
We will talk to victims for whom the Catshuis scheme (thirty thousand euros, cancelling and resolving debts) seems sufficient. Indeed, some of them say that they would like to close the chapter and get on with their lives. In addition, with new detectors, we want to check directly “at the gate” whether they are at the right address. If not, we will guide them quickly and properly to the organization that can help them. In recent months, it appears that a large number of new reporters have not been affected by the childcare allowance. So the sooner they get to the right place, the more attention is paid to those who do need the help.
Experts we spoke to suggest highlighting the work of the CWS, clearly outlining the standards used in similar cases. What do you think about this?
Various parties involved have indeed asked to see if parts of the CWS can be brought forward, after the comprehensive assessment. In the tenth progress report, we will elaborate on this as agreed.
People also suggest possibly paying more generously, but with a settlement agreement that can prevent a follow-up procedure. Are you considering this?
The settlement agreement is a solution that has been proposed by the parents, the House of Representatives and lawyers. There are plenty of reasons to take a good look at this. We will come back to this in the tenth progress report.

Date

09 July 2023

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