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There may be times when physical evidence is not available and collateral contacts are unsuccessful. When there is no other proof available, the customer’s statement may be used as a last resort.
Exceptions:
The customer’s statement cannot be used for proof of expenses that are deducted from income.
Do not use the customer’s statement when it is questionable or conflicts with other proof.
Only use the customer’s statement for proof when ALL of the following apply:
The customer or representative has tried, but is unable to provide other proof;
The customer or representative has notified you that they cannot get the proof and has asked for help; and
You have tried to help get the proof and no other source of proof is available. This includes both hard copy and collateral contact.
NOTE If the customer or representative cannot obtain proof without risk to health or safety, consider the customer to be unable to provide other proof. The customer or representative must still ask for help, and you must attempt to obtain the proof.
Document the reason there are no other sources of verification as well as all attempts made to get the information.
Examples are provided below to help illustrate how these procedures may be applied:
The customer applies online for MA for herself. The state hub finds income in Base Wage from Go-Kart Heaven of $2100 a month. The customer states that she no longer works there and was laid off over a month ago. There is no application for unemployment or other employment found in the hub. Since there is no electronic data to support that she no longer works for this employer, reasonable compatibility is not met, and proof is needed. The RFI is sent asking for proof of terminated income from Go-Kart Heaven.
A few days later the customer calls and asks for help. She explains that she tried to call the employer, but the number was disconnected. She drove over to the business, but the doors were shut, and the sign was taken down. When she was laid off, she was not given anything in writing. She has no idea how to get proof of when she last worked and her last pay. The worker looks up the number for Go-Kart Heaven and tries to call, but also gets the message that the number is disconnected. When looking up the number, the worker sees a recent update from Yelp! That Go-Kart Heaven has gone out of business. Since there is no way to contact the employer and information found supports the customer’s explanation, the worker uses the customer’s statement for proof of terminated income.
The customer applies for MA for herself. The hub finds wages in The Work Number from Harry Housen’s averaging $500 a week. The customer says that she does work for Harry Housen’s, but she only makes about $200 per week. As this is not reasonably compatible, proof is needed and an RFI is sent for proof of current income from this job.
The customer calls the office and says that she can’t get the proof. The worker asks if the customer has asked the employer for a statement, or if she has any current pay stubs. The customer responds that she knows the employer won’t give her a statement, her most current pay stub is unusually high, and she has lost all her other pay stubs.
The customer’s statement is questionable. It does not match the current income showing in The Work Number and she did not ask for a statement from her employer to confirm that The Work Number is reporting her income incorrectly. The customer’s statement cannot be used for proof.
On his application for MA, the customer states that his only income is $100 a month from odd jobs. The hub finds Social Security Disability income of $1200 a month. The customer says that he has never gotten Social Security income. He says that someone else must be using his identity. The worker reviews the SOLQI response and sees that Social Security has the correct address for the customer. The worker reviews an earlier application in the file and discovers a bank statement the customer provided a year ago. The bank statement shows a direct deposit from Social Security matching the benefit amount at the time.
The customer’s statement conflicts with other proof and cannot be used.