DWP have offered me a formal caution

pinchez

Hi everyone this is my first post so please bare with me.

Until recently i was an unemployed single dad bringing up my young son on my own.

On the 15/03/06 i started full time work and on the 18/03/06 my Girlfriend moved in with me and my son in our rented council house. This was something we had planned to do as soon as i started work.

A few days later i received a letter from the DWP asking me to attend an interview with there fraud investigation team under caution. I went to the interview which was taped and a really nice guy told me that he believes my girlfriend as been livving with me i told him she as only been living with me since the 18/03/06 and asked what evidence they have that she as been livving there any longer than that etc to which there was no reply.

Then i mention the fact that i have only just started work and straight away the whole girlfriend living with me thing was forgotten and he says they are not aware of me working. I told them when i started etc. and he terminated the interview and switched the tape machine off. He told me i would just have to pay any money back that i might owe. So i left thinking thats the end of it bar paying a couple of weeks money back.

A couple of weeks later i get a letter telling me i owe £191 so i sent a cheque to them and think nothing more of it.

I just got back from holiday yesterday evening to find a letter from the DWP telling me they could prosecute me but on this occasion they will offer me a formal caution for not informing them that i had started work.

The thing is i went to the local job centre the day i started work and was told that i had to contact the DWP which i then tried to ring for about a week with no joy so i gave in and wrote to them. I even have have a letter from them dated 24/3/06 telling me i was entitled to £250 because i started work. But they say i didn't inform them until 30/3/06 (while at the interview)

What can i do? I haven't done anything wrong but they want to give me a criminal record. They haven't even given me enough time to notify my employer that i need monday morning off which won't put me in a good light having just come back off holiday.

I know i won't be able to get through to DWP before 10.45 am Monday, and they say if i don't inform them i can't make it they will proceed with procecutions.

Any advise please?

speedyjoe

I would suggest get in touch with the Citizens Advice Bureau pronto.

As to them prosecuting you for not informing them until the 30th of March that you had started work, well they will look rather stupid in court when your defence produces the letter from the 24th won't they? On that note for goodness sake don't lose it and maybe it might be a good idea not mention it to them that you have it in case they revise their dates.

niceshoes_2

I would contact the officer who interviewed you to find out what exactly what you are being cautioned for. Are they intending to caution you because of the fact that you had started work or are they intending to caution you because of your girlfriend living with you? The 2 matters are completely different and you could be being cautioned for one and not the other.

The overpayment letter that you would have received, may tell you the reason why the overpayment has been generated - is it because of the work or the living together aspect? Clarify that first.

Did you mention at the interview that you had declared the fact that you had started work? If not, then the first thing that you need to do is bring this to someones attention. I would then ensure that they get a copy of the letter that you have dated the 24th March confirming that they were aware you had returned to work and make sure that it is added to your file. Did you have any lone parent interviews, in which you discussed your return to work - how did you apply for the job. If you applied through the jobcentre, then the chances are that your appointment would be on their computer systems, which is another point in your favour.

If you can't attend the interview, then phone them and advise of the reasons why you can't go. The interview should be rearranged to a time to suit you both and as long as it is noted that you contacted the office rather than just not bothering to show, then there isn't anything that they can do except rearrange the interview.

Clarify those things first, then maybe things will become a little clearer.

pinchez

Thanks for the advice speedyjoe.

I would also like to add although i don't want the caution as in my eye's i have done everything i could do to inform them i am working (we are only talking a space of 2 weeks) I don't think i could afford solicitor fees to fight this in court if they take it all the way.

Also what should i do, Not turn up for work Monday morning or Not turn up at the DWP?

I hate this country

niceshoes_2

You do not have to agree to accepting a formal caution from them, however, like your letter says they can take you to court based on the evidence they have, which is why I say phone them and explain that you cannot attend the interview but you would like to know what they are trying to caution you for - exactly which alleged offence.

Do not just ignore the letter - make sure you ring them and advise them of why you cannot go - get the name of the person that you speak to for records too.

BTW a caution from the DWP does not go on your police record - it stays on Departmental records only.

pinchez

Thanks niceshoes

They have not said anything in the letter about my GF livving with me in fact he seemed to lose all interested once i denied it and told him i'm now working, they only seem to be interested in me working.

The overpayment letter was about me working only.

Yes i did tell him at the interview that i had been to the jobcentre, rang the DWP and finaly wrote to them but he insisted they had not been informed that i started work (didn't think to mention the letters dated th 24th at the time)

The job was offered to me the night before the morning i started and was not through the jobcentre. but i did go to the jobcentre the same morning i started to inform them because thats what i thought you had to do. But i was turned away and told to contact the DWP

I hope i can get through to the DWP monday morning as i've never managed to get through to them by phone before

niceshoes_2

On the top of your interview letter you should have a contact number - phone that and you should be able to get through. Advise them that you cannot attend at such short notice and before you have sought some advise from CAB if you feel it nescessary.

Advise the person you spoke to about the letter dated 24th March 2006 and get a copy into the office also - this will be used to back up your statement and will be considered as additional information. It does help to back your statement up that you had declared as as soon as you had been able too. Do you have any phone records that show you trying to get through to them - this could also be provided to them to show that you really did try to contact them - it all helps. I think that your letter dated 24/03/06 will be enough to show that you had declared your work within a reasonable time scale.

On a another note - make sure that the council are aware of the work and your girlfriend living with you, as you might have to go through the whole thing again if they don't know!

Quincy_3

I went for one of theese, its a breeze as long as you have not claimed illegally, their wording is appauling but its basically to see that you are getting in payments and no more.

Its just their system has flagged you for an Interview, At this stage its absolutely pointless getting any advice as you in all probability have not been told what it refers to.

You will be sat in an interview room with a fraud officer (not the plod) who will caution you (does not go on record) and then they will tell you what you are there for, and then you at any time can say I want to stop the interview.

Now when thats stopped just leave and then seek advice as then youll know what its all about, dont second guess or worry yourself what its all about and keep any thoughts to yourself, My interviewing officer was polite curtious and was very understanding.

Just relax and dont worry yourself.

thyme_2

This is totally scare tactics by the DWP so ignore them. Take a photcopy of their letter that they replied to yours and stick to your guns! Ask THEM to prove what that was in reply to. You do not have to go for an interview you have done nothing wrong. If necessary get the Job centre to contact them to help back up your actions with them - but IMO that is not required. Tell the DWP to check their in trays. Considering it can take them up to six weeks to process claims their in trays are probably sky high, plus there are usually several people who could be working on your alphabetical initials and they have just not matched it up to the correct file. Just keep repeating the same information to them don't let them hassle you.

KathrynPenguin

I agree, don't let them hassle you. They tried this on with my Hubby years ago when he made a claim for income support. After dragging him in an cautioning him he told them that when he was interviewd for income support (because his contributions based claim had finished) he informed them that I would be starting work in September (2 weeks time!). After a few weeks of worry they found the paperwork which did indeed have a note on stating that his wife was starting work in September!

krazyburd23

Hi Pinchez,

Sorry to hear about all of this!!! I've just had a formal caution removed, because of these kind of scare tactics by my local council!!

Each council allows you a specific amount of time to advise of a change in circumstance. I know my local council is 28 days. If I was you I would check out yours and IF you was within the timescale when you advised them, I cant see how they can prosecute you!!

They will try and scare you and try and make you feel grateful for their offer of a formal caution, but its only because they want to bump up their figures against fraud!

Make sure you ask to see their 'evidence' too, this should have really been shown to you at the interview under caution, and you would also have had to admit to the offence whilst being interviewed.

Good luck, and dont let them pressure you into something that you are not comfortable with.

Lea