DWP have offered me a formal caution

speedyjoe

I think you need independent expert advice, so as suggested phone up the CAB and have a word with them.

Voyager2002

pinchez wrote:

Hi all

At this stage I still feel angry about the injustice of it all but I’m thinking of taking copies of the letters with me to see if they drop it, if not I may just accept the caution as it won't give me a criminal record just to get it over and done with.

Is there any reason why I shouldn't accept it other than on moral grounds?

Thanks

If you accept the caution then you have effectively admitted a criminal offence, although on the understanding that they will not prosecute. This means that if, at any time in the future, they suspect you of wrong-doing, then a) they will be more likely to prosecute because of the caution on the record, and b) the caution would count against you in the same way as a criminal record.

Also, the people in the DWP are more likely to get their bonuses and meet their targets if you accept their caution, because then it will appear that they are being effective at detecting fraud. In reality they have wasted their time bullying you when you have done nothing wrong, and when they could have used that time to hunt down a genuine fraudster. I don't think they should be rewarded for this.

krazyburd23

I still dont understand what exactly you have done wrong!? It's all about numbers to them and making themselves look good, and as voyager says - get their bonuses (which they do).

In my honest opinion, the real 'fraudsters' are hard to catch, so in order to bump up the figures they pick on the everyday people who are trying to make an honest living for themselves.

You need them to explain the full offence to you before you even think about signing the caution. I cant work out why he turned the tape off immediately without letting you explain, this is ridiculous. We are talking about a couple of weeks here afterall.

If you dont feel you are guilty then you shouldnt accept it.

real1314

krazyburd23 wrote:

I still dont understand what exactly you have done wrong!? It's all about numbers to them and making themselves look good, and as voyager says - get their bonuses (which they do).

In my honest opinion, the real 'fraudsters' are hard to catch, so in order to bump up the figures they pick on the everyday people who are trying to make an honest living for themselves.

You need them to explain the full offence to you before you even think about signing the caution. I cant work out why he turned the tape off immediately without letting you explain, this is ridiculous. We are talking about a couple of weeks here afterall.

If you dont feel you are guilty then you shouldnt accept it.

No, it's not about bonuses, you need to see CAB, or consult a solicitor (you can often get intial advice free). It could be a criminal caution.

as I said before, there's a stack of bad advice from people who may mean well, but are either getting the wrong end of the stick or do not know enough about this to give reliable advice.

niceshoes_2

A caution can only be offered to someone, if an offence is fully admitted and should only be accepted if you think that you have done wrong.

I think that you need to go to the DWP and take the letter from Income Support with the date of the 24th on it and give it to the investigation department and make sure they are aware of it.

In effect, what they are proposing to caution you for is 1 weeks overlap of benefit from the 15/03/06 (date started work) to the 24/03/06 (date you notified them of you starting work) Your overpayment, should only be 9 days benefit, as any recoverable overpayment stops as soon as you declare the change to the DWP and your letter clearly shows that you declared the fact that you had started work.

As someone in receipt of benefits, the obligation is on you to notify them of a change in circumstances, and you do have a reasonable amount of time after the change has occured which I believe is approx a week or 2, in which to declare a change in circumstances.

I think that the investigation department may not know about your own declaration to the Income Support (particulary if you didn't show them the letter at the interview) and I think that your prority is to ensure that they are made aware of this and give them a copy.

As for the caution interview, the interview will be a 10 minute interview, where someone (not the person who interviewed you) should explain the reason for the caution be offered fully. You do not have to sign up to anything at this interview, and I would say that you don't sign it, just for an easy life.

I disagree with people on this board saying that cautions are offered as a way to boost their targets and increase bonuses. There has certainly never been any bonuses paid to me, as a civil servant and the caution system, is in place to as a way to deter and prevent people from committing benefit fraud, not to meet targets.

I don't know whether you are in receipt of any Housing or Council Tax benefits, but it may be an idea to let them know (in case you already haven't) about the changes in your circumstances - after all you wouldn't want all this to happen again with the council instead!