Council Tax (posted on behalf of a newbie)

alwaysonthego_2

from Jane213

My Mum claimed Council Tax Benefit a few years ago and the information she put on the form was correct but a few months later I went self employed and started claiming tax credits.

My Mum looked at the reverse of the Council Tax bill for the first time this year and realised that she should have said and wrote to the council and informed them and made an offer to pay anything back that she owed.

A few weeks later we got a visit from the Council's fraud department who interviewed my mum under caution, which I thought was a bit harsh since it was only an oversight and she had brought it to their attention and offered to pay anything back.

She was shown the original form and told that she should have notified them of any changes. She has done this, but its rather belated and she had just lost my Dad had the time so she would not have remembered word for word the declaration that she made and the moment she realised she should have said something she did.

She's disabled and worried about the prospect of having to go to Magistrates Court. Do you think this sounds likely?

dmg24

For how many years was she overpaid?

afc80

id be very surprised if the council decided to prosecute based on what you have told us.

councils have access to all our personal details when it comes to benefit claims through what was called the national fraud initiative.

people will eventually be caught unless they are clever.

shjo558

You say your Mum is disabled - does she claim DLA or AA?

If yes, your income shouldn't affect your Mum's claim.

AsknAnswer2

Whether she will be prosecuted depends on a wide range of factors and from the informtaion you have provided, it isn't possible to give a guesstimate.

A definitive answer won't be forthcoming because in some instances, a case is automatically referred to the prosecution division who will then decide if prosecution is a route they should venture down. Just because a case gets referred it doesn't mean a prosecution will happen.

It is not the fraud investigation service who decide whether to prosecute; they can only refer cases. The discretion in whether to commence criminal proceedings lies with the prosecution division.

In general terms, provided there is sufficient evidence, the department will refer to the prosecution division if one (or more) of the below criteria is a factor:

• The gross adjudicated overpayment (including Housing and Council Tax Benefit) is £2,000 or over
• False identities or other personal details have been used
• False or forged documents have been used
• Official documents have been altered or falsified
• The person concerned occupied a position of trust
• The person concerned assisted or encouraged others to commit offences
• There is evidence of premeditation or organised fraud
• The customer had previously been convicted of benefit fraud
• The amount of the overpayment is under £2,000 and the offer of an administrative penalty or caution is not accepted.

jane213

Hi, thanks to all of you for replying and sorry for not posting back a response sooner.

She doesn't get DLA or AA because she's been told she's not entitled to AA because she doesn't need night time care and I forget why they turned down the DLA.

The amount overpaid is just over £300.

She'd been getting a bill with £0.00 on if for the last two tax years and had filed them away. It wasn't until this years bill that she looked at the reverse of the bill and realised that she should have notified them of the change in my income.