council tax rebate

MRE_BILLS

im at my wits end

i have been on working families tax credit for the last 10 years this entitled me to discounted council tax.
During that time i had to buy out 2 partners from my shop which inviolved me borrowing money (non status mortgages} at the same time i extended the shop and added a flat (whose rent helped my overheads)
the shop paid all the additional loans but they were in my name .My wages did not increase
In feb 2009 i was interviewed under caution as the deemed i had withheld imformation regarding my earnings (ie the amounts on the loan forms) and the fact that the bussines was paying my mortgage .
Wife was similary interviewed .
after a year they sent a notice to repay the amounts around £7000 and i managed to get this down to £400 a month but agreed to pay in full by sept (wife has some money coming in )
today i recieve a court summons for july 5 to prosecute me under section 9 of the criminal justice act .

So as i have agreed to pay it back am i guilty ? if so what do i get prison comunity service fine ??

dmg24

You need to seek advice from a solicitor, not an internet forum.

escortg3

Surely if you agreed to pay £400 a month then i cant see as the court will do much. Have you got copies of the agreed payments you were going to make.

Dont use your wife's money coming in. go to court tell them your income and you will probably only have to pay them £100 a month, You may get community service. Some people by me got 40 hours at a local charity shop.

dmg24

escortg3 wrote: »

Surely if you agreed to pay £400 a month then i cant see as the court will do much. Have you got copies of the agreed payments you were going to make.

Dont use your wife's money coming in. go to court tell them your income and you will probably only have to pay them £100 a month, You may get community service. Some people by me got 40 hours at a local charity shop.

This is exactly why not to take advice from an internet forum on such an important matter!

Agreeing to repay an overpayment is not an admission of criminal liability, although it is indicative of wrongdoing. The court will look at imposing a sanction for a criminal offence, the repayment is a separate matter.

Spitakimus14

surely if your paying it back they cant go at you again after all this time ?
If you go guilty will you get a say ?

sunnyone

MRE_BILLS wrote: »

im at my wits end

i have been on working families tax credit for the last 10 years this entitled me to discounted council tax.
During that time i had to buy out 2 partners from my shop which inviolved me borrowing money (non status mortgages} at the same time i extended the shop and added a flat (whose rent helped my overheads)
the shop paid all the additional loans but they were in my name .My wages did not increase
In feb 2009 i was interviewed under caution as the deemed i had withheld imformation regarding my earnings (ie the amounts on the loan forms) and the fact that the bussines was paying my mortgage .
Wife was similary interviewed .
after a year they sent a notice to repay the amounts around £7000 and i managed to get this down to £400 a month but agreed to pay in full by sept (wife has some money coming in )
today i recieve a court summons for july 5 to prosecute me under section 9 of the criminal justice act .

So as i have agreed to pay it back am i guilty ? if so what do i get prison comunity service fine ??

Tax credits havnt been going ten years.

AnxiousMum

Tax credits didn't come in until 2003, same with WTC.

Agreeing to pay back an overpayment is civil. If they are pursuing you in court over criminal charges of fraud, that is a separate issue to the agreement to repay your overpayment. Do seek independent legal advice, don't rely on the duty counsel when you go to court, they will not have had time to go over your file properly.

Spitakimus14

any updates on this ?
i hope alls ok
whats the likelyhood of a custodial sentance if they plead guilty but explain the situation

suelees1

As others have said this is a separate issue to the council tax bills.

Not only is the LA recovering the overpaid benefit by 'converting' it into council tax bills, it has also decided to prosecute. You must continue to repay as arranged at an amount you can afford. You really shouldn't offer so much that you suffer financial hardship yourself as this will make no difference whatsoever to what the court decides.

It is very important you find a criminal solicitor (as Anxiousmum says don't rely on the duty solicitor). Try to find a firm which not only has criminal lawyers but also someone who specialises in welfare benefits law. They can then liaise with each other to to see if there is any way to notionally offset any of the overpaid CTB thereby reducing the loss to the public purse.

Any sanction the court imposes will depend on the individual circumstances.

Oldernotwiser

Why are so many people on here being so supportive of someone who has been (allegedly) defrauding the benefits system?

suelees1

One must look at whether there was fraudulent intent. There are thousands of overpayments which are not as a result of claimants trying to defraud the system.

I've many years experience of the DWP deciding to prosecute based on fallacious assumptions so thank goodness they aren't judge and jury.

The court should make an informed decision based on all the facts.