Interview under caution HELP PLEASE

hayley1988

sunnyone wrote: »

OK, just try and keep calm and tell the truth.

Do you have the day and time of your call to TCO?

It will definatly help if you do or even if you have the name of the person who relpied?

Even if you have no details of the call just go in with an a totally open disposition and dont be pushed into anything else by the money grabber that is only guarenteed a fat fee if you need them to fight for you, you are not a criminal from your post and only criminals need lawyers.

good luck and lst us know how you get on.

thanks no i dont, they didnt take my national insurance number so i'm not sure they would have logged the call. i really can't keep calm i have suffered from social anxiety disorder in the past and i feel like i will just be in floods of tears. i don't want a criminal record i get A's at uni and try so hard, if i get a job in law it will all be ruined by a criminal record

hayley1988

i just think they will try to trip me up into saying that i knew what i was doing and that it was intentional but i'm a law student so i know how it works- ignorance is no defence. it was my responsibility to check whether it counted and i should never have just assumed. im going to say this and that i want to pay the money back, i just dont want to go to court as i really can't have a criminal record and i'm hoping that if they see that i am sorry it won't go that far

nannytone_2

i really don't see why they would try to trip you up.
youve already said that you will admit fault and offer to repay. they have no reason to make it something it isn't. in the scheme of 'benefit fraud' ( and i fully accept this wasnt your intention) this is small fry and i'm sure they will be happy to just be repayed.

ive never been in your position, but i'm sure what youre imagining is a whole lot worse than it actuall ius.

diolch

Last I heard that after the shake up and the new rebuild, Holloway does a good B&B. Some say on par with Travelodge.
Sunday roasts are favourite!

Morglin

If the OP is paying it back, and admits the mistake, then it won't go to court for that amount.

The small 'de-frauders' (under £2k), that go to court tend to be serial offenders.

It costs more to take it to court than they would get back, so it wouldn't make financial sense.

Lin

hayley1988

thanks for the helpful posts, i can't believe i will be there in a couple of hours. I am so scared i feel really ill, but i have learnt my lesson and i would never let myself go through anything like this again, i'll let you all know how i get on

diolch

Morglin wrote: »

If the OP is paying it back, and admits the mistake, then it won't go to court for that amount.

The small 'de-frauders' (under £2k), that go to court tend to be serial offenders.

It costs more to take it to court than they would get back, so it wouldn't make financial sense.

Lin

I have a friend that fiddled the DWP out of - £6144. Said he wasn't working but was! No previous convictions but was sent down for 6 months and had to pay it back! And that was after he made a full disclosure at the first possible opportunity AND he pleaded guilty at Crown Court.

So don't tell me it doesn't happen - it does!!

Either that or they have gone soft nowadays of benefit cheats which wouldn't surprise me!!

hayley1988

well i had the dreaded interview and i managed to stay calm and confident. the solicitor definitely helped and we had a long chat alone before the interview. there was only one interviewer and he was quite pleasant actually, nothing like i imagined and if anything he looked a little uncomfortable, i'm not sure if it was because i had the solicitor with me? Anyway, he did draw the same questions a couple of times and tried to get me to say that i would have known that my student money would lower my housing benefit, but i just held my own and said that i didn't intentionally do it but that i was sorry and was willing to pay the money back. he seemed pleased when i said that i would pay the money back and wrapped the interview up, at the end he didnt even mention that it could go to court, just that i would get a letter with the overpayment amount, they could take this off my benefit or i could tell them how much i could pay back each week. Thanks for all your supportive comments and i feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders

nannytone_2

diolch wrote: »

I have a friend that fiddled the DWP out of - £6144. Said he wasn't working but was! No previous convictions but was sent down for 6 months and had to pay it back! And that was after he made a full disclosure at the first possible opportunity AND he pleaded guilty at Crown Court.

So don't tell me it doesn't happen - it does!!

Either that or they have gone soft nowadays of benefit cheats which wouldn't surprise me!!

that is totally different. it is 'intentional' fraud/
regardless of whether Hayley 'should' have realised is totally different to you friends decision to work and claim benefits at the same time.

xJJ21x

Thanks for your post back about how it was hayley. Unfortuntuly i dont have a solictior to take i couldnt find 1 that didnt charge and when i tried to get an appointment with CAB they told me it would be week sor to travel agess out of my way and with an 18 month old and no car thats just not possible. I didnt want to delay the interview as i just want it over and done with. I cant stop thinking about it and its consumed my mind!

Im already paying back the overpayment on mine but when i rang up they told me it was to do with that money but from other peoples comments im now worried its something else although i dont think ive done anything else wrong. ive told them about all other changes etc even struggled by whilst they suspended my benefits to work out changes as to not cause an overpayment.

My depression has got 10X worse since this but im to scared to go back to the doctors incase they increase my dosage of my tablets which i really dont want. I dnt no what they will think of my explanation but its the honest truth and i cant tell them any more than that! Glad your interview went ok hun x x