Interview under cauition...HELP

dlink10

Please help, I have to attend and interview under caution due to not declaring earnings to my housing benefit.

I know this sounds very bad but please hear me out. I know I have commited fraud but this was not my intention, I took an NVQ course I found a placement for my course which I had to volenteer 12-15 hours per week. I made friends easily in my workplace and my manager took a liking to me, in october last year she asked if I would like to do some paid work when numbers were low, I said yes I would although I didnt do any paid work until April this year. I would work with pay maybe a few hours aday (2-4 hours) one or two times per week. I asked colleuges if i needed to declare this money, one girl I worked with said no, as she does the same and does not need to declare it, as she was in a high position in the workplace i trusted her as she mentioned I was working upto 10-15 hours per month it wont be worth it.


Sorry this is getting long! Anyway I recived a letter from housing benefits to say I have had an overpayment due to earnings I have not told them about, I have been overpaid £200, so I went down to the office to sort it out I explained everything to them and they said not to worry, we worked out a plan of how much to pay weekly and they said just remeber to bring payslips in, I mentioned I hadnt worked since my son left for summer holidays and they asked if I could get a letter saying so from my manager. I was supprised, I thought they'ed be very upset with me but I think they could see I had not intentionally commited fraud.

Yesterday I took them the letter and today I recived a letter explaining I need to attend an interview under caution. I'm very worried and scared, Im scrared I'll have to go to court or prison, I havent told anyone about this, as I'm unsure of what to do, I felt when I left the housing benefit office we had sorted it out. All my earnings since 'paid' work equal up to £600 to £650.

I feel very bad about my self and extreamly naive, I dont understand what this interview will involve or what I will need to bring with me as the letter does not explain much.

Has anyone been through this before?

Thanks

pcombo

Dont feel bad mistakes happen. You wont go to court or prison so just take that out your head.

Just setup a payment plan to pay them back.

An interview under caution is an interview, usually taped, carried out by the DWP or your local council when they think you might have misled them about something to do with your benefits. An interview is one of the things they can do to help them decide what’s happened and what to do next - it doesn’t necessarily mean you have done anything wrong or that they’re about to take you to court

http://www.advicenow.org.uk/advicenow-guides/problems-with-benefits/how-to-handle-an-interview-under-caution/what-is-an-interview-under-caution-html,654,FP.html

p.s prepare yourself horrible comments.

dlink10

Thanks for the link and the advice, im more worried as we made a payment plan on monday and I recived the letter yesterday (21st) so I dont think they will go through that again? Thats why I'm worried they want to take me to court.

And yes I was expecting harsh comments.

muirbabe

Hi,
I should admit that I am no expert in this area, but it does'nt seem like a serious fraud, certainly not one that could possibly lead to prison. Hopefully, others, who know a lot more will be along to give you more specific advice.

This subject comes up quite regularly in these forums, might be worth searching for 'Interviews under caution' to see what others have said in the past.

Or would it be worth asking Citizens Advice for some advice as to what to do?

Best wishes,

Muirbabe

bobajob_1966

You'll be asked how long you've been working for, what you've earned and why you didn't declare it. Honesty is always the best policy. pcombo is right (except it clearly was not a 'mistake'), you won't go to prison. You'll probably get told not to do it again or at worst, an administrative penalty.

vax2002

If you have made a repayment plan and are sticking to it, the the letter is an invitation and you can ignore it and if they think you have broken the law they will have to send the police to arrest you, if this happens, you will at least have the benefit of free legal advice, you do not in the IUC.

bobajob_1966

vax2002 wrote: »

If you have made a repayment plan and are sticking to it, the the letter is an invitation and you can ignore it and if they think you have broken the law they will have to send the police to arrest you, if this happens, you will at least have the benefit of free legal advice, you do not in the IUC.

Ignoring it would be incredibly stupid. The OP has admitted that they have committed an offence, and is willing to pay back any overpayment. Non compliance is likely to lead to a greater penalty, so serves no purpose.

vax2002

No it would not, the OP will not be entitled to ANY legal representation, if they have to request an arrest, a solicitor will be able to offer advice along the lines of not self incrimination ones self.
It is legal and lawful to ignore any request.

bobajob_1966

vax2002 wrote: »

No it would not, the OP will not be entitled to ANY legal representation, if they have to request an arrest, a solicitor will be able to offer advice along the lines of not self incrimination ones self.
It is legal and lawful to ignore any request.

So, despite wanting to be open and honest about what you have done, it is better to have the police turn up at your door and be shamed in front of the neighbours? Wow!

If you refer to the fraud investigation guidelines, non compliance with the investigation is grounds for a greater penalty. But hey, I'm sure you know better than the DWP!

dlink10

vax2002 wrote: »

If you have made a repayment plan and are sticking to it, the the letter is an invitation and you can ignore it and if they think you have broken the law they will have to send the police to arrest you, if this happens, you will at least have the benefit of free legal advice, you do not in the IUC.

I think I'll call in the morning and ask, but I'd still go along rather than being arrested. Ive been told I can go to CAB and get advice and a solictor but I think this might be too costly to me, I'm so terrified and seriously dont know what to do, I think I might search the forums that muirbabe suggests.

Macro_3

bobajob_1966 wrote: »

Ignoring it would be incredibly stupid. The OP has admitted that they have committed an offence, and is willing to pay back any overpayment. Non compliance is likely to lead to a greater penalty, so serves no purpose.

I agree with this (and bobajobs previous post) It's possible that if someone is not compliant the LA could choose to prosecute. If you attend the IUC I think the worst case scenario is likely to be an admin penalty (which means you agree you've acted fraudulently and pay a penalty of 30% of the overpayment in return for no further action being taken, probably a small price to pay to put all this behind you). If you don't attend the IUC, they obviously cannot offer the admin penalty which limits their options.