Interview under caution

phil-007_3

Hi There,

My mother in law has just received a letter asking her to come to a interview under caution.

She is currently receiving housing benefit because she is on a low wage and was until a few weeks ago only working part time. ( she is now working full time)

She has told the benefits office of the change in hours so this shouldn't be the problem.

The only thing we can think of why she is being asked for a interview is that a few months ago we (me & wife and her mother) looked into making her bankcrupt, as she has large debts from years ago and has no real way of paying them off.

We moved her direct debits to be paid out of our joint account whilst the process went through, but for other reasons we haven't completed the process and she is still using one of our accounts.

Does anybody have any experience if this would flag up on their computers as strange?

We're not to worried as we haven't done anything wrong,(unless anybody else can advise otherwise?)

many thanks

phil-007_3

Hi, more info.

We now think the interview is because a large amount of money was deposited into an account which she was 1 of 3 account holders.
This money was from the sale of her deceased mothers house and we have just purchased a house for her to live in (she obviously wont be on housing benefit once she's moved in)

Would that senario be likely to draw attention?

The money was never soley hers (in a joint account with 2 other people) and was only in the account for a matter of weeks whilst a house was purchased.

Thanks

RAS

Who was the benificiary of the will?

Oldernotwiser

phil-007 wrote: »

Hi, more info.

We now think the interview is because a large amount of money was deposited into an account which she was 1 of 3 account holders.
This money was from the sale of her deceased mothers house and we have just purchased a house for her to live in (she obviously wont be on housing benefit once she's moved in)

Would that senario be likely to draw attention?

The money was never soley hers (in a joint account with 2 other people) and was only in the account for a matter of weeks whilst a house was purchased.

Thanks

Did she notify the authorities of her inheritance and was she claiming HB after she received it?

sueturnersmith

As soon as the money was put into the account she should have declared it. Even though it was shared, she was still eligible for a third of the money, and it sounds like it was a substantial amount. She would very likely not have been eligible for benefits from the time she inherited the money, and this is why she has been asked for the interview.

happy_lass

once that money was deposited into her account she should of informed the authorites/DWP. It must of been there for some while because if it was only there for a few weeks then i doubt the DWP would of noticed (although i stand to be corrected on that) . Try not to worry to much because if it has only been in her account for a short while, then it might not be a big overpayment.

DaisyFlower

phil-007 wrote: »

Hi, more info.

We now think the interview is because a large amount of money was deposited into an account which she was 1 of 3 account holders.
This money was from the sale of her deceased mothers house and we have just purchased a house for her to live in (she obviously wont be on housing benefit once she's moved in)

Would that senario be likely to draw attention?

The money was never soley hers (in a joint account with 2 other people) and was only in the account for a matter of weeks whilst a house was purchased.

Thanks

Why would she need to go bankrupt if she has just had an inheritance that is enough to buy a house? Surely she should have paid her debts off first and then used the rest as a deposit paying the mortgage from her full time wage.

Why would the money go into a different account than her main one as it sounds like she was the beneficiary? Has it been declared under the bankruptcy??

phil-007_3

Hi,

Thanks for the replies, to answer some of the questions raised.

She isn't a benificiary, my wife and her sister were left the house in the will with the understanding that their mother could either live there or live in a house with the proceeds of the sale, so she never inherited anything.

In hindsight she should never have had her name put on the bank account.

The money was in the account for barely 2 weeks, once the house was sold and another was purchased.

I'll ignore the coment on the bankcrupcy as I don't need advice on that thanks

She only gets £12 a week (ish) so I can't see any overpayment being large

nash1977

An interview under caution is something to be worried about. Normally, the DWP first request an 'invitation to office interview' to clear up any discrepancies. And if there are serious issues, it escalates to the the 'interview under caution'.

The interview is conducted by two people and it is recorded. It is very much like a police interview.

Bring evidence, such as the will, to prove the inheritance does not belong to your mother in law. And you will need to explain why your mother in law is named on the bank account, as this may look suspicious.

I suspect her national insurance number was provided when opening the joint bank account. Accounts linked to national insurance numbers are tracked by the DWP to prevent fraud.

Most importantly, bring plenty of evidence to back up your story. The overpayment may be small, but the DWP considers it serious enough for the interview to be under caution.

happy_lass

its got to be serious enough for them to warrent an interview under caution. But if it is only a small overpayment then i cannot see why the DWP would want to interview for such a small overpayment? That would be a total waste of everyones time, and a waste of resources.

happy_lass

but then again, this is the DWP we are talking about .....:rotfl: