Called into interview under caution and felt bullied, what are my rights?

Oldernotwiser

midnight_express wrote: »

Benefit fraud is a crime and you can go to prison for it.

We know that but an interview under caution still has nothing to do with the police.

CCFC_80

real1314 wrote: »

However the same rules apply. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act; aka PACE would apply to both a Police IUC and any benefit fraud IUC.

The right to representation would apply; OP has stated that they waived this right.
The asperger's issue is subjective; therefore diffilcult to comment on. :cool:

Good point but from my understanding you do not get the same representation as under a police caution where you have the immediate right for a solicitor.You are treated worse at a benefit fraud interview and have to get your own representation.

As you say the same rules apply for both being subject under PACE etc but for benefit fraud you have to get your own representation.

mrcow

stressedclaimaint wrote: »

also I am not sure about complaining or just writing a message since he said if I "admitted" what I did debt would of been wiped,

Don't believe this even if it was what was said.

They will not "wipe" any monies owed - especially if you are admitting that you committed a crime in order to obtain them.

If you owe them money, you will have to pay it back. One way or another, you will pay it.

stressedclaimaint

mrcow wrote: »

Don't believe this even if it was what was said.

They will not "wipe" any monies owed - especially if you are admitting that you committed a crime in order to obtain them.

If you owe them money, you will have to pay it back. One way or another, you will pay it.

Oh I would pay it back, what I meant was I would admit I got it wrongfully as I didnt understand the system and been happy to pay it back but wasnt given that opportunity it was a constant barrage of questions and them telling me my answers didnt make sense or were nonsense.

I am a honest person(too honest which is why I went there) in the past had JSA stopped for 6 months as I forgot to hand a job application in on time and handed it in next day(I was given about 15-20 applications and was going through them one by one) and another time when I was at college part time which is allowed they stopped my money for 6 months as they twisted my words to make it seem that I was there full time(by claiming I would be studying at home over 20 hours a week therefore was full time) All part of my disability.

real1314

CCFC_80 wrote: »

Good point but from my understanding you do not get the same representation as under a police caution where you have the immediate right for a solicitor.You are treated worse at a benefit fraud interview and have to get your own representation.

As you say the same rules apply for both being subject under PACE etc but for benefit fraud you have to get your own representation.

For a police IUC an arrest has been made, hence they will arrange representation.

For a benefit fraud, no arrest has been made (unless done in conjunction with police in which case see above) hence, you are free to arrange your own representation.

Yorkie suggested the same rules would apply as to a police interview; bar this one small point, that is a correct assumption. :cool:

Wee_Willy_Harris

real1314 wrote: »

For a police IUC an arrest has been made,

Not necessarily.

t0rt0ise

You can get benefit for two homes but you have to show that the situation couldn't be avoided. So the new tenancy had to be started on such a date and the old tenancy couldn't be finished until later. Then you can get up to 4 weeks benefit for both properties. The fact that they are bothering with this is a bit pathetic. Citizens Advice would probably help you to write a letter of explanation to the countil.

haycorns

Sorry to hear your predicament. As autism is a disability , they need to be careful they aren't discriminating against you. They need to make reasonable adjustments .

Their communication methods weren't helpful , and the meeting would have been more productive if you had someone with you. I know from dealing with my son that you won't necessarily have interpreted what they said in the way they meant - it might not be as bad as you think it is.

Try speaking to citizens advice or the local autistic society to see if someone can act as your advocate to help you out of this mess.

Hope you manage to sort it out - try not to worry.

real1314

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Not necessarily.

I haven't got a copy of PACE to hand. What situation are you thinking of where an arrest would not be made but an IUC would occur?

A voluntary interview would not necessarily involve an IUC; however if the status of the interview shifted to suspicion, a Caution would then be issued; IIRC an offer of representation would also be made, probably an arrest too. :cool:

makeitright

If you have got medical issues and the officers were unreasonable (ie they completely ignored you being flustered/panicky at the interview and that affecting your explanation of the situation), you might go to see your local councillor, who could write them a letter on your behalf. Once upon a time, I was being hassled about something and the local councillor wrote a letter to the relevant person at the council (they seemed to know who this was off the top of their head) saying they felt it was inappropriate, the way I was being handled, and the council dropped the matter in my particular case. I think it was related to a non-payment of council tax (it was a long time ago) and basically, one department had instructions to try and recoup from everyone in the same, bullying way but they were ignoring a couple of relevant things about my particular situation; and if facets of the way you have been handled at the interview were inappropriate/facets of your situation have been ignored, the local councillor may be able to help. I went to a local surgery he had where he was seeing people in the area (a once a week or month thing). It sounds like you have some cause to feel your points haven't been properly taken into account here, thus why I am putting this just FYI. It may be worth a chat with the councillor - sounds like the officers basically just didn't even attempt to listen, although I don't follow/understand the specifics of what you are supposed to have 'done wrong' here