Will I be Investigated if I Sign Back On??

brandykay

Hello everyone

I claimed JSA, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit from August 2010 - July 2011.

In July 2011 I got a letter from a Customer Compliance Officer asking me to go in for a Compliance Interview at my local Jobcentre. Just prior to receiving this letter (3 days before) I received a 20K inheritance from my nan passing away so I asked if I had been called in due to that but was told 'no, this is a full review going back further than that.'

At the interview the Compliance Officer asked me to bring in details of all my bank accounts since I started my claim (including 2 bank accounts which were closed before I started my claim - one a few months before, the other 2 years before!) I told her that these 2 accounts were closed and she asked me for the dates they were closed. I showed her my bank statements and also signed off from all benefits at the interview as my inheritance took me over the 16K threshold. I asked her if everything was OK and she said something along the lines of 'we'll leave it for now but we'll look into it again if you ever make a claim again.'

I never heard from them again and I've been living off my inheritance ever since. Its nearly gone now though so for the past 2 months I've been looking for a job (which is proving 1000% more difficult than I anticipated), and I really really did not want to have to sign on ever again, but if I don't get a job soon its going to be a case of needs must.

So its just really worrying me what she said about 'if you sign on again we'll look into it.' Surely if they had something against me they wouldn't have let it go then? I've not heard from the DWP since and I'm sure I did nothing wrong...but then I think why was I called in and why would she say that to me???

Signing back on is a very last resort for me, I'm just worried if I don't and I can't find a job what would I do! And if I do and they investigate me...I couldn't handle that.

Am I just worrying over nothing - was she just trying to scare me or does it sound like I would be investigated if I sign back on?

Any thoughts would be most appreciated

Thank you, Brandy

Soil_sister_1

I don't know the rules etc so probably not the best to advise but I would have thought that they would want to investigate the amount of the inheritance that was left if you signed on again and possibly where it was spent - if you signed on a couple of weeks later.

brandykay

Soil_sister_1 wrote: »

I don't know the rules etc so probably not the best to advise but I would have thought that they would want to investigate the amount of the inheritance that was left if you signed on again and possibly where it was spent - if you signed on a couple of weeks later.

Hi Soil sister, no it was absolutely NOTHING to do with my inheritance - she wasn't even aware of my inheritance when I spoke to her after getting the Compliance Interview letter, and I signed off literally 5 days after receiving it (at the interview) and paid 5 days benefits back.. It was definitely about something else, but what I don't know.

BigAunty

No-one here can tell you for sure what will happen but there sounds like there is a potential risk that they will reactivate their historic investigation and also perhaps widen it to see if there is any deliberate deprivation of capital issues with the way you have spent the inheritance. Or not consider either, particularly since you gave them the info they asked for about bank accounts last time, it's the luck of the drawer.

Deprivation of capital is when a claimant is believed to have intentionally got rid of their capital in order to claim benefits but it's about deliberately doing this and doing things like gifting friends and relatives their capital. You've paid things like rent, council tax and so on over the last 14 months but you might find the council or DWP may ask you to account for your spending as they take a dim view of claimants tearing through their capital on luxury items rather than everyday living expenses.

A claimant is entitled to 6k capital without it affecting any means tested benefits (while up to 16k reduces entitlement) so you could have claimed earlier.

Personally if I had an inheritance while unemployed, I would have still sought a job after receiving it, not just when it was spent, so that I might protect and enjoy the nest egg, spending my employment income on bills and some of my savings on treats over time like a car, holiday, training course, PC and so on.

PippaGirl_2

You could make a SAR from the DWP. They don't hand over any information from any ongoing investigations but as there isn't one atm they ought to give you everything they have on you. You might find out that way.

Have you been looking for a job for the whole year, since July 2011?

It wouldn't take long for £20000 to go as you've been paying your rent and council tax and living expenses since then.

skintandscared_2

It's pretty obvious that £20k wasn't going to last you the rest of your life. Is there any reason you stopped job hunting for a year or was it just because the jobcentre weren't forcing you to do it?!

nannytone_2

surely if the cpmpliance interview was regarding a serious issue, then they would have carried on innvestigated even if the OP signed off?

cant see that they just drop it, if they sus[ected a serious breach of benefit rules?

marybelle01

A "compliance officer interview" doesn't necessarily mean anything. My neighbours had one of those, scared stiff they did something wrong - they ended up being told they hadn't claimed enough! It isn't an investigation - although it might sound like one, it isn't!

Hindsight is wonderful - you have probably not claimed what you could have done!

Compliance officers just review what you are claiming. It sounds scary. It isn't. Investigations are scary. Totally different thing... Sorry but you have been conned by your own conscience and circumstances.

brandykay

PippaGirl wrote: »

You could make a SAR from the DWP. They don't hand over any information from any ongoing investigations but as there isn't one atm they ought to give you everything they have on you. You might find out that way.

Thank you PippaGirl, I'm going to put a SAR in and find out what the 'full review' was all about. Does anyone have any idea how long it takes for them to get back to you with the info? Is it days or weeks?