help!!! fraud

real1314

dori2o wrote: »

Look, at the end of the day this board is about giving advice on Benefits, which is what I have done. Others seem to want to argue over whether or not the OP is a serial fraudster.

It was you who started with opinions:-

dori2o wrote: »

You have not set out to intentionally defraud the system, you have made an error due to the overly complicated benefits system that exists.

You had no information on which to base the assumption that the degree of complexity of the benefit system had any place in this, you were no doubt using your own prejudice. That you now refer to others accusing the OP of being a "serial fraudster" is yet another example. No-one has done this. :cool:

law1984

I was on income support before i started work in 2010
but then i was on my mums hb claim my mum moved out in 2011 and i then started a hb claim , my carrers allowance was listed then and i presumed it still was if i new i would say only on here for advise. thanks for your help just very worried dont know whats going to happen

law1984

ive worked 26 hours a week since i started working.
i know my hb would of been around £30 less a week!!

law1984

sorry i meant 16 hours work a week

law1984

shedboy94 wrote: »

To be fair, Tax Credits issue out a renewal pack each year which asks how much income you have received in the previous year. It's not a complicate question and very hard to forget about a specific income for many years in a row.

as far as i remember i added my ca to my earnings when adding it up i am calling them to day so will know shortley

LunaLady

law1984 wrote: »

sorry i meant 16 hours work a week

Its not really about the number of hours, but how much you are earning.

law1984

LunaLady wrote: »

Its not really about the number of hours, but how much you are earning.

i have always been on minium wage.

fluffymovie

Hi Law1984

Firstly, this board is for those seeking help and advice and it does seem that it has become a bit of a shouting match on this occassion. Please don't let this put you off from posting, everyone wants to help.

Secondly, if you have had the interview under caution, then you have put forward your explanation of the oversight and the Fraud officers need time to consider the next steps.

Have they told you about the level of any overpayment yet? Sometimes, this is a factor in the type of sanction they go for.

In most cases, and I do truly know this to be true, court action is not the outcome we go for. In my last Authority, we prosecuted only 9 cases last year. The burdens in a court case are high in terms of proving that you committed an offence (failure to declare a change in circumstances) and this can be tricky.

I would suggest that the most likely outcomes are ;

An official caution - this is not a police caution and is only held on our HB files
An Admin Penalty - you agree to repay the overpayment + a % which is added to it (can't remember of the top of my head what this is)

If they have not yet calculated the overpayment, they can't be asking you to repay it but I would suggest you start to put some money aside if possible as when it is calculated, they will recover money from either your ongioing HB award at a rate of £10.65 + half of anything they are disregarding from your income (if you were a single parent for example, we would ignore the first £25 of earnings but would add £12.50 to the £10.65) and you would need to pay this every week.

If you have carers allowance, you would be entitled to the carer premium and they would also disregard £20 pw from your earnings unless your standard disregard would have been higher.

This will be a scary time, I know. However, I truly think that court action is unlikely (I work in HB and am married to a Fraud Manager so speak from a place of experience)

I hope this helps. It's really important to check your letters very carefully and if you don't understand them, seek help from the council or someone like CAB in future,

law1984

I found out my overoayment is £2150 alot lower than i expected i have just had a phone call to say theyu are giving me a addministrated penalty of £600 approx on top and will be losing £25 a week on my hb i have a appointment on monday to sign for it am pleased i dont have to go to court but am very worried i cant afford it as i have £150 CT to pay a month aswell i dont want to argue with them tho i really do apraiate all your help

shedboy94

fluffymovie wrote: »

In most cases, and I do truly know this to be true, court action is not the outcome we go for. In my last Authority, we prosecuted only 9 cases last year. The burdens in a court case are high in terms of proving that you committed an offence (failure to declare a change in circumstances) and this can be tricky.

Wow.....that's very low......there are at least 3 or 4 a week in the "round the courts" section of my local paper!!! The fraudsters must be laughing round your neck of the woods!!!