advice on benefit sanctions/fraud please

RAS

laura678 wrote: »

It sounds like she probably misunderstood the system, either way the council tax has been paid off by us now.

in which case insist on seeing the paperwork as bailiffs routinely charge far more than they are entitled to legally.

There are new rules and charges this year but it is common for bailffs to charge upwards of £250 to which they are not entitled and not unknown for them to milk families without enough assets for hundreds of pounds when they should have just returned the debt to the Council.

When challenged they have refunded or reduced fees.

Poppie68

laura678 wrote: »

She has admitted the fraud to all the agencies, which is why they have stopped the benefits. I have seen the letter to say the child tax has stopped and the income support phone call was done at my house, so I know that has been stopped. I haven't seen any evidence that the DLA has stopped, there has been no letter. She was apparently told by HMRC that whilst the investigation went on she was to have sanctions on those benefits.

HMRC wouldn't be able to tell her that the DLA has been sanctioned as they don't adminster DLA, but that particular benefit would only be stopped at this particular time if the DWP suspected fraud in the form of claiming for a child that is not entitled to the DLA.
CAB are good but i have also heard Stepchange are a very good organisation that maybe useful for someone in your daughters position.

nannytone_2

i think your daughter is a bit of a fibber.
she fibbed to the DWP and claimed fraudulently, and now she is trying to get sympathy from you by fibbing that her childs DLA has been stopped.
1. it isnt means tested ( as has been pointed out) and 2. the benefit is the childs and not your daughters. so what your daughter does has no impact on it

NYM

Someone certainly has told a few fibs ...

laura678

Thanks for all your replies, I had a chat with my daughter again today, she is adamant that DLA has been stopped for a minimum of 3 months, I asked her to prove it and let me check her account tomorrow, because tomorrow is the day that the DLA would be due, she has agreed to do this. So I am assuming she is probably telling the truth about.


I am wondering if they also think that she has also claimed DLA fraudulently, which is perhaps why they have stopped it. The HMRC did state that they had evidence that the partner lived with her and a full investigation is taking place, I am starting to wonder if this more serious than I being told- I know its serious, I'm wondering if the timescale of how long she claimed is longer than she is letting on and that's what they're investigating. Is it likely she will go to prison?


I have told her today I am unable to continue helping financially every week and she needs to look into hardship payments and CAB for debt management.

Poppie68

laura678 wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, I had a chat with my daughter again today, she is adamant that DLA has been stopped for a minimum of 3 months, I asked her to prove it and let me check her account tomorrow, because tomorrow is the day that the DLA would be due, she has agreed to do this. So I am assuming she is probably telling the truth about.


I am wondering if they also think that she has also claimed DLA fraudulently, which is perhaps why they have stopped it. The HMRC did state that they had evidence that the partner lived with her and a full investigation is taking place, I am starting to wonder if this more serious than I being told- I know its serious, I'm wondering if the timescale of how long she claimed is longer than she is letting on and that's what they're investigating. Is it likely she will go to prison?


I have told her today I am unable to continue helping financially every week and she needs to look into hardship payments and CAB for debt management.

DLA wouldn't be stopped for the child for a min of 3 months as it doesn't work like that, they don't sanction DLA....it's not means tested for one thing, so if they were suspicous then it's because they believe she is claiming for a child that is not entitled...(which would be pretty hard to do as medical evidence would of been needed to make the claim in the first place) but if they did have those suspicions and if she was unable to prove entitlement the benefit would be stopped.
She would also have to be the unluckiest person to be caught claiming means tested benefits at exactly the same time as the DLA claim being questioned.

If it was my daughter i wouldn't believe a word she says and wouldn't be surprised if she has the money going into another account....they would of had to of sent a letter for each benefit telling her why they have stopped paying demand to see them otherwise be very cautious of what she tells you from now on.

jetplane

It sounds like your daughter is chaotic and not shy of spinning a few lies, she lied about her partner being there, possibly about the bailiffs and probably now. If she wants help she needs to be at CAB or Welfare Rights first thing tomorrow, and you really need a solicitor who specialises in benefit fraud. The CAB can ring each department and establish the true picture. If the fraud is for a 6 month period and he was coming and going then it's a grey area anyway.

I do understand your concern about your grandaughter and social services will be obliged to help out as she is a child in need, they can give her a payment each week until she is sorted.

First of all the neither the DLA nor Child Benefit is sanctioned, if she is chaotic she may not have completed a DLA renewal pack and it may have stopped and they may have told her it will take up to three months to make a decision. The Child benefit is not means tested.

HMRC can pay her Child Tax Credits, she may have been told over the phone that they will consider it but they can process a new claim but it will take a few weeks. If it is the first time she has claimed incorrectly / fraudulently then they can offset the overpayment against what she would have been paid as a single parent. CAB should also check that child disability premium is included if appropriate.

Does she claim Carers allowance for her daughter, if so this wont be sanctioned either as it is matter less whether she lives with someone. However it could have stopped if she did not return her daughters DLA renewal.

She needs to claim her benefits again on a new claim and they can be paid. She will have been receiving quite a lot of money so CAB really need to get to the bottom of her debt and budgeting. She can order her credit agency reports as a starting point. However this will not have details of some money lenders.

It sounds as if she is totally unable to cope, does she cope better when her ex is not around? If it were my daughter / grandaughter I would be phoning the health visitor and asking for services to be put in from sure start and social services. She will not lose her home because she leaves it to stay with you for a short period while she gets sorted, housing benefit can be aid while she is temporarily not there. In your shoes I would want to be keeping a close eye on my grandchild, never mind my daughter.

laura678

I think I may have been very naïve recently. I wished I'd of looked into it more before I paid hundreds of pounds for her unpaid bill, we could have taken the kids on holiday for that..You live and learn I guess.




As for the DLA I really don't know what to think anymore, she did have medical evidence, so I am guessing either it's not been stopped and she's being lying through her teeth; but she did mention that when she made a claim that she did tell the DLA that she was a single parent, maybe she thought they would be more sympathetic and thought she could milk the system for more. Disappointed is an understatement.

laura678

She had only just started receiving the DLA for her daughter in approximately March of this year. They even told her if she wished to apply for mobility she could do it a bit earlier, to get the claim for when little one turns 3.


Although never diagnosed with anything, I do believe my daughter has some kind of learning difficulty herself, she never seems to understand phone calls and cannot cope with any appointments, I have to keep a diary for her and remind her several times. Which is why she may have misunderstood the recent phone calls from the benefits agencies.


She is off to the CAB regarding debt management, which has turned into thousands and I just cannot help. I am hoping they maybe able to guide her with reclaiming benefits, because she doesn't take much notice of me, coming from someone professional might help.


As for social services they had been involved at the beginning of the relationship, as the relationship was violent, it was my daughter who was violent to her partner. She copes better without her partner there, but suffers badly from depression.


I do think she should come back home for a short period but getting her to listen is another story. I have even offered to have my grand daughter short term whilst she sorts her mess out, but she just becomes defensive.

jetplane

Stop trying to second guess your daughter, what is she normally like, is this out of character for her? DLA will not have been stopped because she has lived with someone, neither would carers allowance or child benefit. It is only the means tested benefits of income support, housing and council tax and child tax credits.

The only fraud that DLA would look at is whether the child was disabled, and as another poster said, at that age they will have had a lot of evidence and nothing will have changed significantly. However it is often awarded for a year for a young child or two years if from birth so it is perfectly possible that it was due for renewal. It is very likely that it either hasn't stopped or she hasn't renewed it.

Her benefits are in a mess, but its not unusual for advisers to deal with this sort of thing, they can ring and establish the true situation.

edit: If it only started in March then it wont have stopped 3 months later. If she is depressed and has been prone to violence than I would be ringing the health visitor or social services and re referring, as this crisis may worsen her condition and she is refusing help.