I think I am going to jail.

Topcat1982

It's likely to be treated as an overpayment. They may want you to pay it off every month or, if you are now entitled to WTC, reduce them every month

FBaby

I think re. the reason for your post, people have provided advice and indeed, although you will have to repay the tax credits and potentially a fine, you are unlikely to be taken to court.

My reason for posting is your issue with mental health which according to you, had a significant impact on you not reporting your change in circumstances. I think it is admirable that you have been working when you didn't need to and could have claimed benefits, but you need to look after your health. If you suffer from diagnosed bi-polar, being on prozac might not be the best treatment for you. There are other drugs therapy used to treat/cope with bipolar. Make sure you get the right treatment to keep you stable so you don't let it affect your life in a way that could have serious implications.

I do wish you good luck with your aspirations, everything is possible if you really set your mind to something and work hard towards it. Many people work in responsible jobs despite a diagnosis of bi-polar without issues.

Pollycat

Stupid2015 wrote: »

Does it matter really?? I had a significant relapse last year. I was cleared by occy health for my new job now. You are just pin pricking at things. I don't need this at the moment. I just need to know if I will go to jail.

But you had already had these 3 posts addressing that specific question before you posted the above:

blondebubbles wrote: »

I think prosecution is unlikely. Tax credits are more keen to get the money back.

densol wrote: »

I defended for 10 years and prosecuted for 12 - I'm now retired albeit through an accident at work. If you have no previous convictions then as the above poster has more than aptly said - its unlikely to be a prosecution - but its DEFINITELY not a jail sentence ! I'll stake my 22 years qualification on that.

stevemLS wrote: »

Well, if everything is as you say, in my opinion you have little risk of going to prison and may not even face prosecution.

skivenov

Have a look on MIND 's website, chances are they have an advocacy service in your area who are there exactly for this sort of thing.

To be fair, it sounds like you should have been signing on rather than claiming working tax credits , but chances are ,you would have received a similar payment either way , so they can argue you didn't gain.

I caught the tail end of a news article last week saying something along the lines of either HMRC or Dwp aren't intending to prosecute where mental health is an issue .

Bear_time

I am sorry to hear your mental health has not been sound. It's good to know you are on the up, as such.

I do agree with 3 posts that it is highly unlikely you will go to jail. The chances are pretty much nil. I do feel that you have left it for such a long time claiming both when you knew though.

Has your child/children been attending nursery and have you been paying the fees as per the childcare element?

I assume you are going to stop the claim if you haven't started work?

Do you have a friend/ family member who can act as an advocate for you?

What ever you do, I wish you the best of luck with your metal health recovery.

pinkypoopydoo

I'm sure when I got a letter from concetrix for a self-employment compliance check, one of the things it said was "This is the information we have, if it is incorrect, then please contact us immediately with the correct information so we can calculate your correct award", or words to that effect. It was giving me a chance to admit if anything was wrong (not that it was), and I assume then, if I had anything to admit to, I would have got a recalculated TC award, and a formal warning letter?

Getting yourself worked up, and imagining yourself being flung in jail isn't going to help yo, or your child. Please follow the advise of those who have posted with better knowledge of mental health issues than I have, and seek some guidance from an expert, who can help you get this sorted.

Sending you a virtual ((HUG)), as I know what it's like to feel *that* stressed xxxx

MABLE

As contributors have said there is a very slim chance of a prison term. However the court may want to use you as an example and send you to prison. Unfortunately you never know.

dippy3103

I post this as a benefit fraud investigator with 20 + years experience.

If you have never been in trouble before, then prison is very very very unlikely. If it helps look at this.... It's what the courts follow if they convict someone of benefit fraud
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/obtaining_benefit_fraud/

For £3k prison isn't even mentioned.

It's not strictly true that DWP & HMRC won't prosecute if there are mental health issues- a customers mental health is considered but is not a bar to prosecution.

My advice would be is start gathering the evidence you have concerning your health. If you are invited to an IUC (the DWP now conduct them for tax credits in many areas) then you need to request that an appropriate adult be with you as well as a legal rep.

Yes, you have messed up but people do far far worse. Put prison right to the back of your mind and try to deal with the matter at hand.

im_here_to_help

Stupid2015 wrote: »

Does it matter really?? I had a significant relapse last year. I was cleared by occy health for my new job now. You are just pin pricking at things. I don't need this at the moment. I just need to know if I will go to jail.

Hope you do go the jail you knew exactly what you were doing. You say you would kill yourself if your child was to go into care well why didn't you think of that before you stole this money off every tax payer in this country. Truly sick of people like you who abuse the benefit system through nothing but greed while there are thousands if not millions of hard working people who get no help at all because the system is full of people like you who just want to take take take

System

im_here_to_help wrote: »

Hope you do go the jail you knew exactly what you were doing. You say you would kill yourself if your child was to go into care well why didn't you think of that before you stole this money off every tax payer in this country. Truly sick of people like you who abuse the benefit system through nothing but greed while there are thousands if not millions of hard working people who get no help at all because the system is full of people like you who just want to take take take

To be honest, and i'm not saying the Op is right in what they did , what they did was wrong, but they know that, mental illness can very much cloud your judgement. You may do things without realising the implications of them. I've lived with Bipolar disorder for 5 years and it has had an impact on finical choices, its made things very difficult. When you're not of sound mind you can make bad choices. I myself have gotten myself into a mess with tax credits as i struggle with money and haven't kept as accurate record as i should have of hours i've worked (though those hours i did work and thus mean i can claim tax credits, i'm just trying to gather proof of it now, but mentally its having a very negative effect on me), this is because when i'm ill be that manic or depressed i tend to lose track of things and certain things overwhelm me so i block them out as i can't cope with them, i sense this may have been a similar issue for the OP.