Benefit fraud

FBaby

I expect the truth is probably somewhere in the middle of what you've told here, ie. you intended to stop claiming after your first pay so you were sure not to get caught out, then you truly forgot, then you had selective memory, and when you realised that too many months have gone by, you wondered whether to come clean at this point or continue to bury your head in the sand hoping that somehow the problem would go away by itself. It's probably at this point that you've stopped spending the money and is the 'little' you have left.

In the end, you can say that you had no idea, never realised, never looked at statement, not once had that moment thinking 'wait a minute, I never cancelled my ESA', or you can say that you thought you would go along with it until you got caught, the outcome will be the same, but the interview might be shorter and less unpleasant if you just go and tell them exactly how it happened. They won't be nice and why should they be. If it wasn't for the checks they have put in place, you would be continuing to spend thousands of ££ of tax payers money you are not entitled to.

Newly_retired

Why shouldn't they try to trick you, as you put it?
You have been tricking them for quite a while.
"They" represent UK taxpayers, so you have tricked us.

Own up, repay, accept the consequences.
Once you know what they are, you have to live with them.
If you are lucky, the consequences will be purely financial(but could be worse). So you will need to live within your means, which involves budgeting, reducing your outgoings, budgeting, checking your bank statements frequently, reading your post and dealing with letters....

somethingcorporate

Tell the truth, then you cannot be tripped up.

If the truth is you dont manage your finances at all then tell them it. Better they think you a bumbling idiot than a conniving fraudster.

ktate

get legal help and any other help that you can get depends on the judge and how he feels
but has your working it will help with keeping out of prison has youll be able to do community service and pay it back
if you own your home then you may have to sell that has proceeds of crime will want there money back just try not to worry just get the help before you go even for the under caution take a rep or legal rep but good luck

Lanzarote1938

ktate wrote: »

get legal help and any other help that you can get depends on the judge and how he feels
but has your working it will help with keeping out of prison has youll be able to do community service and pay it back
if you own your home then you may have to sell that has proceeds of crime will want there money back just try not to worry just get the help before you go even for the under caution take a rep or legal rep but good luck

Would you be wishing him good luck if it was your money he had appropriated and spent ?
While we have this very odd reaction to people receiving thousands of pounds of taxpayers money that they are not entitled to and often pathetic punishments when found out then fraudsters have very little to fear.

sangie595

Lanzarote1938 wrote: »

Would you be wishing him good luck if it was your money he had appropriated and spent ?
While we have this very odd reaction to people receiving thousands of pounds of taxpayers money that they are not entitled to and often pathetic punishments when found out then fraudsters have very little to fear.

While I am not always convinced that prison does any good except breed better criminals, I have to agree that there is a lot of unfairness. A close friend of mine, several years ago, had a really nasty marital break up (violence and mental cruelty, amongst other things by the husband when she threw him out after discovering he'd been sleeping with many of her now former friends. She had a well documented nervous breakdown as a result, tried to continue working throughout, or on a brave face whilst falling apart inside, and stole about the same amount. Her employer never found out. She recovered from the breakdown and admitted it. Long story short, she paid back every penny AND got an 18 month prison sentence despite having no previous record, her GP, therapist and everyone in court to testify on her behalf, and the Probation Service recommending no custodial sentence. It isn't that I condone what she did - she'd probably kill me if I tried to, because she was so ashamed and has never been able to explain why she did it (i think it was self-destructive behaviour from the breakdown). But I wouldn't have thought that spending all that taxpayers money putting her in prison was an effective use of money since there was no possibility she would ever do it again, and there was a very good chance the employer would never have found out even if she hasn't told them! But it does annoy me when people who have done just as much or more get off with a bit of street sweeping for something they clearly knew was wrong, and many will never repay the money they owe. It's not right that stealing benefits money is not as big a deal. Personally, I don't think prison is appropriate for either, and I think there are better alternatives, but if it is prison for one, it should be prison for all.

And btw, she came out of prison determined to make a difference to change the prison system to make recidivism less likely. After 18 months volunteering, she now works for a charity that promote real alternatives (and not easy alternatives) to prison. So something good came of it.

LadyDee

nannytone wrote: »

so far on this thread you haven't been totally honest.
that is why people have been able to find inconsistencies in your story.

anyone interviewing you regarding this matter will find the same, and probably more inconsistencies.

be honest and it will be fine.

but tell them what you have told us ( that you forgot and didn't realise because you never check your bank account. but point out that you KNOW that you don't have enough to cover the overpayment ....) and they will instantly doubt everything you say

Of course the OP knew, how otherwise did they pay all those bills that paid? Did they think the money fairy had waved their magic wand? They just hoped they wouldn't be found out. The "forgot" and "don't check my bank statements" is a load of old hooey.

Lanzarote1938

LadyDee wrote: »

Of course the OP knew, how otherwise did they pay all those bills that paid? Did they think the money fairy had waved their magic wand? They just hoped they wouldn't be found out. The "forgot" and "don't check my bank statements" is a load of old hooey.

I think everyone would notice an extra £400+ in their bank account every 4 weeks.

curty510

Lanzarote1938 wrote: »

I think everyone would notice an extra £400+ in their bank account every 4 weeks.

totally agree with this. now the OP has been rumbled he/she has come here for a way out. Best course of action is to be honest.

It's nice to see that the DWP are catching up with benefit cheats, first of many i hope..

But think a custodial sentence would not help, the OP should be given community service, and ordered to pay it ALL back at a reasonable rate.

Lanzarote1938

curty510 wrote: »

But think a custodial sentence would not help, the OP should be given community service, and ordered to pay it ALL back at a reasonable rate.

The money should be repaid at the same rate as it was stolen. Go to court and send in the bailiffs if necessary to reclaim taxpayers' money.