Benefit fraud

PersianCatLady

I started a full time job last August and forgot to cancel my ESA
I would have more sympathy for your situation if you had just admitted that you had your reasons for not ending your ESA claim because no-one just "forgets" to cancel an ESA claim.


Did you also "forget" to spend the money too?

PersianCatLady

I recall another thread where someone had not noticed their CTC had not been paid for nigh on a year.
If someone doesn't notice for a year that their CTC has not been paid then maybe they don't actually need it??

PersianCatLady

I don't know what sort of trick questions to be honest.
They don't need to trick you.


It is not like you are denying that you went somewhere and they "trick" you into admitting that you were there.


You claimed ESA, you got a job and got paid, you didn't end your ESA claim.


End of story, you committed benefit fraud.

PersianCatLady

Final comment for now, even though you had "forgotten" to end your ESA claim somebody out there didn't "forget" about it because unless the DWP are getting better at detecting fraudsters, somebody reported you to them.

fishybusiness

somebody reported you to them

DWP do their own checks once in a while, it could have come up then.

sammyjammy

Real time information via HMRC would have flagged this.

dktreesea

OP what kind of ESA were you getting? Is it the one where you are allowed to do permitted work up to x amount of hours and x money without losing your ESA?


I ask because one of my friends was on ESA and went back to work full time. The Job centre told her she was allowed to do permitted work. So she carried on claiming and didn't think about it. She received a letter for a fraud interview under caution and took her friend along, who confirmed what the job centre had told the claimant. What should have happened is she should have ended her claim and claimed working tax credits but she didn't because she thought it was permitted work and because she was getting ESA didn't think she could then get tax credits. The tax credits didn't amount to much anyway. HMRC could only backdate her claim 3 months. She ended up owing around £8k.


The DWP were quite helpful as was the charity related to her illness she got involved to help her sort it all out. They certainly didn't treat her like a criminal waiting for the prison gates to open, even though the interview was under caution. She's working full time so paying them back £90 a week, - her decision; they would have taken less because she only gets just over the NMW. Well, now it's the living wage but when this was all happening she earned a bit less than that. It does go to show though, you have to stay on top of what benefits you should be receiving and make sure that is what you are getting.


I don't know if this helped my friend's case, but she has a degenerative illness that isn't going to improve over time and can't be cured. So strictly speaking she would never have had to go back to work.

NYM

Permitted work may have been officially authorised/allowed but unless the OP sought that permission, he is in the 'wrong'

If you are considering starting permitted work you must tell the DWP or Jobcentre Plus and get their approval. [B The general rule is that these benefits are paid because you are not fit for work and will stop if you do some work[/B]

PersianCatLady

I ask because one of my friends was on ESA and went back to work full time. The Job centre told her she was allowed to do permitted work.
As your friend never asked for permission to do that work it was never "permitted work" also I expect that your friend's full-time pay was significantly more than the limit for "permitted work".


However your friend's excuse does sound like a very cunning excuse for the benefit fraud that they committed.

Soulful

Got it brought forward as couldn't stand the stress of waiting they tricked me saying our records show that you've only had this job I agreed, then they pulled out wage sleeps for a part time job I had years ago I didn't think they'd know about as it was under 20hrs a week did that for 2 years. Didn't have a job for a few years then started work last August.

I'm basically screwed I guess better get my mind set for jail if I can as if my maths are correct the repayment will be around £20,000