Falsely accused of fly tipping

bouicca21

I'd write back saying you were not in the country on the alleged date and declining the request for an interview until you have fuller details of the alleged offence.

You are under no obligation to attend and an interview under caution is a precursor to prosecution. Don't go.

The_Earl_of_Streatham

How can I prove my innocence when I don’t even know what I’m supposed to have disposed of ??

You do not have to prove your innocence. Further, you are under no obligation to help them make a case. They are not asking you to attend so that they can exclude you from their inquiries, they can do that any time they like with no input from you.

I have accompanied someone at such an interview, they are not informal chats. You will be asked questions which have been well prepared in advance by people who do this for a living. A solicitor, if present, will not be able to answer questions for you, only point out questions which you shouldn't answer for legal reasons.

You will leave the interview with no better view on whether they propose to proceed than when you went in. Do not consider it as a way to reduce your worry or uncertainty, you'll have months of that whether you attend or not.

To repeat myself, they are collecting evidence to try to get a prosecution. You are not obliged to help them in any way. An interview will not end the matter but will give them more information on which to proceed. You won't know for months whether they intend to proceed or not, attending an interview interview will not change this.

There is no obligation to attend, it will gain you no advantage. Decline their invitation.

I am not a lawyer, so take my tone of certainty with all the salt you like. Having seen this process in action I just happen to have a very low opinion of it.

Margot123

Firstly, I would write and ask them to provide evidence.

It might be that you had some rubbish cleared and something with your name and address was with it, and subsequently dumped.
Did you leave anything behind in a house you vacated? At a friends?

Could it be malicious? There is nothing to stop someone going through your bins or even faking a letterhead or similar. It has been known but the onus is on you to prove it wasn't you.

As you have been advised, it is a voluntary interview. Ask them to show enough evidence for you to attend. Don't be bullied simply because it's a government agency.

SmashedAvacado

There is no alleged date - they are saying "On or before". Saying you were out of the country on a particular date is not going to help

You dont need to prove your innocence.

Dont go. If you are worried, I would then write back saying "Thank you for your letter. Please provide further details of the alleged offence. Your faithfully"

Until you know what they are investigating, there is no need to deny or admit anything.

sevenhills

dallam20 wrote: »

We have always taken our rubbish to the dump, had it collected by the council or had charities collect old furniture. Not had any skips or workmen around that time.

You are posting on a house buying/selling forum, do you have a rented property or have you recently moved; they have most likely found something dumped with your name/address on.

TonyMMM

They don't have to give you any advance details of the evidence they have at this stage, but on the other hand nor do you have to attend any interview (unless they arrest you - which is a possibility for any criminal offence ).

The "on or before" would suggest that fly tipping has been found with items that have been traced back to you or your property, so you need to consider if there is even a remote possibility that has happened.

Without an interview denying your involvement, any charging decision will be taken purely on the basis of what evidence they do have.

quantumlobster

OP: from whom was this letter?

AdrianC

SmashedAvacado wrote: »

There is no alleged date - they are saying "On or before".

<nods>

OP - The "on or before" date will be the date the rubbish was found - and it's possible/probable/likely it had been dumped there before that date.


There's obviously something within that rubbish that links it to you. Avoiding this interview will not make it go away. If you do not attend voluntarily, there is the option of arresting you to force you to attend.


You've seen the TV shows, where the police read out the caution...

PC_Plod wrote:

You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

...that's what they mean by "interview under caution".


In the event that this doesn't go away, when you stand there in front of the magistrate protesting your innocence, the question that's going to be asked is "If this is genuinely a mistake, and you genuinely did not dump that rubbish with your name and address on, why did you not take the opportunity to explain that to the police at the time you were first asked?" - and that's going to be a difficult one to answer, isn't it?


Nobody would argue that flytipping is a blight, and nobody would say the police should turn a blind eye to it, right...? So why would you NOT take a small bit of effort to try and make it clear that you really didn't do it?

Comms69

AdrianC wrote: »

<nods>

OP - The "on or before" date will be the date the rubbish was found - and it's possible/probable/likely it had been dumped there before that date.


There's obviously something within that rubbish that links it to you. Avoiding this interview will not make it go away. If you do not attend voluntarily, there is the option of arresting you to force you to attend.


You've seen the TV shows, where the police read out the caution...

...that's what they mean by "interview under caution".


In the event that this doesn't go away, when you stand there in front of the magistrate protesting your innocence, the question that's going to be asked is "If this is genuinely a mistake, and you genuinely did not dump that rubbish with your name and address on, why did you not take the opportunity to explain that to the police at the time you were first asked?" - and that's going to be a difficult one to answer, isn't it?


Nobody would argue that flytipping is a blight, and nobody would say the police should turn a blind eye to it, right...? So why would you NOT take a small bit of effort to try and make it clear that you really didn't do it?

Sorry no, refusal to attend a voluntary interview would not be viewed that way. (and it's likely this is the council, not the police).


That aside it's likely to be a very one sided affair. You see in a voluntary interview under caution the council (and even the police) may not mention that the Op would be entitled to FREE legal advice, and in a case such as this that would mean a duty solicitor.


You've handily quoted the caution - does it say anywhere that anything you say can be used to help you....

AdrianC

Comms69 wrote: »

You've handily quoted the caution - does it say anywhere that anything you say can be used to help you....

If what you say in the interview helps your case, then there won't be charges brought...