UC compliance interview Husband did not disclose savings and he’s now been found out

Grumpy_chap

It is not obvious to me how much the husband's savings were, other than the total now exceeding £16k.

I can see a difference between the couple having, say, £5.9k savings declared and there being one undeclared account held by the husband, say, £10.2k and only just crept to that level.  It may be plausible as a misunderstanding of the rules.

If the undeclared husband's savings are much higher then the misunderstanding of rules might be less plausible.

Lindlou

MattMattMattUK said:

Pinkewifey said:

Please help me .I am broken .Married with a joint Uc claim and I didn’t know husband had savings over 16k an investment with the bank .
i logged into the Uc account to see he had been invvited for a compliance interview and that’s when he disclosed to me he had savings .
i am dealing with the betrayal and also worried about the implications as i have googled and have seen this is a criminal offence .We have been told to submit statements  and I read as it a joint claim ,I am jointly and severally liable .

please how can we get out of this mess .I am completely broken and have been unable to eat or sleep since Friday that this nightmare started .

please can you advise .Do we need a criminal lawyer .What should be the next steps 

thank you 

You first need to follow the UC process, submit documentation they request, in effect come clean. You will be required to repay any UC claimed during the period when he has had the savings in excess of £16k, as well as a pro-rata when he had savings between £6k and £16k. 

It is very rare for people to be prosecuted for fraud in these circumstances, they are normally just required to repay the incorrectly claimed UC. You are both liable for the repayment, the will go after the savings using the legal system if he does not repay and tries to hold onto that money. 

You only need a lawyer if you are invited for an interview under caution and you can request one be provided for you.

Correct in that you would only need a Solicitor for an Interview under Caution but for the benefit of anyone else reading, one will NOT be provided for you by the DWP. 

huckster

Lindlou said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Pinkewifey said:

Please help me .I am broken .Married with a joint Uc claim and I didn’t know husband had savings over 16k an investment with the bank .
i logged into the Uc account to see he had been invvited for a compliance interview and that’s when he disclosed to me he had savings .
i am dealing with the betrayal and also worried about the implications as i have googled and have seen this is a criminal offence .We have been told to submit statements  and I read as it a joint claim ,I am jointly and severally liable .

please how can we get out of this mess .I am completely broken and have been unable to eat or sleep since Friday that this nightmare started .

please can you advise .Do we need a criminal lawyer .What should be the next steps 

thank you 

You first need to follow the UC process, submit documentation they request, in effect come clean. You will be required to repay any UC claimed during the period when he has had the savings in excess of £16k, as well as a pro-rata when he had savings between £6k and £16k. 

It is very rare for people to be prosecuted for fraud in these circumstances, they are normally just required to repay the incorrectly claimed UC. You are both liable for the repayment, the will go after the savings using the legal system if he does not repay and tries to hold onto that money. 

You only need a lawyer if you are invited for an interview under caution and you can request one be provided for you.

Correct in that you would only need a Solicitor for an Interview under Caution but for the benefit of anyone else reading, one will NOT be provided for you by the DWP. 

Agree that DWP would never provide a Solicitor or any other representative on behalf of a claimant. Citizens Advice may have details of local legal help available. 

If the amount of capital not declared is less than a certain amount, unlikely DWP would look to go down prosecution route. And it depends on whether it was an inadvertent error or misunderstanding or a totally deliberate act.

TELLIT01

If the partner had never divulged their savings to the OP, and continued to do so in the knowledge they were claiming UC, it would seem most likely to be considered a deliberate act.

MattMattMattUK

TELLIT01 said:

If the partner had never divulged their savings to the OP, and continued to do so in the knowledge they were claiming UC, it would seem most likely to be considered a deliberate act.

My suspicion is that whilst the OP's husband did in effect commit fraud it is unlikely to result in a prosecution of the husband, let alone the OP. In this case I would follow "never attribute to malice what can equally be explained by stupidity", it will be an expensive mistake for the OP's husband, but I doubt it would result in a criminal prosecution. 

TELLIT01

@MattMattMattUK I agree that prosecution would be a last resort, but if the husband tries to be difficult with DWP it is still a tool available to them.

LightFlare

If husband has to repay any overpayment - I assume he would do that from his “hidden” savings

If that then takes them below 16k - would that mean that a claim could immediately start again ?

8dayweek

LightFlare said:

If husband has to repay any overpayment - I assume he would do that from his “hidden” savings

If that then takes them below 16k - would that mean that a claim could immediately start again ?

Any overpayment calculated would be reduced by a “diminution of capital” adjustment - so effectively acknowledging the part the on-going UC award has contributed towards the Capital accrual. 

But yes, if they are still above £16k - but repayment of debts brings them below that level again, they can reclaim (or continue claiming). 

Unless I missed it, OP hasn’t explicitly said quite how much the Husband has stashed away - it could be just above the Capital limits or it could be hugely above the Capital limits. 

Grumpy_chap

8dayweek said:

Unless I missed it, OP hasn’t explicitly said quite how much the Husband has stashed away - it could be just above the Capital limits or it could be hugely above the Capital limits. 

Which would, presumably, impact how plausible a "mistake" or "misunderstanding" would be when a DM reviews matters 

HillStreetBlues

From OP's first post the husband had hidden money from both the OP and the DWP, it seems clear that it's fraud on the husband's part and OP has been dragged into it.

Three key factors are, how much over the £16k?  how long has the fraud been going on? and very important, was it fraudulent from start of claim?  None of these have been answered, until they are what the DWP may or may not do no one could possible tell.