interview with benefits fraud dept

black-saturn

My boyfriend was called into the DSS as they said they had reason to believe he was a fraud. He's a lone parent with sole care of his daughter. When he walked in the room they said "Oh you are a man", and that was it. They presumed every lone parent must be a woman

wazza

as a matter of interest when i attend the meeting and all they wanted was the info on my wife and dont ask me anything about my undeclared bank account shall i come forward with this information or shall i stay mum?????

Fran

wazza wrote:

as a matter of interest when i attend the meeting and all they wanted was the info on my wife and dont ask me anything about my undeclared bank account shall i come forward with this information or shall i stay mum?????

From the information that you have said (see quotes below) it's the accounts that will be in question.

wazza wrote:

thanks for the replies

went to see a welfare benefit officer today. She rang the fraud office and found out that they have information from inland revenue about some capital i havent declared.

i have four bank accounts. Two are used for paying bills. One is for savings and the other is a joint account. In total they add up to less than £2000.

I have only put details of my savings accounts when i filled the IS forms last september. From this account i transfer to other two accounts so there are funds to pay for bills via direct debit.

Have considered transfering all direct debits to one account and close them down but never got around to it.

wazza wrote:

the joint account is with the ex. it only has funds put in before the due date. new cards were issued and i kept hers. i only have less than 150 pounds in it

Have you frozen the account? Have you taken the £150 and put it in your account? Otherwise they will question why you have it. (Why have you kept it?)

wazza

thanks for the reply. it is just that the interview might be about something else. i have heard that they sometimes dont give the real reason for interviewing you in case you may hide/get rid of any evidence etc etc

my question was if the interview is about something else is it worth it to mention the bank accounts or will i open up a hornets nest??

just dont want to create more stress for myself

after the interview i am going to take action on closing down unwanted accounts. dont want to do it before interview in case they may case i am trying to hide my activities etc etc

black-saturn

wazza wrote:

as a matter of interest when i attend the meeting and all they wanted was the info on my wife and dont ask me anything about my undeclared bank account shall i come forward with this information or shall i stay mum?????

Keep mum, it's none of their business.

elaine373

black-saturn wrote:

My boyfriend was called into the DSS as they said they had reason to believe he was a fraud. He's a lone parent with sole care of his daughter. When he walked in the room they said "Oh you are a man", and that was it. They presumed every lone parent must be a woman

Does he have a unisex name?

wazza

black-saturn wrote:

My boyfriend was called into the DSS as they said they had reason to believe he was a fraud. He's a lone parent with sole care of his daughter. When he walked in the room they said "Oh you are a man", and that was it. They presumed every lone parent must be a woman

i think its too complicated for DSS to know the difference between Mr and Mrs/Miss

black-saturn

He doesn't have a unisex name. His name is Derek. He has been called into the DSS office twice over this. The first time they saw he was a man so why did they have to call him again? To double check?

clippert

black-saturn wrote:

Keep mum, it's none of their business.

tell them about everything including your bank account - to be open & honest is always the best policy.

to keep mum is not a good idea & yes it is the business of dwp to check out your finances if you are claiming an income related benefit such as Income Support.

If you are concerned what the interview is about - ring them and ask - they are obliged under the data protection act to tell you.

I hope this helps

Clippert

wazza

thanks for your support. have been through all areas which involves my capital. my and children savings etc.

plan to be as helpful as i can. got a solicitor sorted. will tell you tomorrow about the outcome.

aaahh a sleepless night to look forward to :-(