I am so angry at my partner.

I have just found out he is being investigated for benefit fraud.

He received a letter asking him to go for an interview under caution regarding his housing benefit, income support and carers allowance.

He was on these benefits before moving in with me.

He has ignored the letter and missed the interview.

I am intending on getting him to call tomorrow to talk to them and stop burying his head in the sand.

He was down as his mother’s carer.

He lived with a flat mate and had housing benefit and income support also paid.

He started work and cancelled his income support and housing benefit.

He wrongly assumed his carers allowance would be cancelled as a result too.

He never contacted them though and as a result has about a years overpayment now.

The carers allowance has always gone into his mother’s account and she always kept it herself.

It was the arrangement they had...he got the income support and she kept the carers allowance.

But because it continued to go into her account he never realised it was still being paid and she never said anything to him about it.

Next thing we know he receives this letter.

The letter states it’s also about housing benefit and income support too.

He definitely didn’t receive them in the past year so I can only assume they’re doing a big investigation about everything he’s ever received now.

Whats likely to happen to him??

I’m so worried and so angry at him for not phoning to cancel in the first place and being so stupid to just assume all benefits are linked and let each other know about any changes!

I’m also so annoyed at his mother as she never said anything this whole year and was receiving money she was not entitled to in his name!

He’s going to be the one facing the consequences but she’s been the one with the money in her account!

What happens now?

Will he be prosecuted?

If he attends and provides full information, more likely to be a debt amount to be paid and a civil penalty amount.

If he does not attend, then it won't go away. I suppose he could face prosecution at some stage.

Hello and welcome to CAG.

Is someone still caring for his mum or doesn't she need care now?

Best, HB

agree, has her care requirements changed? Generally there is an assessment on how many hours a week care is needed and working wouldnt automatically mean the need cant be met

He needs to attend as failing to do so will probably result in the case being passed through for prosecution, as he has started work and in theory failed to notify the relevant department and they would have obtained his earnings for the relevant period.

If as you say, he has stopped his HB and IS claim and given the reason as started work, he could use the fact he told the DWP i.e. the relevant department that he notified them and that they did not fully act on the information and close down his CA claim at the same time as IS.

If he ended the claim as he formed a relationship[, then he is on a slightly sticky wicket as he should have told CA about his income, presuming it is over the income threshold of I think £110 or thereabouts a week and would have to explain any reason why he did not notify them of this.

He would/should also have gotten an uprating/yearly award letter in March/April time to show what he was getting.

No, he is not providing care for her anymore.

Her care requirements haven’t changed but he no longer provides this care. He works full time. 40+ hours at minimum wage. I understand this is above the threshold of permitted work.

Tomtom, yes he most definitely informed housing benefit and income support. He just wrongly assumed income support would let carers allowance know. Yes his earning are above £110 a week. He works in excess of 40 hours at minimum wage. He may of had a letter sent in March/April about the yearly award but this wouldn’t have come to where he lives now as the carers allowance is linked to a previous address.

In that case he needs to attend an interview and use the fact he told the DWP i.e. Income Support that he had started work and that he expected them to close all his claims with them and/or notify the other sections within the DWP that he had started work, on a once and done type of approach and that as far as he was aware the that was the end of it as he had notified them correctly that he had started work.

Hopefully the investigator dealing has already checked with HB and IS for the reasons they ended so should be aware that he had notified them.

Should they decide to take it to court via the CPS, it is highly unlikely they would accept the case based on that reasoning.

Thanks for your input tomtom. I’m hoping this is the case. And the fact that the money is paid into his mother’s account and always has been as he initially had difficulty in opening a bank account will go in his favour as he clearly wasn’t the one receiving the money so had no reason to question payments still being made as he wasn’t even aware.