Btw my bf lived in different town, the school has alot better ofsted and i only put his address as i didnt think theyd get in on my address (about 10 min drive away)

I had iuc a year ago (in march) being accused of living with partner, and although i changed my childrens schools and stupidly put my bfs address on school form, and my elec usage at home was low.... Thats there only evidence!!! The overpayment is 19k and i am appealing it, havepresented judge with lots and lots of evidence (whichwasnt evident in my iuc) which includes 6 witness statements, statement from myletting agent, medical records which supports my previous violent realtionship(i was hospitilised) and my ex has even written a statement for me! And also proves i have an anxiety disorder, also documented proof that i attended a meeting at school with welfare officer to discuss her poor attendance and her notbeing happythere...only 3 weeks prior to school change! Also with elec usage, i had csection in this time and shattered myleg in this time andhad to stay with my boyfriend, which i informed them about and is all fine..... So seeing as i wasnt there for over 6 months, my elec usage is gonna be low!! Soi am reasonably confident with my evidence. The council said theyare goingawait the outcome of tribunal to decide whether they prosecute me. But i was wondering if they had a time limit? Dwp (who were also in my iuc for my i.s) arent in the appeal andihave received no more corresspondance from them since i sent my evidence off..... I sent my evidence to appeal judge back in sept and havent heard anything back...they ask on letter if there was any dates u til 1st of may i couldnt attend, so assuming i wil hear soon :-/?

Yknow what... The councils dont care. Theyre pursuing me, and theyre main bit of evidence is at i used hardly any electricity, which to them is 'proof' that i didnt live in the property i claimed i did! The decision makers have obviously never had to live in complete poverty and learn to ' make do' when i couldnt afford electricity i would keep milk in cold water in the fridge, we ate cold beans and buttered bread and biscuits for tea cos we couldnt warm through any food. A dear friend did my laundry for me and let us bathe and shower there, as did my boyfriend. Yet they have said i mustve Not lived there. Its a disgrace! I have done nothing wrong yet theyre pushing me to the brink, ihave provided medical records to prove my hhigh anxiety and previous suicide attempt, which wasnt just a cry for help, i took substantial medication that couldve easily killed me. Yet theydont care, they just want there money back..... To councils all that matter is money!

I dont know anything about disability claims, but i have had interview under caution, and im sure theyre not allowed to say things like that when tape has stopped ? Bit wrong! She shoukd def seek legal advice, and surely reports from gp, consultants who deal with her bad illnesses etc should write a report for her, she should ask them! Thats gotta help surely. Good luck. I know how she feels with the anxiety, its awful waiting im still waiting for my tribunal.

Yes I have statements from my best friend and dad saying that I stayed with them regularly, even have my ex partner has wrote a statement saying that he believed I lived there, that he posted things to kids etc, have a friend who lives in same town as I lived who has made statement saying he helped me with laundry etc. do they take witness statements seriously? I don't understand... I fell pregnant with twins 1st time we had sex after only 4 weeks... So not really fair cos we have children we must b living together. In the judges notes to me he asked me to provide proof of domestic violence in previous relationship. So have sent in solicitors letters from past where he admitted assault, hospital records, and in my dad n best friends statements, what they witnessed.

Hiya, I have received some great, helpful responses on here before n need help again please..... I am attending a tribunal for housing benefit (18k) and income support (6k) and this is from feb ' 09- apr '11. Their evidence. Changed my childrens schools in feb '09 to one near my partners address and put his address down on school admission form as stepfather Low elec usage, on average of 1.2 units a day House appeared unlived in and 2 neighbours said they hadnt seen me for some time. My counter evidence Proof that a education welfare meeting took place 1 month prior to school change, in regards to my daughters poor attendance. This was because she was unhappy there. Yes my electricity was low, but they hadnt taken into account 2 spells of staying with boyf after c-section and broken leg and ankle, both of which i informed them of at time, and was approved. Also proof the my financial situation was dire and i sometimes couldnt afford electricity for the meter. Also that i stayed in a different county visiting relatives, where the father of my eldest 3 children lives. I have proof that i stayed away from friends and family members in that other county. Property appeared unlived in/lacking in furniture, and neighbours saying i didnt live there.... I have letter from letting agent saying that according to them it did appear i lived there, call logs from letting agent, where i state i couldnt afford much and had sold items. Witness statement from friend who lives in same town saying he visited my property. None of these neighbours will make statement to effect of me not living there. This is about it with evidence along with that the reason i didnt move in sooner with partner, is because i had domestic violence with father of my eldest children, which is proved with medical records, solicitors letters between ex and i acknowledging an assault. Witness statement from my dad about my ex's temperament. Also i can provide medical evidence that my ex made me and children homeless, which is also a reason to not move in sooner. I am being accused of living witth my partner since feburary '09, i only moved in wit him this year. He owns his own home and is employed and doesnt claim, or ever has claimed benefits. Firstly, this is a tribunal, which i understand is a civil matter for recovery of money, does this mean if they say ' on balance of probability' i was living with partner, would i be able to put the debt into a bankruptcy? Also, do you think they have enough evidence to prosecute? There has been no mention of prosecution thus far. Who decides the 'balance of probability'?? Is it just the judges opinion? Doesnt sound fair, that they can say...yeah u probably did so therefore i can ruin your life and make u pay back this amount. Pleaae help me, its driving me mad any info would be fab x thank u xxx

She woman from l/a sed at they will be sending everything to there solicitor who will decide whether to prosecute :-/ I dont really understand how u can win a tribunal but not a court case, cos 1 is beyond resonable doubt n the other balance of probability. Bit strange but hey, this whole thing is strange to me. I am okay to admit i lied on school application, i know i was wrong, but i do have a report from education welfare from only a month before changing school, to support my decision of changing schools. Which is the reason they took thisback to that date. And i have response to my low electric usage, i was hardly ever in, and never really used lights at night. But my financial situation was so dire that i would be behind in my electric. And would have to pay lump sums toget electric back on my key meter. Which wasnt to regularas i just scraped by, which i have all my life.

I've been completely upfront, do u think (in ur opinion) from what I've sed that they have a strong case against me? Thank u for ur help so far. The lady sed that a tribunal and prosecution r 2 different things (which I kno) and that they don't tie in, so 1 decision doesn't affect the other so if I win tribunal I could still lose court case and visa versa. I am so unbelievably stressed, I have had a suicide attempt in 2008 (again I can prove) n have had such an unstable life, if this ruins my future I don't know how I would get through

Oh no i know u wasnt accusing me, just ranting about bekng accused in 1st place Theyre saying that after tribunal they gonna consider prosecuting me anyway thank u for ur info x

So does that mean u think im gonna b screwed bustard? Ahhhhh this is so stressful!! Why didn't I just move in earlier, be better off financially and more secure and have a 100 times better quality of life earlier?!?! I had no gain from being a single parent... If I'd gained money etc then at least I could've weighed up the risks n had a chance at benefitting!!! So far I've lived a **** life to get to this point! Why did I listen to my messed up head telling me that I need to take my time, make sure I was 100% b4 putting myself at risk of being homeless for the 2nd time in my 9 years of being a legal adult, for this! To be accused of being essentially a thief and a liar, I'm neither!!! Just Blimmin messed up and now stressed! Lol :-/

Ok, no i didnt have a tv, i never really watched tv, and couldnt afford the license, was too scared of getting caught lol just have health visitor records and she stated home visit on a few dates, and on a date just after twins born states that i was staying there to recover, also has a couple of home visits after. But just says home visits. On birth certificates yes we did provide seperate addresses, and didnt have a landline as they were included in my debtors for my bankruptcy. I had a mobile, which was also on the form for school. Alo wit his landline, quite stupidly! But i was there in daytime more than anywhere else, or my friends. But i slept at my house! We didnt live together, we didnt share finances, i didnt really pay bills as they were all included in my bankruptcy, u cannot imagine how poor i was! Even written on call log made in 2009 says i was so poor that i sold household items :-/

Obviously a low paid full time job is ok for 1 person but with 6 more, we are entitled to tax credits, so instead of my child tax credits, we also get working tax credits per week, which i didnt get as a lone parent. We are financially better off now we're a couple. Obviously i wish i had just done this from early on, but i thought i was being sensible and ensuring me and kids wouldnt be homeless again... Thought i was having a new start, did what ive always been advised and took things slowly... And look at the mess im in because of it! We dont claim hb now, we r entitled to council tax benefit, but this has scared me off claiming anything from council!!!

He works and has never claimed benefits, but job quite low paid. We only get tax credits now and have 5 kids. Our finances were seperate. Nystagmite, these periods of time have been okayed by the council and dwp as i informed them at time and they were fine with that. Which is what doesnt make sense. If i informed them in aug 2009 when i had csection and and in aug 2010 when i broke my leg. Both of which was documented and states that i called from hospital bed...why would i do that if i wasnt living there anyway!?! I have no family here. I am located in dorset, every single member of my family live on isle of wight. So wouldnt be able to stay after emergency c section and broken anke (which was pinned and i was non weight bearing for 3 months, all of which i can provide hospital reports for if needed)

Yes i put it on school form that i lived at hisaddress, but did that as they wouldnt get into that school otherwise. I would accept any relevent punishment for that, assuming its an offence. Alot of parents do this to get into school, doesnt make it right, but does make it alot more understandable. Ihave supportive evdience for everything i say, about education welfare visit, i have the report which only took place month before i changed schools. Have medical records to prove my anxiety. And even have a statement from my violent ex partner, admitting he was violent and as a result i was made homeless, and from his knowledge i lived at the address i claimed for. Yes my electric was incredibly low, but i was hardly ever there during day, i never had any money, hence going bankrupt. And have statement from friend that he would make us meals etc and help me with laundry. If anything, i was at his house more than my partners, as my partner worked alot. Plus i visited iow frequently, which i can prove. Also had periods of time when i was staying with partner, for 6 weeks after csection with our twins, and for 4 months when i broke my leg. So kind of makes sense that elec usage was low. Which was only utility used as evidence.

Yes I understand what ur saying. Friends perceived us ass living apart and 2 of those friends are writing statements to that effect. From the time theyre claiming we lived together from, we'd only been together 3 months! The bankruptcy thing made him reluctant to have me move in, and for myself it was various reasons previously stated, as my life has been incredibly unstable (which I can provide evidence for) and moving in together was a big step for me :-/

Yes he was/is my boyfriend, but ur allowed to have a relationship... I only met him in November 2008!! I'm being accused of living with him from feb '09! I fell preg with twins the 1st time we slept together. It all happened so quick, my hormones and emotions were all over the place, then I broke my ankle, then we moved in... Like I sed in original post, my past has been horrific and I had o ly just settled in the house with my kids... This is nightmare It wasn't only due to financial reasons. It was also due to me being homeless before and in a violent relationship, so obviously was very apprehensive to move in with any1. The bankruptcy was just his reason that he didn't want us to live together, I had my own reasons as stated. We shared no finances, had our own mail going to our own houses, my friend who lives in same town helped me out more with practical things! And I'm not being accused of living with him! Of course I spent some time with him. But surely that's not classed as living together?!?!

We aren't disputing we're in a relationship. But we wasn't living together. If you're single parent u don't have to live together with every1 u go out with surely?!? Obviously it worked out we did move in together. But I hadn't in notice on property etc before my iuc.

Forgot to say the amount over paid is close to 20k!!!!!! Also noticed in my last paragraph i spoke about in the 9 weeks of living with my partner we wouldve been able to raise the £450 needed for bankruptcy from the extra £50 a week better off we was

Any help would be greatly appreciated, here goes.... I am being accused of living with my partner from feb 2009 -april 2011. Which i didnt, i moved in april 2011. But heres the story... In october 2008 i moved into my old address, i then met my now partner and i fell pregnant with our twins (i had 3 older 1's) he lived in a town about 3 miles away from me. I had our twins in august 2009. But i moved my daughter from the school in our town to 1 in his town in feb 2009. I did this because 1- the school is alot better, andhas ofsted report to prove this. 2- because my daughter was unhappy at school, which i have a visit documented from welfare officer attending the school in december 2008 to support my claim my daughter wasnt happy. But stupidly because i knew she wouldnt get into the school without living in area, i put my bf's address down as home address :-/ Also my electric records show very low use of electric. Which they say is proveable that i didnt live there. My response- as i stated in my iuc, i was looking togo bankrupt (which i did feb 2011) and i was in a very bad financial situation. My partner wouldnt let me live with him until i had gone bankrupt as he didnt want me to go bankrupt at his address. So i had very little money and admitted that there was periods that i didnt have electric, and during those times my partner, and a very good friend who lives in same town as i did let me use there washing, drying and bathing facilities. My friend has written a statement to this effect also. Also, i am originally from a completely different county, and would spend periods of time with my best friend, whilst my eldest 3 were with there dad. My friend whom i stayed with, my ex (who had our 3) and my dad who i sometimes stayed with, are all willingto write statements for this for my tribunal. Also i broke my ankle in july 2010, and had to stay with my partner during this time as i was non weight bearing. I informed housing, dwp etc of this andwas told it was fine. I stayed from august-december 2010. So surely all this evidence supports my reasons for not having electric. Also have in my friend from a different county's statement, which supports my statement of being brought up in a home which was very run down, and had bad childhood in regards to livingin conditions that may not appear normal to some. Am also trying to trace any records from social services to try and support this claim. As i know we had involvment withthem but unsure how much. Also in regards to my broken ankle....why would i phone from hospital bed (which is documented) to say i wasnt going to be there as i had injured myself...if according to them i hadnt been there for over a year anyway !?!? I have medical records from 2008 and these refer to me suffering from an anxiety disorder. Also has mention of home visits from health visitor. Also a dr had written during a consoltation that i dont live with partner butsee him most days. All appointments made in the practice in my old town where i lived, and not my partners town. A neighbour told a worker that i didnt live there. But wouldnt make a statement as the area is a very rough area. Which it is! Which is why i never spent much time at home!! But obviously they have brought this for their evidence! I dont really know the neighbours, and is an awful area I also have call logs from my regular contact with letting agent, which state that i told them i go away to visit family often. Also that my dad had come to visit at my property and has done some gardening and heavy work in the house. My dad is willing to write me a statement to say that he did stay with me, but he does have terninal cancer of the oesophagus so wouldnt be able to attend as a witness in person. Lastly, they say that i did live with him from 2009 as i couldnt go bankrupt at his address, which is the reason i commited the fraud. But this doesnt really make sense, as if i had done this, then why would i, because surely the only reason to commit benefit fraud is to have financial gain. Well.... As a single person, my rent was paid directly to landlord, so i had no gain from this money except to have occupancy of the property, and received £280 p/w as a single mother. Now, as i couple, we are entitled to £330 p/w! so why would i live at an address for over 2 years...commit a serious offence (im of good character, no convictions, as are all my witnesses) when i couldve saved the £450 needed for bankruptcy, in only 9 weeks of living with partner. We wouldve been over £5000 better off in our pockets over this period had we claimed as a couple. Unless i kept the house because i wanted to live there! I have provided evidence that my relationship with my ex was violent, followed by a period of homelesness, so surely it is understandable why i wasnt quick to hive up my home and move in! Anyway, if any1 has any advice/opinions.... Anything would help, as i do suffer from anxiety, and this has caused me so much distress thank u

I would have my dad who came to stay at mine as a witness, also in the logs from my letting agent in regards to calls i had made to them during my period there, i would inform them that my dad was staying, so that letter from letting agency would confirm my dad as staying there. I havent put a statement in my appeal from him as i dont want to worry about it as he is having treatment for cancer of oesophagus at the mo, and dont wanna involve him unless it becomes at tribunal stage. Also they have never asked my partner anything? Is this normal? He has never been called for interview, and again i havent got a statement from him in appeal as i wanted to make sure that i had plenty of evidence left for a tribunal, dont wanna use it all up on appeal. He has never claimed benefits so he hasnt been accused of defrauding anyone, but as it was me claiming and myself who signed declaration saying i was living alone, im assuming it isnt anything to do with him....i dunno, They havent said anything to him! I feel soooo drained!

But she seems to think that as its interest only mortgage that they will pay the whole £500 as its interest only anyway. So they wou D at very most only pay half anyway as her ex would be liable for other half?

Its not even that im embarrassed, but neighbour told some1 from council i didnt live there and only came back for my mail, i dont know who is this. This is a VERY rough council estate, it truly is full of scumbags, police were always at neighbours houses, they are not nice people and i want no involvement, and i know they wouldnt help me, they honestly wouldnt i wish it were at easy i would help someone too but i know they wouldnt. They didnt like me, called me a snob (cos i was normal and wasnt interested in getting involved in there fights and dramas. They dont hate me or anything but i know they wouldnt help me Its 19k to housing, 6k to dwp, ic, and rest in council tax, about 28k all in all! I had a solicitor for my iuc and she walked out of there saying they had nothing and she was confident it wouldnt go any further!!! So hmmmmmm :-/

Don't have any post really :-/ I also don't want anything to do with any neighbours, wouldn't know where to start. I had no landline the only time I had home visits from healthcare people was after I had my twins, during which time I was staying with partner cos of c-section. Arrrgggghhhh it's so annoying! I was hardly ever there but I did sleep there!

Hiya I have had great advice on here. But now im asking for a friend as she has no internet access, and has just phoned me in tears. Basically she split from hubby in jan n he gone.... She has 2 kids and she works. She has an interest only mortgage and the balance outstanding is £ 143,000 on this. She currentely pays £500 for her mortgage. Basically she is in a job wherw she is so desperately unhappy, she feels that her 2 children need her at home right now so wants to leave her job and go onto benefits for now, untilher youngest is at least school age (her kids r 2&5) she doesnt want to lose her home tho. After going onto entitledto.com we found out her entitlement to tax credits (she will stop paying childcare as well as working) so would only get child tax credits. Then income support and council tax benefit. She wants to know about smi which pays the interest payments in her house, so seeing as its interest only, would itpay her whole mortgage? She knows it takes 13 weeks to come into affect and with help from family she could just about manage, but after that..... She is in such a bad place at mo, i really feel for her and want to help her as much as i can but i couldnt find smi info anywhere, she just wants to know she wont be stuck paying £500 a month mortgage as it would cripple her, she would get nothingfrom selli house, dont know why that would be? She isnt here to ask. Her husband has screwed her over a bit and she just wants to know that kids arent gonna lose there home as well as there daddy (and mummy considering how much she works, for basically not much gain) Thanks xxx

They only told me about this after i had moved in with my partner so, if they wouldnt have started watching me after the iuc as i obviously was here. I have also got a letter from a friend of mine (who is a proffesional guy so i hope the letters after his name help a bit lol) who has not only written a statement to say that i was at my property and that he helped me out when i ran out of electric etc but would also be willing to stand up at tribunal/court to say as much also. I have also got a letter from my letting agent which staes that they had reason to believe i lived there and have provided logs to them of calls i had made, in regards to property and let them know if i was ever away... Do you think these things will help. Spoke to some1 the other day n she mentioned nothing about prosecuting, just that if they couldnt make a decsion about overpayment then it would be sent for tribunal. Which i hope it does! I really do cos i know i havent done anying wrong. I havent got a solicitor or anything yet. Was going to see if i even needed one.... Arrrghhhhh still out of my mind over this. As far as im aware the evidence they have is 1) i changed schools in 2009 n put my boyfriends address down as home address 2) not enough electricity units used, half of which the times they took the electricity reading i wasnt there anyway as i had informed them i broke my leg! 3) a neighbour told someone when they called round that i didnt live there anymore.... Which i domt know why they did this and im sure they wouldnt stand at tribunal or sign a statement to that effect as its a rough council estate n they wouldnt ' grass' as they call it on someone! If it was the case, which it isnt. I dont know what else i can do. Im not paying that money back...i bloody lived in a crap life to do things properly and protect myself, went bankrupt, turned my life around just to be in more debt than i was?!?! No way, im innocent, and im sooooo angry that this has happened cos i couldve been living a happier family life with my prtner in a nice house for past 2 years, been better off....but stupid me wanted to do things properly and make sure i could never get in same position again...and its all for nothing if i pay this money back