Hi, my partner and I went to our interviews under caution for benefit fraud the other day, they postponed mine as my Union rep and the Investigator knew each other but my partner had his. When he asked them what evidence they had to back up this claim they refused to show him and just kept bringing things out here and there and at the end of the interview they wouldn't give im copies of any of it either. Can only a solicitor request prior disclosure from the Fraud Office or if I wrote in would they need to respond? Also, on the letter it mentioned various benefits but they then brought up something completely different part way through, are they allowed to do that?!

I think so too, the problem is what makes sense and I suppose what looks wrong or something. He had no account so his money was paid into his mate's account, his friend spent his money, he couldnt get hold of him etc etc. A couple of months before he got his flat he changed it to my account because at least I could meet him with his money and his mate didn't spend it! His JSA started going in there then his HB when he moved to the flat. He tried to open an account in March but they wouldn't let him as he didn't even have any proof of address let alone photo id. He worked towards getting his Passport which took about 4 months and as soon as he got it he went down and opened an account then changed his payments over. His post went to his mate's then mine then his flat when he got it.

Cheers x

Partner and I received letters requesting Interview Under Caution for benefit fraud: CTC, WTC, HB and JSA. We have 4 mth old, 4 yr old, both now working (I'm on mat leave), renting house, I'm sufferring stress and depression and only on HB & TCs now, hopefully off HB soon. 1. How long are they likely to have been investigating? The period in question must be over 8 months ago, are they likely to have been sitting on this for that long or is it more likely retrospective, i.e. no photos etc? 2. I work for the DWP and want to enter teaching next year. Will this prevent me doing that and will I lose my job if they convince me we were wrong and they award a caution? Jun 09: Got together Jul 09: Moved to same city Mar 10: Partner moved into his flat + switched JSA and HB to my bank account + post to my address (more secure) Sep 10: Partner got Passport + opened own account + switched benefits over Sep 10: Partner got job + cancelled JSA + notified HB Dec 10: Partner moved into our house + we notified all benefits same week Jun 11: Received letter regarding interview

I've found their site but not the relevant page...

I'm getting myself very stressed over this one! We've both recieved letters abut attending interviews under caution in a weeks time, me for not reporting a CoC for tax credits & HB and assisting fraud, him for JSA and HB fraud. I think it will be a complicated case for everyone but any advice for the interview would be appreciated (we'll be seeking advice and a solicitor consult before we go). For myself if found guilty I'm estimating 1. Does anyone know how long they're likely to have been investigating for? i.e. would they be likely to have photos or something from a year ago or even 10 months ago before he officially moved in with me? 3. I work for the DWP on benefits, any prosecution would lose me my job and possibly compromise the fact I want to enter teaching next year, is a caution likely to have the same effect? do I need to declare it to them if found guilty or are they likely to be informed anyway? We have tried our best to do things by the book but I literally fell to pieces last year and I don't know what else we could have done or anyone who would have left their partner to cope alone. I'm now very stressed and worried I will lose my job, he may lose his, we'd have to move to my mum's and take our daughter from a school she loves, lose our savings for our wedding in december that we've accumulated since december and our whole life will fall apart. I'm so scared as I really thought we'd just got back on our feet and if our CTC and WTC were stopped even for a short period I couldn't return to work in September (I'm on maternity leave since Dec 2010) and I would have to declare bankruptcy as I'm part self-employed and am paying my start-up debts Background My partner and I officially move in together from early December 2010 with all claims changed for CHB, CTC & WTC and HB. We started seeing each other in 2009 while I was living in another part of the country, I was only in temp work and a job offer came through for Leeds where he lived and I'd lived previously so I took it. He wasn't working and was claiming JSA(IB) at the time but "sofa-surfing" at family and friends houses when I moved to Leeds (mostly at one friend's house I think). Between summer 2009 and spring 2010 (roughly 8 months) he remained staying at his friends houses most of the time as we hadn't been together long and my job was/is at the DWP so I didn't want any benefit problems and certainly couldn't afford to support him and my daughter as well. His friend lived quite a way away on the other side of the city and my partner doesn't drive so in spring 2010 he found a flat nearby and applied for HB and CTB so we could live closer but still not have problems with benefits. At the same time he switched his JSA to my account and set up his HB to it as well so he could access it and pay his rent on time. He took the flat with full intention of staying there, only stopping the odd nights with me and meeting up in the day on weekends when I wasn't working. At the end of March my father passed away and he came to help out with my daughter for a couple of weeks while I dealt with everything. At the same time his gas and electric wasn't working due to confusion with his being a new top floor flat and the address so without any heating he kept staying other nights. Note: They didn't actually sort out his accounts for G&E until after his tenancy ended so he never paid any electric bill and he paid his gas on the meter in cash so no bills although he was still getting large bills for the flat below and at one point the meter didn't move (all VERY confusing!). I found I was pregnant in June and in the summer my health took a decline due to my father's death, stress at work and with severe morning sickness that had me off work a lot of the time so he came over to help out with my daughter again as I didn't want the antidepressants due to the baby. By this point he was so fed up with things going wrong at his flat he wanted to do things properly and move in with us to help out but his final 3 months tenancy would need to be paid up which neither of us had the money to do so he was trapped and carried on claiming HB and CTB for the flat while a friend helped out with his cat and crashed over at the flat every few days. At the same time he was job hunting a lot and around August I helped him get passport ID and a bank account opened all from his flat so he switched all his HB and JSA to his bank account (he couldn't open one before due to lack of ID). He was offered a job and started work in September and immediately signed off JSA and notified HB. His friend then said he'd take the flat when the tenancy ended as he was working as well so the day the tenancy ended we went to the council and told them we'd moved in together so all benefits were recalculated. From that point on everything was completely legitimate but I appreciate the previous 6 months looked a little dodgy.