Well it happened when you were 19 and you're 34 now, so any conviction is "spent" Personally, if I was an employer and you'd been totally honest in the way you have, I'd be glad to have you working for me. After all, we all make mistakes said the blind dalek as it fell off the dustbin (joke)

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c.53) of the UK Parliament enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period. Its purpose is that people do not have a lifelong blot on their records because of a relatively minor offence in their past. The rehabilitation period is automatically determined by the sentence, and starts from the date of the conviction. After this period, if there has been no further conviction the conviction is "spent" and, with certain exceptions, need not be disclosed by the ex-offender in any context such as when applying for a job, obtaining insurance, or in civil proceedings. For adults, the rehabilitation period is 5 years for most non-custodial sentences, 7 years for prison sentences of up to 6 months, and 10 years for prison sentences of between 6 months and 2½ years. For a young offender (under 18) the rehabilitation period is generally half that for adults. Prison sentences of more than 2½ years can never be spent. Other sentences have variable rehabilitation periods. Compensation orders are only spent once paid in full, but being bound over to keep the peace would be spent either at the end of the order or a year (depending which is longer). A conviction that is spent and need not be divulged under British law may not be so considered elsewhere. For example, criminal convictions must be disclosed when applying to enter the United States; spent convictions are not excluded.

It is human nature to always think the worst. I know it is easy for me to say, but I honestly think that once you deal with this with HMRC you will begin to feel better. There appears to be no question of you deliberately attempting to get more tax credits than you should; it is after all quite normal in this day and age with the difficulties in paying for rent and mortgages to maintain separate households under the same roof. One partner may well continue paying the mortgage even if they don't live in the property in lieu of maintainence payments for the children. I note you have separate bank accounts so this does show that your finances were separated.

Thank you Jennie

Ok I'll get that sorted for you now

This is from the Met police website During a stop and search what information do the police have to give me? The police who stop and search you must provide you with certain information including: Their name and the station where they work (unless the search is in relation to suspected terrorist activity or giving his or her name may place the officer in danger. They must then give a warrant card or identification number) The law under which you have been stopped Your rights Why you have been stopped and searched Why they chose you What they are looking for

I remember a similar thing happening a few years ago involving the CSA. It was a private company with a similar logo to the CSA giving a premium rate telephone number for people to ring for "advice"

As I say I'm not a legal expert but I know that when the claim is sent out from county court you either defend it fully or in part and enter the grounds for the defence. If you like I could ask for the thread to be posted to legal so that you can receive advice from people who know a lot more than me about those sort of things!

Do you know what Ryan, I think you'll make a brilliant lawyer.

Words fail me... They really do!

You too! Let me know how you get on when you receive the responses Kind regards Gbarbm

The thing is the longer you put off contacting them the worse it will be. Just write to them as I suggested earlier and see what their response is. Once you receive a reply and post back here if you need further advice

When you make your subject access request ask for ALL information including but not limited to; Audio Video Written - including incident log report, pocket note book entries Good idea about obtaining witness statements from householders in the vicinity where the incident took place as these will be independent of both yourself and the police.

If a married couple are informally separated, it is possible that they can "maintain separate households under the same roof" on the grounds that it is "in the best interests of the children" There would be an expectation that finances would also be separated although that may not always be the case. I note you say that he was staying at his mums... Can he prove this? The best thing to do would be to be truthful and respond to the compliance check letter you have received. So what is the worst that could happen? Well I doubt you'll be sent to prison, you will probably have to pay back any overpayment which is usually recovered from a subsequent award.

Ok, take a deep breath and calm down. I'm going to ask you some questions which will give me a clearer picture Were you married to the childrens dad? Regarding the mortgage, whose name is on the deeds? Have you ever been to court regarding custody/access arrangements regarding the children Prior to returning to the property was your childrens father living with relatives/rented accommodation?

Oh dear! I'd be inclined to ask the solicitor for a contribution as they appear to have been negligent and breached their duty of care. I'm not too sure about the legal side of things but if you are going to start a new thread in the legal forum you'll get plenty of assistance there Kind regards Gbarbm

OK... based on the info you have provided, when a business is transferred as a going concern (TOGC) and as long as there is no significant break in trading and the nature of the on going trade is similar the criteria are met for TOGC and the seller charges VAT on "consideration" of the sale. All of this should have been included in the contract/agreement at the time of sale. Did you take over the VAT number from the previous trader and are you VAT registered now? As I say, it looks as if HMRC have recovered VAT off him following a VAT review. HMRC do not get involved in any commercial matters, they simply want the VAT due at the time of sale. He can attempt to recover it from you but you dont have to pay it. Potentially, his only avenue would be to attempt recovery via the County Court and you would be within your rights to defend that action. My advice would be; Check the transfer documentation to see what if any VAT was included Check if you need to be VAT registered (annual turnover of £77K or more) Speak to the National Advice Service (NAS) for VAT - helpline is open 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, Monday to Friday for all general questions relating to VAT, Excise, Customs or any other taxes or duties, call on Tel 0845 010 9000 (+44 2920 501 261 outside UK).

I think it is...I vaguely remember a similar case a few years back; let me check it out to be sure and i will post back here later

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. I am afraid to say that in recent years the police seem to have forgotten that they are a police SERVICE not a police FORCE and that they police with the consent of the public. As Brassnecked says... get complaining; Write to the Chief Constable Chief Inspector of Professional Standards Your MP The IPCC Send copies (not originals) of your evidence, photos, reports etc and make sure you send it recorded signed for delivery. I can tell you now that the police will try and get you to accept local resolution... DO NOT accept this; it is equivalent to brushing it under the carpet; you must make a formal complaint. You should make a subject access request to the Data Protection Officer at the Police HQ in your area for the incident log pertaining to your contact with the police. It will of course be heavily redacted and will cost you £10.00 but will be worth i as it will give you vital information concerning times, names of officers etc. Google Code G of the police code of conduct - powers of arrest. This is what the police SHOULD do, compare it with what actually happened to you and see how it differed. If you need help, advice or support then post back here. Be strong; you did nothing wrong and you MUST be compensated for what happened to you. It was assault, pure and simple, if a member of the public did that to you they would be arrested. The police officer put you in fear, that too is an assault.

Been as you haven't had much luck with previous correspondence send your letter with enclosures to; Jim Harra Director P T Operations HM Revenue & Customs Self Assessment PO Box 4000 Cardiff CF14 8HR Send it by recorded delivery and make sure your NI number or UTR is on the letter

If it were me, yes I would write with a chronology of events and enclose copies (not the originals - in case they go astray) All credit to your accountant for coughing up.. As I say go for a time to pay arrangement, there may be a bit of forward interest added but at least you'll get a bit of breathing space

From what you say it is an HMRC error - failure to make proper and timely use of the information supplied. So stand firm, follow the guidelines in COP 26 after all, why should you be made to pay for their mistake! Get a letter off to them and post back here when you get a response Kind regards Gbarbm

Is your wife or any of the staff in USDAW (union of shop, distributive and allied workers) If so, it may be worth getting the union rep involved first as the unions usually have solicitors who work for them

Yes but has she consented? If she does not and has not signed anything to say she consents then if they put her under pressure to do it then that's Article 8 breached right there! If they attempt to do it again without her consent that is assault within the provisions of the Offences against the person act. The golden rule is No consent.. No touching

I think I would be inclined to lay the blame on the accountant. You should appeal to HMRC; the grounds for appeal would be that you had a reasonable belief that your affairs were in order and that this was a mistake despite taking reasonable care ( the reasonable care being that you had an accountant acting on your behalf) You will have to pay the tax but can ask for a time to pay arrangement. If it were me, I would ask the accountant if she is going to cut her fees or pay something towards what you owe (most accountants have some form of indemnity insurance for situations such as these)