It was just shy of 27 thousand pounds

I've been there,,done that..had no home of my own and barely a pot to pee in..but as soon as I was blessed enough to get my little house (council house...nag the arse off them..I did)...everything didn't seem quite so bad. We had a roof over our heads,we were warm and dry..I scraped along on the bones of me bum for years..and it does seem like it will never end,,but it does. Tell your friend to never ever ever fall into the loan shark/pdl company trap,,but with a friend like you keeping a watchful eye I'm sure it will all get sorted.

In his case he had to repay all the money (he had to do it all at once because he had the means to do so)..got fined £250 and got 240 community service hours and 6 months inside suspended for 2 years He declared he was suffering depression (he wasn't),,that he had a gambling addiction (he hasn't) and he was grieving for our late parents (who had been gone 17 and 15 years0...and all other excuses he could think of except admitting the truth,,he carried on claiming HB & Ctax benefit in spite of a huge insurance payout for an accident at work. It took them 4 years to catch him. Personally,,,in his case,,I'd have given him a lengthy custodial sentence,,got all the money back and any other harsh thing I could do to him. His was just greed,,plain and simple greed..and Karma bit his backside. He's convinced I 'dobbed' him in,,I didn't,but I'd shake the hand of the person that did lol

I really hope this gets sorted out,,for all 3 of them..Granny protecting her daughter,daughter protecting her child,,so nice to hear. Depression/Bi Polar,,any 'brain' malfunction is an absolute b*****d to deal with and reality becomes too bloody hard to cope with. I wish them all the luck in the world,,and hope they get a decent home so they can all live together in peace and security.

A close family member stupidly committed and got caught for benefit fraud...subsequent court case was reported in the local rag,,and quite comprehensively too,,,name,amount,consequences etc. I think it's pot luck if it's a slow 'news' day.

You couldn't make it up could you?? So you;ve paid insurances for 20 odd years and because you were (wrongfully) convicted of something that has NOTHING to do with them they can reject you..bloody disgrace.

I stay in hotels/inns/lodges a lot...and all of them are non smoking..all clearly signed . I think you should pay up and make it a lesson learned,you certainly don't want it affecting your credit rating. (oh,,and yes,,I smoke).

I meant 'ignorance of the law'.....not that you are ignorant

Nope,,,I have a Blue Badge..did the same thing....didn't know the area I was in...wrote a grovelling letter and appealed...and ended up paying full amount. Their reply was basically it's down to the driver to make sure they aren't contravening parking laws no matter where they are. Ignorance is indeed no defence.

You're liable for the ticket then I'm afraid.

I had 4 points on my licence (speeding) and had no problem with RSA so it's probably not that.

On the face of it you seem to have hit upon a POSSIBLE diagnosis as yet unconfirmed by those who CAN either confirm or refute it,,not a web questionnare. Why would you not want to see the Dr you would be referred to by your GP if he/she specialises in Aspergers?,He/She would be able to confirm/refute the possibilty of Aspergers in your case. You can't have everything your own way,you cannot 'assume' you are correct,,it's as likely as not that you DON'T have Aspergers,you won't know until you see the specialist. You really can't expect your employer to act on a 'wudda ,cudda,shudda,'situation,no one actually KNOWS if you have Aspergers or not,,the confirmed diagnosis is at the crux of all this. I have something that is so easily mistaken for something else,,only a battery of tests by specialists actually confirms it,,the symptoms can apply to quite a broad spectrum of illnesses,,it takes specific tests over quite a period of time to confirm the diagnosis. I'm not denergrating your situation in any way,,I just think you need the confirmed diagnosis before you can expect anything from your employer,,you would be being unreasonable to presume they should make allowances when noone has actually said Yes,you DO have Aspergers,because noone has actually confirmed it. With luck,,you won't have it and the Drs can work on finding out what you do have.

Oh,,now that is good news.....and now you can relax and EAT!!... With all the changes with benefits etc just about everyone is getting random checks,or something out of the ordinary happening,,it's just a case of keeping all your paperwork up to date so IF they come looking again you won't have to fret trying to find stuff.. Well done xxxx

If God and all his Angels descended most of us would be in the Sin Bin for something or another and kicking someone who is already down is just plain nasty. Please keep us informed hun,,you've been a bit daft but heyho,,haven't we all at one time or another??

You have done what loads of other folk have already done,,it's not right but it's also not a hanging offence.There but for the Grace of God etc ,now it's damage limitation thats the priority. Certainly don't make yourself ill over it hun,easy for me to say i know but it WILL blow over,,it's the fear of the unknown. Personally,,I'd see your Dr and lay your cards on the table..you are vulnerable and looking for support which you might find he/she is willing to give being as you are expecting. Could your husband possibly go to court with you? Or a close friend? Maybe the amount you are being done for won't be of interest to the local media? In any case,,I wish you luck.

Has he possibly applied for a loan using your address? You need written conformation where he went to live when he left (tenancy agreement /council tax bill in his name) If everything you have is in your name thats a good thing.I don't think him paying the Sky bill will be too damaging.Try not to worry too much,,send off what they have asked for,and hopefully that will be that. Good Luck xxxxx

I stopped believing this is real ages ago,no money yet internet access (probably on a top of spec i phone).however..There has been some amazingly good advice given on this thread that hopefully will help others in a genuine predicament,,and the people who have given that advice should be commended for sticking with the thread.

Of course you have to declare your boyfriend lives with you AND you have to show your bank statements,,if you don't they will access them anyway. You can't go in and tell a pack of lies,well,,you can,but you'll soon get caught out.

Well,,yeah,,you can't get DLA if you don't meet the criteria,,and I'm sure I'm like many people I wish I didn't .

Many people with my problem don't qualify for DLA,,it really does depend on the level of disability in the individual. I,,too,cannot see the relevance of the Equalities Act.

Thats really good news hun.... now...feeling a fraud..You know as well as I do that the symptoms of our mutual disease do not always manifest themselves on the outside of our bodies..it's an isiduous little git,it affects us internally very often. NEVER feel a fraud EVER!! expunge your energies on keeping yourself as well as you can and you will find your own coping mechanism. We often lack in vitamin B6 and potassium so maybe get your Dr to check that,and anything you want to know re MS please feel free to ask,I have had it for 27 years (diagnosed at 23) so am a bit of an old hand at it Hope you keep well for a long time xxxxx

Yep..all that too,,he stupidly tried to blag his way through it though,,blamed everything and everybody else.I asked him why he didn't query why he had so much money coming in every month,,benefits aren't that generous!

Someone known to me recently went to court for HB/CTB 'fraud' ,,found guilty ( because he couldn't prove he had told them about a pension)..ordered to repay 26k....plus £250 costs and a years conditional discharge.

Oh,,WSIDN,,,I wasn't getting at you,,our posts crossed,,sorry

It's best not to direct anyone to the 'worst case scenario' places albeit the intentions are well meant.OP is already at Def Com one so to speak,bless her. So,,foolmum,,Dr has given you something to help,,make sure you take them regularly and that you keep your strength up by eating and drinking properly,sounds silly but you don't want to get ill on top of everything else do you? You have been through so much,bless your heart,but you are still standing so you are stronger than you thought !! Like you said yourself,,baby steps,,tackle one thing at a time,and always pop on here if you need some moral support (and advice of course)