Hi all, just reporting back.. I did not have to attend the compliance interview, as I wrote to them explaining the full situation. That it was a genuine mistake, and offering to pay the money back. I was told that the issue was to be sent to a decision maker who would be in contact. I have now received a letter stating the amount I have to repay, plus a ‘Civil Penalty’ of £50. I have made that payment in full. I/we are so relieved this is over. It has been a very bad few weeks. I have to say the person I spoke to at the DWP was very understanding and clearly had read my (long) letter fully. We can now sleep better at nights. Thank you to everyone for your advice and insights. B

I will, and again thank you all for your help and advice.

Yes i feel that we will. because if not this could recur again and its been a nightmare. And we both need that sleep

Yes , absolutely thank you. We are willing to admit it, and need the best way to do it without it going any further. We do want to put it right. For sure we do.

But the thing is I/we won;t be compliant. How do we handle that for the best??

well its over that limits and still will be if we repay the amount they have paid. It is a fair bit over. Also, can anything be read into the fact it is a telephone interview, not a face-to-face??

yes it is over that amount.

Thank you for these responses. To take them one at a time. dx100uk: Our entitlement is not likely to change in two years we will both be on a pension. Yes, we can pay every penny back. And are willing to do so. Andyorch: Yes we have £10,000 in savings. unclebulgaria67: yes we are aware of the implications, but would rather act now to end this process. It is simply too stressful to have it stretched out. miteaide: I understand what you say and where you are coming from. This was a mistake and we bitterly regret the single moment where we gave to the wrong answer to the telephone question. we were not thinking straight. We are in out 60s/70s. This is our first time on benefits after working all our lives. I know we were wrong and stupid, but we are not serial fraudsters by any stretch. But we are not seeking to minimise our actions. Thank you

Thank you. But IF they do, what is my best course of action as they will incriminate us. I am 75 years old, disabled and in poor health. I just cant deal with the upset. I am willing to pay back.

Well the usual list on the back....emigration status, working,income savings. I just assumed they would talk about or want them??

But if we refuse and let them stop benefits??

Hello everyone, I have been on Guaranteed Pension Credit for a year now. Since my husband lost his job. When applying we did a very stupid thing and did not disclose the extent of our savings. We were, to be frank, reeling from having to apply for benefits at all after working all our lives and did not realise the full-implications of what we were doing. It was too simple just to say ‘NO” during the phone application. Now we have this compliance telephone interview. We realise that they must or at least may have found out. What we need now is the best strategy going forward. We do not, at any point, wish to disclose our bank statements. We are willing to pay back and admit our culpability. But not give up our bank accounts which we regard as an invasion of privacy. Options we have thought of is not attending and thus allowing our benefits to be stopped. Withdrawing our claim citing we are now above the limit. What might be the best strategy. we are making ourselves ill with worry. Thank you