Moneys been re-instated.

[kellyswon]

Hi guys,roughly 4months ago i was accused of benefit fraud for which i was interviwed under caution.I obvisously denined all and they produced all the evidence they had 4 weeks ago i was called back in and told my incombe surport and rent was being stopped.I have 3 children and for the first 2 pay days(thurs) i had to apply for crisis loans on the 3rd (thurs)they wouldnt issue another crisis loan but told me my money was being re-instated and all owed money was being back dated.The question i am asking is why would they reinstate my money(with backpay)?will they be dropping the case?i am terrified of the prospect of going to court (even though i am innocent)is this a good sign they will drop it the allegation and what happens in the meantime? ?????????thanks in advance Kelly

[kinkyklee]

yes would think so im just going thru all this now but ive been to crown court got found not guilt and won my appeal last week so im wodering if they will reinstate me monies which they stopped...anyway sounds to me like they prob not got any evidence because the investigators take it to a decision maker who says stop the benefit or dont stop it...i too was innocent but the fear i felt was horrible.hope it goes your way

[kinkyklee]

sorry bout the spelling just re read it...i look very thick looking at that hope u understand

[kellyswon]

Thankyou Kinkylee for your quick reply, since this investigation begun i have been worried sick, hardly slept and and very stressed out, i suffer with fibromylagia which is made worse by stress so my health is being affected to, i hope everything works out well for you.

[ErikaPNP]

I think what has happened here is they "suspended" your benefit rather than ended the claim. If this is the case, then they have either concluded the investigation or a decision maker has reconsidered your entitlement to the suspended benefit, possibly as a result of the Crisis Loans. A Crisis Loan should never be awarded where benefit money is due, it is quite possible that they requested your payments be reinstated until the investigation was complete and a decision maker has reconsidered entitlement as a result of such a request.

 

The only way you can know for certain is to call the benefit delivery centre that processes your benefit. You will also need to ring the council to see if your housing benefit./local housing allowance can be reinstated, as they are a seperate entity to DWP

[kellyswon]

Yes my benefit was suspended at my second interview under caution where i was also told that the case was being passed on to the decision makers to decide what would happen next, i didnt recieve any benefit for 3 wks and had to depend on crisis loans for 2wks on the 3rd week i was refused a crisis loan so i chased up my income support with the job centre after 4 hrs of back and forth phone calls i was told that my income support would be reinstated and all money owed backdated, i am unaware if the case has been dropped and what the decision makers have decided, would they write to me to let me know the decision or just leave me waiting in limbo, all this waiting is really stressful.

[kinkyklee]

kelly how much is it they say you have taken from the benefits system if you know...as if its less than £10,000 the courts basicly do not pursue any amount until its around £10,00-£20,000..i would ring them today but i know how difficult it is explaing to loads of people as wen you phone it always gets passed around the building for someone else to deal with.

try not to worry to much,it will put your mind at ease if you ring and they say they are carrying or with the fraud side of it or there not guna bother..so worth a try.if you need the numbers for benefits and debt recovery/dwp let me know as i have them wrote down as spent hours on the phone yesterday to them.

ps...so did you get the income support back then or are you still waitng

[kellyswon]

i havnt actually been told how much they are accusing me of taken from the benefits system, and yes i did get my income support back plus 3 wks backdated money from when it was suspended.Does anyone know why they would reinstate my income support if the investigation is still pending.

[kellyswon]

My solicitor has just informed me that the reason they have reinstated my income support is because they now have a new policy inforce which means that if you was to deny all allegations your money would have to be reinstated until/ if proven guilty.Apparently the decision makers are in stirling/scotland and i will have have another 2wks worry awaiting there decision.

[ErikaPNP]

I'm afraid your solicitor is incorrect, there is no such policy. It may have been something done for a particular case but it is certainly not policy. They do have the right to suspend benefit during an investigation, but they need to have pretty strong evidence - they can't for example, suspend it simply on hearsay.

 

The policy your solicitor refers to is not a policy, it is an area of discretion, whereby although they can still legally suspend benefit, it is bad practice to do so. Ultimately it is up to the decision maker whether they suspend benefit, but there is no policy in place or legislation to stop them from doing this.

 

If you have been claiming Crisis Loans, the Crisis Loan team would most certainly have been at the decision makers as a crisis loan should never be awarded where the need can be met from another resource. That other resource is your benefit. Whilst an investigation is ongoing and payments are suspended, you have what is known as an "underlying entitlement" to it. In this case, Crisis Loans would have given the DM's a gobfull which would have forced them to reconsider their decision to suspend, because quite simply, it won't look good for their investigation when they have left you destitute to the point of relying on Crisis Loans to get by.

 

What sort of fraud are you being accused of, out of interest? Is it living with a partner, working while claiming or something else? Obviously you don't have to answer that and you aren't expected to, so please don't unless you feel comfortable with it, just interested.

[kellyswon]

i am being accused of cohabitating with my best friend/male whom i have known most of my life and i allow him to get his wage slips,bank account etc here we also recently got a joint bank loan together .They have no surveilance to back up their accusations but plenty of paperwork.I have also been told today that because of the amount of paper evidence it is 50/50 of which way it could go, i am worried sick because i do not want to be prosecuted for simply helping out a friend and allowing him to use my address for certain correspondence.

Edited July 21, 2009 by kellyswon

[kinkyklee]

paper work is hearsay...and unless theyve got alot of evidence ie-pictures.clothing,neighbours agreeing he is there etc then it wont stand up in court as this is classed as hearsay and cannot be used as evidence in a court of law..i know as ive just been through the same thing.

[kellyswon]

Hi again i was due my income support payment today but none was credited into my account i phoned income support up and was told that they have stopped it indefinately as i have been found guilty by the decision makers of cohabitating , no-one informed me of their decision,i am really stessed out now that i will be prosecuted for something that isnt true for the sake of letting my best friend use my address as stated above.Surely this wouldnt happen would it?

[ErikaPNP]

You should have been informed of their decision in writing and informed of your right to appeal. Are they going forward with a court prosecution?

[kellyswon]

Erika as of yet i have received no letter informing me of the next step.I only found out this morning when i got in touch regarding non payment of income support thats when they told me the decision makers had found me guilty of co-habiting.The opperator read out the notes on my screen and she didnt mention anything about court what she did say was my income support account had been closed down and it doesnt necassarily mean a court apperance i am totally confused how they can find me guilty without me going to court.What would you expect the letter to say Erika?They have said iam guilty does that mean iam definately going to court?What the opperator also said was would i like to appeal??which i found strange how can i appeal when i dont know precisley what they are saying is the charge.

Edited July 23, 2009 by kellyswon

[ErikaPNP]

The Decision Maker has decided that you and your friend were living together as husband and wife, and that you failed to declare a change in circumstances. That is not a "conviction" only a court can convict a person. What they should do is issue a letter, which should state:

 

Their decision

How they came to that decision

What they plan to do about it (court/recover the money/nothing)

Tell you what to do if you disagree with the decision (advising you of appeal rights)

Tell you how to appeal. (You complete a leaflet called a GL24)

Advise you of the time limit to appeal (one month from the date on the letter)

 

What I suggest you do, is contact your local council and ask for contact details for the Welfare Rights Representation Unit. They will provide you with a Welfare rights officer, (this is a free service) who will be happy to contact the department on your behalf. They are experienced at dealing with benefit decisions, they know what to ask for, what to challenge, and can represent you in any appeal or communications with the department. What they will do initially is write to the department asking for a "statement of reasons" - this is a breakdown of how they reached their decision, and extends the appeal time limit by 14 days. They will also seek to determine exactly what happens next in your case. These people will help you.

[kellyswon]

Erika the decision was made on the 21st july and i have still recieved no correspondence from the decision makers, i have recieved a few letters from the dwp informing me of my benefits being stopped and the reason why, i was told last week that a letter had been sent out to me but it has been almost a week what do you suggest i do now?

i believe the decision makers are based in stirling scotland would i not be able to ring them direct?

i also did as you said above and contacted my local welfare rights representative, and was told by them that because i already have a legal representative they could not give me any help and i should liase with my own solicitor, he contacted the fraud department last week but is still waiting for them to get back in touch with him.The decision was made on the 21st july but i have still not recieved any letter explaining this.

Edited July 27, 2009 by kellyswon

[ErikaPNP]

You should ask them for a duplicate decision letter to be issued to you, as you have not received the first. This is your right. I've searched for a BDC contact number for Stirling for you and I cannot locate one. You are entitled to ask for a statement of reasons yourself after you recieve the duplicate decision letter.

 

Explain to Income Support that you have yet to receive official written notification of your decision and that your solicitor has not been able to obtain this information from them either. Tell them that you would like a duplicate decision letter issued to you as you have not received the one sent out and are therefore in a position where you do not know what is happening and it is causing you distress.

 

Ask them if they have a customer number for the office which made the decision, and if not, could the department call you back or could they arrange for a duplicate letter to be issued.

[kellyswon]

???

Edited August 5, 2009 by kellyswon

[kellyswon]

Well i had my appeal on the 12th May, i recieved a letter from them on the 14th May saying that the appeal had been disallowed and the decision remains the same,(the letter was dated the same day as my appeal was heard so i basically think the decision was made before i even attended) whilst all this is going on i have had to attend the magistrates court and i am now waiting to go back again on the 2nd july for the case to be commited to the crown court, i am absolutely worried sick that i will be found guilty of something that just isnt true.I was told that the tribunal hearing is based on the balance of probabilities and that the courts are beyond reasonable doubt does anybody know what i can expect once i attend crown court?

[kellyswon]

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