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Sister in housing benefit fraud - advice needed


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Any advice please, my sister was claiming housing benefit for a property, she then moved out and claimed housing benefit for a different property but she DIDNT cancel the previous properties housing benefit so it continued being payed into the bank account - which she spent!

 

This has been happening since Sep. I told her to cancel it but she wouldnt listen. She has now recieved a letter for an interview in January for benefit fraud, she will be admitting the truth, but what will they do?

 

She probably owes around £1200.

 

 

She has a son who is 3yrs.

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If she knowingly collected and spent the money, then she'll have to face the consequences because HB will have proof of where the money's been going and will want it back.

 

Whether it goes to court or not may depend upon how they choose to pursue her and how co-operative she is.

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Even if it did go to court (which at that level of o/p is unlikley, especially if she admits the offence) she would not go to prison on a first offence especially as she has a 3 year old.

Please do not ask me for advice via PM as I will not reply.

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As long as her circumstances have not changed in the sense that she is still entitled to benefits, she will not lose her benefit, but they can rmake deductions to her benefit to reimburse them for the overpayment. She will have to pay it back, there is no doubt about that.

 

Whether she would go to court is something for the authorities to consider. As Shoelover has pointed out, this is unlikely if she admits the offence of her own accord, and she has no history of fraud.

 

Whether she would go to prison would be a decision that only a court could take if it got that far - again though, given the sum of the overpayment, and provided she has no previous history of fraud (or other criminal convictions) prison is highly unlikely. Prison is a last resort. Contrary to popular belief, the court can impose a prison sentence on people who have children and who have committed low level fraud, but again as Shoelover has expressed, this would only likely be considered where there were other factors to consider such as previous convictions, for example. Taking the OP at face value, court, let alone prison is not something your sister should be concerned about if she admits to it now.

My advice is based on my opinion, my experience and my education. I do not profess to be an expert in any given field. If requested, I will provide a link where possible to relevant legislation or guidance, so that advice provided can be confirmed and I do encourage others to follow those links for their own peace of mind. Sometimes my advice is not what people necesserily want to hear, but I will advise on facts as I know them - although it may not be what a person wants to hear it helps to know where you stand. Advice on the internet should never be a substitute for advice from your own legal professional with full knowledge of your individual case.

 

 

Please do not seek, offer or produce advice on a consumer issue via private message; it is against

forum rules to advise via private message, therefore pm's requesting private advice will not receive a response.

(exceptions for prior authorisation)

 

 

 

 

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